Tag: Kirk Ciarrocca

For the new offensive staff at Rutgers, the scrimmages are important for ironing out communication

Rutgers football used Saturday to help iron out small communication issues on the offensive side of the ball.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — With several new pieces added to the Rutgers football staff, this past weekend’s scrimmage was another learning experience for the group. It was a chance to put into practice what the staff will need to do come gameday.

And while none of the notable additions to the staff are lacking in experience, it is still an important time for everything to be put together on the communications level.

Rutgers made three big-time hires this offseason on the offensive side of the ball, bringing in [autotag]Kirk Ciarrocca[/autotag] (offensive coordinator), [autotag]Pat Flaherty[/autotag] (offensive line) and [autotag]Dave Brock[/autotag] (wide receivers coach). It is a not insignificant number of changes for one offseason, and for Rutgers it means that there has been an overhaul on offense in not just scheme but also the language used.

Saying that the scrimmages are good for his new staff “A little bit,” head coach Greg Schiano detailed some of the nuances that can be worked out in these settings.

“I mean, those are all experienced guys. So when you work with a bunch of different people over the years, you’ve kind of seen it all,” Schiano said.

“It’s good that we do it though we got the headsets on (and) different things come up. Sometimes a word at one place means a different than the word at this place. So we got to make sure we’re all speaking the same language.”

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The second scrimmage, according to Schiano, was good on both sides of the ball.

“I thought it was great. I thought, you know, we did a lot of different situational football. We got a lot of reps, the guys we’re focused, intentional for over for what wasn’t close to four hours and did a really good job,” Schiano said.

“We hit on a bunch of different stuff. We’ll watch the tape a lot, a lot of things that were not happy with. I was happy with their focus and concentration.”

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Several new names (and positions) for the Rutgers football coaching staff

Rutgers football coaching staff has some new updates and additions.

In an update of the Rutgers football coaching staff information for the fall season, there are several names who have joined the program or have moved positions.

This offseason, head coach Greg Schiano brought in several new names for the coaching staff, highlighted by a new offensive coordinator (Kirk Ciarrocca) as well as new coaches for the offensive line (Pat Flaherty) and at wide receiver (Dave Brock).

Here are some of the notable updates to the coaching staff for the Rutgers football team:

  • Quality control: Madison Bunch (former college player at Southern Nazarene and Central Arkansas; most recently was at Southeast Missouri State as a recruiting coordinator)
  • Quality control: Nasir Jones: (former defensive back at Rhode Island, was part of the player development staff at Rutgers last year)
  • Assistant strength and conditioning coach: Kamali O’Brian (spent the last three years at Wagner and was most recently the associate athletic director for sports performance)
  • Graduate assistant: Cinjun Erskine (was a player development assistant last year, former player at Bucknell)
  • Graduate assistant: Jared Keyte (former Utica quarterback; most recently was defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator at Maine)
  • Graduate assistant: Alexander Officer (former Pittsburgh offensive lineman; most recently was a graduate assistant at Pittsburgh)
  • Graduate assistant: Austin Triglia (former Bentley letter winner was most recently a defensive assistant and player development at Rutgers)
  • Graduate assistant: Kayon Whitaker (former Maine defensive lineman, was most recently a player development assistant at Rutgers)

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How many wins does the ESPN College GameDay podcast think Rutgers football gets?

ESPN College GameDay debates the Rutgers football win total for this upcoming season.

While he doesn’t sound ready to hop on the Rutgers train, ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel believes that the Scarlet Knights could make a little noise in the Big Ten this season. In fact, Thamel thinks it is entirely possible that Rutgers could exceed their season outlook for wins this season.

The College GameDay podcast, hosted by Rece Davis, dissected the Big Ten this week. Davis noted that the total projections for Rutgers this season stands at four wins. Davis, ever thoughtful and nuanced, didn’t dunk on Rutgers by any stretch but he did take the under on that win total.

Thamel did his homework on Rutgers, noting that offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca’s hiring this offseason should help an offense that was second from the bottom in the Big Ten last season.

“I’m going to take the over on the over on Rutgers. I feel like the presence of Kirk Ciarrocca who Greg Schiano was fired in his first tenure there. Bringing back Kirk gives them baseline functionality, which they just didn’t have last year on offense,” Evans said on the ESPN College GameDay podcast.

“Now whether Gavin Wimsatt becomes a guy who really develops we need to see that pretty quick because it was pretty clear last year that he didn’t. I love Samuel Brown their tailback.”

The defense, however, must be the identity of this team and is clearly ahead of the offense in terms of the overarching development of the roster and the two-deep. Thamel likes the unit, praising defensive coordinator Joe Harasymiak while singling out two veteran players on the Scarlet Knights defense as ones to watch in 2023.

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If the defense can be solid, then Rutgers can be competitive and perhaps make a move up the Big Ten standings.

“But I really feel like their defense was pretty strong last year, relatively speaking. You obviously have to throw away some of that when talking about bottom Big Ten teams. You have to throw away some of the Penn State, Michigan-type results,” Thamel said.

“But I feel like they had winnable games, especially in Nebraska where if they just didn’t mess it up, they could have ended up winning the game. And so I feel like Virginia Tech to me is a winnable game for them. I don’t think that’s crazy. Like I just don’t think what anything Virginia Tech has done in the last year makes you think they can roll in and win there. And that’s not a knock on Virginia Tech. They’re just rebuilding and they’ve earned it. Yeah, but I think there’s a better possibility they start 3-0 than 0-3…I would say that., So I’m probably a little more bullish on the Scarlet Knights because when Samuel Brown was healthy last year, their offense was fairly functional.

“The case there is the case the new offense gets them back to functional. I think the defense with Joe Harasymiak and Greg Schiano sort behind it – I feel I feel pretty good about it. So yeah, you know, they just got a lot of guys who played a lot of snaps: Deion Jennings played a lot of snaps there. Tyreem Powell played a lot of snaps there. So I don’t think it’s hard to get to five.”

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Leadership and a more compact base: Gavin Wimsatt’s offseason transformation continues for Rutgers football

Gavin Wimsatt’s offseason was spent growing as a quarterback and as a leader.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — A week ago, Rutgers football head coach Greg Schiano let Gavin Wimsatt know that he was the starting quarterback heading into training camp. The news came after Wimsatt spent a summer developing and growing not just as a quarterback but in terms of finding his voice in the locker room.

This has been a very important offseason for Wimsatt, a redshirt sophomore who enters his second training camp with the program. Sometimes, it is easy to forget that when Wimsatt arrived in 2021, he wasn’t yet 18 years old and missed the first two games of the season while completing his high school requirements.

As such, this second full offseason and training camp is vital for his development, especially with a new offense in place.

Enter Kirk Ciarrocca into Wimsatt’s developmental curve. Named offensive coordinator this offseason, Ciarrocca has a wealth of experience…and success…as a coordinator at the Power Five level.

Ciarrocca is being charged with developing Wimsatt, a former four-star quarterback who is oozing with potential and untapped skill. But in his first two years at Rutgers, Wimsatt hasn’t always been placed in spots to succeed.

With Ciarrocca’s hiring from Minnesota this offseason, there is hope that the offense can be functional this season and that Wimsatt can progress as a quarterback.

“I would say much more confident especially with what I see and what I’m doing out on the field,” Wimsatt said on Thursday about his development and growth over the past year.

“Obviously, you know, that’s thanks to my coaches and my teammates, because not only my coaches teach me, but my teammates keep me accountable as well. So we keep each other accountable and that definitely helps.”

It was a difficult 2022 season for Wimsatt as he struggled with injuries. He finished last season with 757 passing yards, throwing for five touchdowns against seven interceptions. He completed 44.8 percent of his passes last season.

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That next step for Wimsatt is going to be the proverbial putting it all together. Decision-making down the field will be important, as well as technically putting it all together.

Wimsatt is working on being more compact and keeping his base more compact, all part of what he says is finding consistency in his motion.

But there is another part of his game that developed this offseason, and that is away from the football field.

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Last week during Big Ten Media Days, tight end Johnny Langan praised Wimsatt for his growth as a leader on the field.

“I think from his last game to today, and it’s been a night and day improvement and that’s a lot saying because he’s already extremely talented, great quarterback,” Langan told the Big Ten Network last week about Wimsatt.
“And I think really he took a more of a leadership role on the team. You know, he’s our leader, and I’m really excited to see him play and I’m really hopeful. And I think we got the right guy at the helm.”
There is no shortcut to being a leader and Wimsatt seems to have recognized that. He sought out Schiano this offseason and his new offensive coordinator to help him understand the next part he has to play on this team as a leader.
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There were also conversations that he says he had with the older players on this team who could help guide him into finding his voice in the locker room.
“Just talking with some of the older players on the team and also coach Schiano, coach Ciarrocca they helped a lot,” Wimsatt said.
“And really just the older guys, they helped kind of push me into a position to be able to talk to the guys and like put myself in uncomfortable situations to where I’m not used to being. Over time, you get more comfortable with that. And you just get more comfortable in a leadership role. And I think that that helped a big part.”
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Will this new look Rutgers football offense help Gavin Wimsatt?

Will the new Rutgers football offense help Gavin WImsatt?

For much of their Big Ten existence, Rutgers football has struggled on offense to compete with the quality of most opposing defenses. But there is reason for optimism on the banks of the old Raritan that this offense will be improved.

And ahead of the opening of training camp this week, Rutgers will be looking to solidify exactly who they are and what they do on offense.

On offense, Rutgers has struggled, finishing bottom three in the Big Ten statistically for much of the past decade. But enter [autotag]Kirk Ciarrocca[/autotag] and Rutgers should be improved on offense.

While it starts in the front with the offensive line, much of the offense’s development will come down to the quarterback. And with head coach Greg Schiano naming Gavin Wimsatt the starting quarterback a week ago, there does seem to be a sense that the young quarterback has taken the next step this offseason.

Former Rutgers quarterback Mike Teel, who rewrote many of the program’s passing records, believes that this offense could and should help Wimsatt’s continued learning as well as developmental curve.

“I think we’ll have to wait and see. If you look at Kirk’s past offenses, he’s going to want to run the ball successfully, which would help any quarterback,” Teel told Rutgers Wire.

“They have brought in some skill guys through the portal and will have a healthy Sam Brown. All these things should help take pressure off Gavin. So I do think we will see a much improved Wimsatt this year.”

The portal was helpful for Rutgers as they landed two wide receivers (Nysiem Brantley and Jaquae Jackson) as well as a solid tight end in Shawn Bowman,

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An FCS All-American at Western Illinois last year, Brantley  had 53 catches for 909 receiving yards with nine touchdowns. Jackson, playing at the Division II level,  had an impressive 77 catches for 1,178 yards and 13 touchdowns a season ago.

Bowman, equally solid as a blocker or downfield as a receiving threat for Maine, has impressive size at 6-foot-5 and 263 pounds.

These three additions, along with what should be some measurable improvement along the offensive line, should help Wimsatt this fall.

Enough to make Rutgers bowl eligible? Maybe. There’s a glimmer of hope there on that front. But at the very least, the seasoned and proven Ciarrocca should have some tools in his first season at Rutgers to make the offense improved and functional.

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Greg Schiano’s recruiting philosophy becomes clear: Eyes, ears and relationships over star rankings

Greg Schiano talks recruiting philosophy.

Rutgers football is piecing together a strong recruiting class, one that is ranked among the best in the nation. Head coach Greg Schiano, however, isn’t worried or concerned about the rankings or what recruiting services think of a certain recruit.

Schiano, instead, believes his own eyes and ears as well as those of his coaching staff while trusting relationships to help evaluate and recruit.

That doesn’t mean that Rutgers isn’t having measurable success on the recruiting trail though. As of Monday morning, 247Sports had Rutgers No. 23 nationally for their 2024 recruiting class. At Rivals, Rutgers was No. 17 in the nation.

While the rankings are nice, it also means that Schiano doesn’t chase stars, much to the chagrin of the fanbase.

“Well, you know, the stars are…look, the stars aren’t always right. And the stars aren’t always wrong. And I think the key that I learned early in my career is I got an opportunity to coach the Chicago Bears when I was in my late 20s. And I was around some great scouts and they told me that you have to learn to be a scout with your eyes first, and then your ears to support what you find or to prove what you find wrong. So that’s what I’ve always tried to do. I don’t try to scour the recruiting services,” Schiano told Larry Blustein on WQAM last week.

“We use our relationships, we hear about guys from coaches who we believe. Sure, now there’s some recruiting services that are better than others and I’m not down on all of them. I think you have to use every bit of information but when it comes to stars, I think there’s certain programs that really chase those stars and sometimes it works out for you and other times it does not work.”

Last fall on an appearance on WFAN, Schiano referred to Rutgers as a “developmental program: during an appearance on the morning show. The idea was that while the transfer portal is nice, it isn’t the be-all and end-all solution for building a program.

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This would also explain some offseason moves for Rutgers on their coaching staff, adding a highly-experienced offensive coordinator in [autotag]Kirk Ciarrocca[/autotag] to revamp the unit. Wide receivers coach [autotag]Dave Brock[/autotag] and offensive line coach [autotag]Pat Flahert[/autotag]y bring extensive NFL experience coaching those units as well.

If Rutgers is going to need to develop talent, then they needed to upgrade their assistant coaches. They certainly did that with the addition of Ciarrocca, Brock and Flaherty on offense. Three coaches, all of whom have coached at a high level in college or the NFL.

Schiano has been consistent that high school recruiting will be the foundation of his rebuild at Rutgers. Finding talent, molding the players, utilizing the strength and conditioning program and then coaching them up is the way that Rutgers can be competitive in the Big Ten.

“We are a developmental program at Rutgers. I’m not worried about stars. I’m worried about finding guys that have length guys that have skill. And then guys that are cultural fit for our program, right? So if they have those things and they can run, we’ll take the time to develop them,” Schiano said.

“And that’s why we look at a lot of three stars and some four stars. And yet, why do we have so many guys that are successful in the National Football League? It’s because we identify the right guys, we develop them, and then they go and have successful careers.”

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Rutgers football looking to change their recruiting philosophy?

Will Head Coach Greg Schiano and the Scarlets Knights consider changing their recruiting philosophy as they head into the 2023 season?

For Rutgers football, New Jersey has always been the focus for recruiting, but the Scarlets Knights have been unsuccessful in keeping the top recruits home in the garden state. In 2012, right before head coach Greg Schiano jumped ship to the NFL, his recruiting class included five of the top ten ranked recruits in the state. As Schiano tries to rebuild Rutgers football program, will the head coach consider changing his recruiting philosophy?

Changing recruiting philosophy

The state of New Jersey has been a hot spot for top high school football recruits. Recruiting Jersey’s top star recruits can’t be your only recruiting approach. If Rutgers can’t keep the local recruits home, a more national recruiting footprint needs to happen.

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With the hiring of offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca, Schiano looks like he is changing his recruiting approach by opening up new recruiting regions for the Scarlet Knights. Ciarrocca can bring in recruits based on his past experiences, coaching throughout the Central and Northeast regions.

In their 2024 recruiting class, Rutgers received five out of eight commitments from recruits outside of New Jersey. The Scarlet Knights received commitments from three 2024 recruits (Gabriel Winowich, Monte Keener, and Sam Pilof) in prime-time Big Ten territory (Michigan and Wisconsin). Also, Rutgers received verbal commitments from 2024 recruit Isaiah Crumpler, located in Greenville, North Carolina, and 2024 recruit Matthew Ogunniyi, from Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

Look for Schiano and the Scarlets Knights to continue to change their recruiting philosophy by expanding their national footprint.

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Simon says…Rutgers football quarterback pinpoints his development this spring season

Evan Simon believes that progress has been made this offseason in his reading of defenses.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Sometimes a bit forgotten in the Rutgers football quarterback talk, Evan Simon is coming off a spring where the entire offense went through a significant transition.

Hired by Rutgers football in January, Kirk Ciarrocca is the program’s new offensive coordinator. He brings deep Power Five experience and a proven track record of quarterback development.

Last season as a redshirt sophomore, Simon took a step forward in his development despite an offense that was poor at times. He finished last year 79-for-137 for 777 yards with four touchdowns and six interceptions.

This offense from Ciarrocca could be a good fit for Simon, who makes smart, accurate passes and is decisive in the pocket.

“I do think it’s a great fit – coach Ciarrocca brings a lot of things to the table that I think I’m equipped with,” Simon told Rutgers Wire after the spring game. “It’s been a great spring.”

This was a spring where Simon said he has grown and developed. The spring game, given the wet and windy conditions, may not have been the best showcase for his maturation.

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But, Simon belives that even within just a  few weeks with Ciarrocca, he has already matured as a quarterback.

“I think one of the things I really think was made important for me was seeing a defense – you know, being able to identify where pressures are coming from, what coverage is coming,” Ciarrocca said.

“I learned a lot this spring and coach Ciarrocca was big on helping with identifying what we’re seeing.”

In the ‘Scarlet-White Game’ on April 19, Simon was 4-of-5 for 19 yards. He had the highest completion percentage of any quarterback in the game.

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Kenny Britt is a big believer in Rutgers football’s new offensive coordinator, Kirk Ciarrocca

Former NFL star wide receiver Kenny Britt believes in the hiring of Kirk Ciarrocca as the Rutgers offensive coordinator.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Kenny Britt spent one season with Kirk Ciarrocca in college and although their time together was brief, it was enough to leave an impact on the former Rutgers football wide receiver.

Ciarrocca, now in his first year back with Rutgers as their offensive coordinator, was the program’s wide receivers coach in 2008. Part of that wide receivers room, a big part of it, was Britt.

Then a junior, Britt would become a first-round pick of the Tennessee Titans that spring following a 1,000-yard receiving senior at Rutgers in 2008. He would play nine seasons in the NFL.

On Saturday prior to the ‘Scarlet-White Game,’ Britt spoke about the impact of Ciarrocca and what his former wide receivers coach now brings to the table as the Rutgers offensive coordinator.

“He brought a lot of energy, a lot of energy into the room,” Britt told Rutgers Wire.

“I know he’s the offensive coordinator now but when he was in the wide receiver room, he’d make sure that we have energy each and every day from the beginning no matter what time we got in and entered that room until we went to the football field. He’s a smart guy. A leadership guy -the guys responded to him.”

Ciarrocca would then become the offensive coordinator of Rutgers the following year, a role he would serve for two seasons. The highly-respected Ciarrocca was at Minnesota last year as their offensive coordinator, where he turned the Golden Gophers into a top-four scoring offense in the Big Ten.

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Britt said that the re-united of Ciarrocca with head coach Greg Schiano is all part of what he sees as the upward trajectory of the program. Rutgers is in the fourth year of a rebuild under Schiano.

The rebuild has been slow, in large part due to the need for Rutgers to build-up its talent level. Britt says that the slow and steady approach will pay dividends, not unlike Schiano’s first time rebuilding the program.

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“Just believe in the system. I’m a believer in the vision from coach Schiano for Rutgers nation,” Britt said. “And if the guys buy in, they’ll have no problem. No matter what, no matter what.”

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What does Greg Schiano see from his Rutgers football quarterbacks this spring? ‘I think they’re making progress’

This spring, Rutgers football quarterbacks Gavin Wimsatt and Evan Simon are developing and showing signs of growth.

Following Saturday’s scrimmage, Rutgers football head coach Greg Schiano said he is pleased with where things stand with the quarterback competition on his team.

It may be a quarterback competition in just name only, but Gavin Wimsatt and Evan Simon are the two veterans on the Rutgers football roster with starting experience. The only other scholarship quarterback, Ajani Sheppard, is a true freshman and in his first spring of college football.

On Saturday, head coach [autotag]Greg Schiano[/autotag] said that he will discuss with offensive coordinator [autotag]Kirk Ciarrocca[/autotag] where things stand at quarterback. Wimsatt was the starting quarterback last year when healthy but Simon saw significant snaps (and starts) in the middle of the season.

A new offensive coordinator hired this offseason, Kirk Ciarrocca, will factor heavily into this decision.

“I think what we’ll do is we’ll sit down at the end of spring Kirk and I and the offensive staff  – the numbers of the numbers and then you go with what you feel,” Schiano told reporters on Saturday.

“And again, is there a timeline where we have to say this? No not really. I would like to have somebody named sooner than later. We’ll figure that out. But they’re doing a good job. I’m pleased.”

Wimsatt, a former four-star recruit, is the heavy favorite to be the starter for the season opener against Northwestern. But Evan Simon had some solid performances last year when he started in place of the injured Wimsatt.

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It makes for a dynamic of competition this spring for Rutgers football and Schiano, certainly not a bad thing at this point in the calendar.

“I thought they both did a good job and there was a couple of things they missed, but I’m pleased – I think they’re making progress,” Schiano said.

“Today wasn’t an easy day, you know, if you’re going into the wind that when was you know, you say anything over six (miles per hour) has an effect. What, it was like 12 (miles per hour) today, so it had an effect.”

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Scroll down and check out some of these photos from spring practice as Rutgers football gears up for the annual ‘Spring Game’ on Saturday!

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