Tag: Mo Toure

Mo Toure’s Rutgers football journey began bleak. Now, he believes the future is bright

Mo Toure reflects on the future of Rutgers football.

BRONX, N.Y. — When Mo Toure committed to Rutgers football, it was a different time and a very different place. On Thursday evening, he sat on a podium at Yankee Stadium, basking in his team’s win in the Pinstripe Bowl.

Toure, who committed to Rutgers in 2019 and then head coach Chris Ash, has emerged as one of the top linebackers in the Big Ten. Earlier this month, Toure announced he would return to Rutgers for a final season, underscoring the faith he has in the direction of this program.

And even in 2019, Toure had a belief in Rutgers, even when few others could see it.

A three-star recruit from Pleasantville, New Jersey, Toure believed he could be a leader of a movement of players from in-state to create a pipeline to Rutgers. His message to recruits looking to join Rutgers, he said, is simple.

“I’ll be honest with them. We work hard. We grind,” Toure said after the game.

“If you want to work and you want to win, come here. Rutgers is the place to be. If you are from New Jersey and you want to put on for your home state, Rutgers is the place to be.”

Toure finished the 31-24 win over Miami in the Pinstripe Bowl with eight total tackles and a sack. It is a reminder of just how much he means to the program in terms of production but also leadership.

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He had opportunities to go elsewhere, to explore other options and possibilities in the transfer portal. But the direction of Rutgers changed for him when head coach Greg Schiano was hired in December of 2019.

Buying into Schiano’s mentality and mindset, Toure has grown into one of the best and most complete defensive players in the Big Ten. That he started at such a low point with Rutgers makes him appreciate moments like Thursday.

Toure, seated on a dais following the game, barely stopped grinning during the press conference.

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“It means a lot. It’s a blessing, honestly. Being able to come back for another year and just help him grow. Come in here freshman year, it was tough going 2-10. I wasn’t used to that,” Toure said.

“All we did was work. Since coach Schiano got here, all we did was work. We brought in guys like these guys, and they’ve become my best friends. Just a blessing to have them and also have my brother (Famah Toure).”

Mo Toure believes that next year, Rutgers can have ‘the best defense in the country’

Rutgers linebacker Mo Toure believes in the direction of the defense.

Mo Toure believes that a Rutgers football defense that was among the best in the Big Ten this past year can be even better next year. The standout linebacker believes the defense can be among the best in all of college football.

Already, the likes of defensive linemen Aaron Lewis and Wesley Bailey along with linebacker Tyreem Powell have all signalled that they will return to Rutgers for another season.

Were safety Flip Dixon and cornerback Robert Longerbeam to return in 2024, then nearly the entirety of the defense would be back for Rutgers.

It would make Rutgers a tough unit, for sure. One that is talented and experienced.

And while Rutgers still has one game left to play in 2023 (the Pinstripe Bowl against Miami), Toure can’t help but look ahead and see the potential for this defense next year. The unit nicknamed ‘The Dark Side’ has the potential to be the among the brightest defenses in the country.

“My opinion we can be the best defense in the country. With who we have coming back and the pieces that we could add – this is going to be an elite defense,” Toure said on Thursday following practice.

“We played good this year but like I said, we’re family you know, we all talk on our own as players without coaches. And we tell each other every day like… watching film…’ You could have done this better. I could have done this better.’ A lot of things we could have improved on to play way faster and play just more cleaner football.”

Playing the second-toughest schedule in the nation, Rutgers had the sixth-best total defense in the Big Ten. It is a pretty solid accomplishment given that the offense is still very much of a rebuild.

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Last season, in his first full year at linebacker, Toure had 84 total tackles with 3.5 sacks and an interception.

Rutgers football: Greg Schiano gives injury updates on Moses Walker, Mo Toure and Sam Brown

There is some good news on the health front for Rutgers football this spring.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Some pretty big pieces to the Rutgers football defense are on the field and practicing. And one projected starter on offense seems to be making some steady progress as well.

Moses Walker and Mo Toure, both injured last spring, were a full-go on Tuesday nearly a year after their respective injuries. Toure, an All-Big Ten caliber linebacker, was expected to be a starter last year for Rutgers. And Walker, a former four-star recruit, was impressive last spring.

So it was good news when, on Tuesday, head coach Greg Schiano said that Toure and Walker were both on the field. And Sam Brown, who became a starter midway through his freshman season, was making progress from his season-ending injury late last October.

“Well, Moses Walker and Mo are full go. Sam is working his way back in. But they’re all like I said – two are full go and when I say they’re full go, they’re not 100% they’re working their way back to being but  I’m very encouraged there,” Schiano said on Tuesday.

“And then Sam is getting better by the day. So he’s taken a lot of mental reps and kind of what we call enacting behind the play and that kind of stuff.”

Brown was a four-star recruit out of Philadelphia. In his first collegiate start last year against Indiana, Brown had 101 rushing yards and a touchdown on 28 carries.

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