Tag: Julian Campenni

Julian Campenni sees upside and ability in Rutgers football’s Jordan Thompson

Jordan Thompson is continuing to grow this spring for Rutgers football.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — A name to watch this spring for Rutgers football is defensive lineman Jordan Thompson.

His career at Rutgers has seen steady growth, a solid example of the ‘developmental program’ mantra so often preached by head coach [autotag]Greg Schiano[/autotag]. A former Morris County football standout, Thompson is poised to take another developmental step ahead of what is a very important fall in his career.

After a redshirt season in 2021, Thompson worked his way into seeing consistent reps the next season. By 2023, he was beginning to make an impact.

Last year saw Thompson with 24 total tackles, with multiple tackles record in eight of his 11 regular season games played.

Asked on Tuesday about Thompson’s growth, defensive ends coach Julian Campenni pointed towards the player’s pathway

“I think the answer is in the question: just be consistent,” Campenni said.

“Again, it’s, there’s no secret sauce. It’s just doing the little things consistently every single time and again, I think the results will take care of itself. And I think he’s been doing that.”

Coming out of Parsippany Hills High School (Parsippany, New Jersey), Thompson was a raw recruit brimming with potential. He was a three-star recruit who was a top-10 player in New Jersey’s class of 2021.

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Campenni is in his first year with Rutgers, having joined the Big Ten program this offseason. Previously, Campenni worked at Bowling Green for five seasons.

‘I ended up trying to run here!’ How Julian Campenni joined Rutgers football

Julian Campenni said he was ready to run for this opportunity with Rutgers football.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Julian Campenni comes to Rutgers football this offseason with plenty of experience and upside. But when the opportunity to join the Big Ten program came along, there was no hesitation on the part of the now Rutgers defensive end coach’s mind to take the job.

Campenni joins defensive line coach Colin Ferrel as the new additions to the Rutgers football staff this offseason. Both hires by head coach Greg Schiano saw Rutgers dip into the MAC to find energetic, enthusiastic coaches brimming with potential.

The duo replaces [autotag]Marquise Watson[/autotag], who was sidelined last year for personal reasons.

Campenni comes to Rutgers following five years at Bowling Green, a program that is very solid defensively in the MAC. He has ties to the area having played his high school football in Pennsylvania and then in college at UConn where he was an All-American Athletic Conference selection.

The opportunity to work on Schiano’s staff stood out to Campenni as an important next step in his career.

“What happened with coach ‘Quise last year was very sad – and I didn’t know coach ‘Quise…I met him when I got here a couple of times but just hearing from everybody in the building about the type of dude he is – he’s a great person and someone obviously we’re still thinking about and praying for,” Campenni said on Tuesday.

“When I heard about this opportunity – to me it was a no brainer. To come back closer to home…to be in my opinion in the best conference in college football and work for a guy like coach Schiano and coach Harasymiak (defensive coordinator Joe Hrasymiak) and this staff. I ended up trying to run here as fast as I could. So it’s been great. I’m fortunate enough to be able to get an opportunity to be here and work with these kids and the staff.”

As he settles into life at Rutgers and in the Big Ten, Campenni said that he has taken note of Harasymiak.

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Now in his third year at Rutgers, Harasymiak is one of the top defensive coordinators in the nation. Known for his attention to detail, Harasymiak has left a definite impression on the defensive ends coach.

“He’s elite. He’s elite at what he does. Everything he does is the best so I kind of just match him,” Campenni said.

“He sets the tone defensively as a defensive staff of the expectations and he makes it really easy to just fall in line and, and do that, so he’s awesome. I mean, he brings it every day and he makes it easy for us.”

Taeshawn Alston pulled in a Rutgers football offer this week: ‘They are a hard working football team and staff’

Taeshawn Alston breaks down why Rutgers football made his top six.

Rutgers football certainly seems to be making up for time with Taeshawn Alston, a three-star edge rusher from North Carolina. One of his most recent offers, Alston nonetheless says that Rutgers is doing well in his recruitment.

Alston is a class of 2025 defensive lineman recruit from Vance County High School (Henderson, North Carolina).  According to On3, he is the eighth-ranked recruit in the state and the No. 22 edge rusher nationally.

His top six, announced this week, included South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, West Virginia and Virginia Tech. Rutgers certainly had good timing in all of this as they had offered just four days earlier

According to Alston, things are going well and he cited his growing relationship with head coach Greg Schinao and Scott Vallone (named the Rutgers tight ends coach this week).

“They are good people with a good staff and they want it bad,” Alston told Rutgers Wire this week.

“Coach Schiano is a great coach with a great program and around him, so we built that relationship quickly. Me and coach Vallone made that connection when he came up to my school and ever since then we’ve been talking a lot.”

Vallone was instrumental last year in Rutgers pulling in [autotag]Ben Black[/autotag] and[autotag] Isaiah Crumpler[/autotag] from North Carolina.

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As for official visits, Alston right now is projecting that all six of the programs that made his final six will get an official visit. Plus, he said he would like to visit Tennessee.

Given that Rutgers was his most recent offer, it was intriguing to see Alston include the Big Ten program in his top six that came out just a couple of days later.

“They made my top six because they are a hard-working football team and staff,” Alston said.

“And they really make that connection with the guys they really want and I love that about them. (A) Really great program and like I said, they want it all.”

The staff on the defensive side of the ball is different for Rutgers, with the recent hires of [autotag]Colin Ferrell[/autotag] (defensive line) and [autotag]Julian Campenni[/autotag] (defensive ends).

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The relationship there is growing, he said.

“The connection (is) good. Me and coach Camp have been building that relationship since he’s been there,” Alston said.

“I been talking to him a lot. He loves how I move on the field and he likes me as a person. He’s excited for me to be up there this spring.”

 

Rutgers football: Julian Campenni posts thank you to Bowling Green

Julian Campenni posts a message of thanks to the Bowling Green community.

For new Rutgers’ defensive end coach, Julian Campenni, the last few weeks have been full of change. After five years at Bowling Green, he decided to join Greg Schiano in Piscataway. While Campenno is preparing for a new chapter in his career, he made an unforgettable impact at Bowling Green.

During his time with the Falcons, Campenni was a defensive line coach. Under his leadership, the Falcons led the country with 28 turnovers in 2023 and ranked No. 25 in total defense. Over the last two seasons, they recorded 71 sacks, the most over a two-year span in program history.

While it was a team effort, Campenni was a big part of the Falcon’s success. On Thursday, he posted a thank you message to everyone at Bowling Green who impacted his time there.

An integral part of the Bowling Green staff under head coach Scott Loeffler, the now Rutgers defensive line coach was one of the top positional coaches in the MAC.

On Thursday, Campenni posted a thank you on social media to the Bowling Green community.  He started his message off by giving thanks “first and foremost, to Coach Loeffler for believing in me and giving me an opportunity to come with him to BG.”

He ended his message by thanking the players on the roster, putting a hashtag of “#FTC.” The letters are part of the Rutgers mantra of Faith, Trust, CHOP.

 

Breaking: Defensive coordinator Joe Harasymiak to coach linebackers, Julian Campenni joins staff

Julian Campenni is the new defensive ends coach for Rutgers football.

Rutgers football has another addition to their coaching staff, with (more) news on Monday of the hire of Julian Campenni. The former Bowling Green assistant joins Rutgers as their defensive ends coach.

In addition, defensive coordinator Joe Harasymiak will take over coaching the linebackers in addition to his current role. Over the past two seasons, C.J. Hetherman has served as linebackers coach at Rutgers, but he was recently hired by Minnesota to be their defensive coordinator.

Earlier on Monday, Colin Ferrell was hired by Rutgers as their defensive line coach. The hire of Ferrell and Campenni were both first reported by ESPN’s Rutgers football insider Pete Thamel.

A source confirmed the new responsibilities for Harasymiak and the hiring of Campenni by Rutgers.

 

A former defensive lineman at UConn where he was a strong defensive lineman, Campenni joined Bowling Green in 2019 as their defensive line coach. Last year, he was promoted to be their defensive run game coordinator and assistant head coach.

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Prior to joining Bowling Green, he spent two years at Boston College as a graduate assistant. He began his coaching career in 2016 as the defensive line coach at Wyoming Area High School (Exeter, Pennsylvania)