Tag: Deion Jennings

Rutgers football: Who was selected for Athlon Sports Preseason honors?

Rutgers football had five players selected to the Athlon Sports Preseason All-Big Ten teams. Which players received preseason honors?

Rutgers football had five players selected to the Athlon Sports Preseason All-Big Ten teams. Athlon Sports is a media outlet that offers predictions and expert analysis based on 2023 projections.

Athlon Sports selected the following Scarlet Knights to Preseason All-Big Ten teams:

  1. Aaron Lewis (DL) – Second Team
  2. Deion Jennings (LB) – Third Team
  3. Max Melton (DB) – Third Team
  4. Wesley Bailey (DL) – Fourth Team
  5. Hollin Pierce (OL) – Fourth Team

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#71 Aaron Lewis (DL)

Aaron Lewis from Williamstown, New Jersey, had a solid 2022 season on Rutgers’ defensive line. Lewis received Third Team All-Big Ten in the coaches’ vote, Phil Steele, and Pro Football Focus polls last season. He recorded 55 tackles with eight for loss and received Honorable Mention All-Big Ten (Media). Lewis went on to win the 2022 Co-Defensive MVP for the Scarlet Knights.

#17 Deion Jennings (LB)

Deion Jennings from Timber Creek High School in Sicklerville, New Jersey, got selected Honorable Mention All-Big Ten (Media) in 2022. Jennings recorded a team-high 91 tackles and 8.5 tackles for loss last season. He averaged 8.3 tackles per game, ranking him seventh in the Big Ten. For his efforts last season, Jennings got rewarded with the 2022 Homer Hazel Award and the 2022 Douglas A. Smith Second Effort Award.

#16 Max Melton (DB)

Max Melton from Cedar Creek High School in Mays Landing, New Jersey, was selected for the 2022 Fourth Team All-Big Ten (Phil Steele). Also, he received Honorable Mention All-Big Ten (Coaches & Media) in 2022. Last season, he contributed on defense and special teams, logging ten pass breakups, two interceptions, 33 tackles, and a nation-leading three blocked punts.

#23 Wesley Bailey (DL)

Wesley Bailey, Canadian Native from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, recorded 30 tackles with eight for loss last season. He logged 12 starts at defensive end, recording a team-high 3.5 sacks. Also, Bailey led the Big Ten with three fumble recoveries. For his effort last season, Bailey received the 2022 David Bender Award.

#72 Hollin Pierce (OL)

Hollin Pierce from Trenton Central High School in Trenton, New Jersey, started 24 games over the past two seasons. In 2022, Pierce was a candidate for the Burlsworth Trophy. The Burlsworth Trophy is an award for the most outstanding football player who began a career as a walk-on. Also, he received Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2022.

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Standout linebacker Deion Jennings believes in this Rutgers football team: ‘I feel like it’s our time to take that jump’

Rutgers football linebacker Deion Jennings talks about his anticipation for his final season at Rutgers football.

Deion Jennings believes that this year can be a foundational one for Rutgers football as the senior linebacker looks to leave his mark on the program.

Appearing on the ‘Good Vibes Podcast’ this week with teammates Robert Longerbeam and Tyreem Powell, a number of topics were touched on by Jennings during the show.

One of the big ones is what this season means for the senior as he looks to be a part of the program’s first winning season since 2014. That was also the last season that Rutgers was bowl eligible and made a bowl game outright.

“I want to leave a legacy – us going out on the right note going,” Jennings said on the Good Vibes Podcast.

“It’s my it’s my last year so  having a winning season – leaving a positive impact on everybody in this building because I’ve seen highs and lows. So – and I feel like it’s our time to take that jump and do something special.”

Jennings is earning some serious NFL draft buzz following a strong 2022 season where he had 87 tackles and a sack along with six passes defended. He was among the very best linebackers in the Big Ten last season.

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As for Rutgers, this linebackers room, decimated by injuries last year, could be a strength of the team this fall. Jennings and Powell make up a core that welcomed two big pieces back this spring: Mo Toure and Moses Walker.

Both Toure and Walker were injured last spring and missed last season. They returned this spring and earned positive reviews from not just teammates but also head coach Greg Schiano and defensive coordinator Joe Harasymiak.

“It’s great, it’s great. I feel like having Moses and Mo back is going to back our room better, it’ll make ‘Reem perform to even a higher level,” Jennings said.

“It’s fun having those guys in the meetings, listening to stuff.”

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Greg Schiano on the importance of spring football: ‘Every offseason is critical’

Greg Schiano believes his team will need to be a developmental program.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — If Rutgers football is going to compete in the Big Ten, then they will need to be the kind of program that finds and develops talent. For head coach Greg Schiano, this is a priority for his staff and makes the offseason of critical importance.

As Rutgers football hits the midway point of their spring schedule and with two weeks until the annual spring game, Schiano was able to reflect on the offseason so far. With Saturday representing the first scrimmage of the spring season, Schiano was able to show on the field just what he meant when he says that Rutgers will be a developmental program.

The idea is that Schiano will need to recruit players and coach them up if Rutgers is going to compete with the upper-echelon teams in the Big Ten.

“It means that a guy like Tyreem Powell who played the season in between 220 to 25 and now he’s practicing at 235. So that’s an extra 10 pounds…eight pounds of muscle that when he hits somebody, they feel it,” Schiano said on Saturday.

“A guy like Mayan Ahanotu, worked hard, got his body in great shape, and it’s a good 295 now so those are critical improvements. And when you get stronger, you put that weight on and your body fat stays the same or even goes down, that means you have more lean muscle mass that should help in the trenches. So all that stuff – that’s why as a developmental program, every offseason is critical. And when a guy misses an offseason due to injury or surgery, it really sets him behind.”

Powell has been talked about a couple of time by Schiano as the junior linebacker is looking to build on last season. In 2022, Powell was impressive with 70 total tackles, three sacks and four passes defended.

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Schiano also cited the example of Deion Jennings, who had a massive season last year for Rutgers and is looking to build on that this senior season.

It was a breakout 2022 for Jennings, who posted career-highs in tackles (91), tackles for loss (8.85) passes defended (6) and sacks (1). In his previous three seasons at Rutgers, Jennings totaled 65 tackles.

He was hurt in the 2020 season and Schiano said that it took till last year to see his linebacker begin to produce.

“You know that happened to Deion. If you think back, that shoulder surgery totally put him behind. It took a whole year before he was able to get those games,” Schiano said.

“And then you saw the season he had last year and he’s just now picked up, he’s moving forward from where he was. So for the developmental program, every offseason is critical. And that’s what we are, we are a developmental program.”

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