Tag: Pat Flaherty

Layton von Brandt talks Rutgers football offer

Layotn von Brandt talks about his recent Rutgers football offer.

Class of 2027 offensive lineman Layton von Brandt was offered by Rutgers football during an unofficial visit on Thursday.

At 6-foot-6 and 255 pounds, von Brandt attends Appoquinimink (West Middletown, Delaware).

Despite being a class of 2027 recruit, von Brandt holds prior offers from Charlotte and Syracuse in addition to a Rutgers offer this week.

He will visit Syracuse over the weekend.

As for his trip on Thursday, Rutgers made a good first impression on Van Brandt. He was offered at the end of his unofficial visit by head coach [autotag]Greg Schoano[/autotag].

“The facilities and support staff were top-notch,” Von Brandt told Rutgers Wire on Thursday.

“As soon as we arrived, (I) was very impressed with all of the things coach Schiano has put in place like the recovery rooms and treatment rooms and the players’ lounge. Every coach and staff member knew who I was which really made me feel valued as a player – I wasn’t just a number .

“I loved the energy of the players and coaches at practice and how organized everything was . Definitely felt like watching an NFL practice which not every school I’ve visited has.”

That NFL vibe is led by Schiano, who was a head coach for two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On staff is [autotag]Pat Flaherty[/autotag], who turned around the Rutgers football offensive line this past season.

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Flaherty spent over two decades in the NFL and won two Super Bowls with the New York Giants.

“Coach Flaherty was amazing . He’s seen and done it all at the highest level and talking ball with him and learning was awesome,” von Brandt said.

“It made me want to put pads on and get after it. And then finally meeting with coach Schiano in his office with my family and getting to know him – I could really tell he is a great leader of men and I felt like he could develop me to the player I want to ultimately be. He talked about what Rutgers means to him and how much he loved it and realized he should have never left and what his vision for the program is in the future and the values he has.

“I believe he will accomplish it and loved all of it.”

College football runs in the von Brandt bloodline.

His older brother is Ryan von Brandt, who is a 6-foot-8 tight end at VMI.

With a desire to continue his development, Hollin Pierce’s return to Rutgers football was ‘a very easy decision’

Rutgers football’s Hollin Pierce is hoping to refine his development in his final season.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — For Hollin Pierce, this last dance with Rutgers football is a chance to help the program take the next step in its rebuild. It is also ao opportunity for the All-Big Ten left tackle to take one more season to learn and develop.

Pierce’s story, from junior college to walking on at Rutgers to eventually becoming one of the Big Ten’s top offensive tackles, is an inspiring story. But there is a final chapter for Pierce to write at Rutgers, one that he hopes leads him to the NFL draft in a year’s time.

Had Pierce decided to enter the NFL draft following last year, there was a very real chance that he would have been drafted in late April.

In deciding to return to Rutgers, Pierce cites the continued progress he wants to make with his game. Getting another chance to learn and play for offensive line coach[autotag] Pat Flaherty[/autotag] factored into his decision to suit-up for Rutgers one more season.

“It was very easy to come back. I saw how much I developed, especially when a coach Flats came over,” Pierce said on Tuesday.

“I saw my development and it was like night and day looking at my past film. And I just knew I needed more time to work and just get better each and every day, you know? So it was a very easy decision.”

Pierce’s development is legendary, both on and off the field. His fitness and gains in the strength and conditioning program are the stuff of legends around Rutgers, including a massive loss in weight.

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But while Pierce checks in at a very healthy weight and has learned to better manage his diet, there is fine-tuning to his game that continues. A final season against Big Ten competition will his better his NFL draft stock for next spring.

So will another full offseason learning from one of the best offensive line coaches in college football.

Enter the aforementioned Flaherty, a veteran offensive line coach who returned to Rutgers last year. With over two decades in the NFL, Flaherty’s resume speaks for itself.

Listening to Flaherty and his NFL experience, including lessons from his two Super Bowl rings with the New York Giants, is part of the process.

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So too is continuing to work on his agility and strength.

“Last year at this time, I would say I definitely wasn’t as strong as I am now. That’s like a big thing,”  Pierce said.

“I was working on strength and like I said before, just you know, getting lower, just working on my bending. That’s just like a big thing. I probably am going to be working on bending for the rest of my career, to be honest. But that for sure is what I’m working on this stuff like that.”

Following two decades in the NFL, Pat Flaherty didn’t change his coaching style at Rutgers

Pat Flaherty says he coaches Rutgers football the same way he did his NFL players.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The success that Pat Flaherty had as Rutgers football’s offensive line coach last year can be attributed to one simple truth: He coaches all of his players the same throughout his four decades on the sidelines.

It was a tremendous job undertaken by Flaherty last season in turning around one of the worst offensive lines in college football. Rutgers ended up finishing middle of the Big Ten in most of the significant offensive categories, representing a huge step forward in the offense’s ability to function.

And it was the play of the offensive line in protecting quarterback [autotag]Gavin Wimsatt[/autotag] as well as paving the way for running back [autotag]Kyle Monangai[/autotag] that doesn’t get enough attention for a season where Rutgers finished 7-6 and beat Miami in the Pinstripe Bowl.

The improvement is noticeable, especially to those who have been embedded in the program for a while.

“I mean a lot better. A lot of guys – we have talent across the board on the o-line. Just the way we work. We work hard. Everybody’s working at things they need to work on. We’re a tight group,” senior left tackle Hollin Pierce said on Tuesday during media availability.

“We’re a tight group. I think we’re going to be a lot better.”

The impact of Flaherty on the group is clearly seen in the increased performance.

With two decades of NFL coaching experience to his resume, Flaherty has considerable clout. His two Super Bowl rings from his time with the New York Giants give him a certain cache that few college coaches have.

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When Flaherty speaks to his players, some of whom are teenagers, he point to a career that includes turning offensive linemen into All Pro players. But the biggest part of his success, he says, is found in not changing things whether he is coaching at the college level or the NFL.

“I coach these guys like any group I’ve ever coached in my career, NFL college – football is football. From that standpoint, they do a great job of wanting to learn the techniques,” Flaherty said on Tuesday.

“You know, I feel that again, they will be the best group that they can by doing the training that we can.

“And you can say, ‘Well, you can train this way in the NFL, train this way in college. I don’t believe there’s a difference in training the players.”

Off the field, the group is developing in a way that is making them a more cohesive unit. As Pierce explains it, the line is now acting as one, even away from the practice field and the team facility. It is creating a level of cohesion that wasn’t present in the year prior.

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“Since I started till now, the group’s completely different,” Pierce said.

“How we care about each other, everything we do with each other, we go out with each other. On the field, we’re always looking out for each other. Just the whole intentions of our goals and what want to do is completely different and just how we approach the field.”

Rutgers football offensive line coach Pat Flaherty is unbending in his pursuit of perfection

Rutgers football offensive line coach Pat Flaherty may be old school, but he has the attention of his players.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Even now well into his fourth decade of coaching, pat Flaherty still has pep to his step. The Rutgers football offensive line coach has seen it all and coached it all.

And perhaps most importantly for his players on the Rutgers offensive line, he has won it all.

This time a year ago, Flaherty was the only certainly in a room full of question marks. With two decades of experience as an offensive line coach in the NFL, and two Super Bowls to validate his resume, Flaherty is arguably the most accomplished offensive line coach in college football.

Replace ‘offensive line coach’ with ‘position coach’ in the previous statement and it still might ring true. Simply put, Flaherty’s resume is likely unmatched in college football, regardless of position.

But even with a storied career, no one expected Flaherty to work a miracle like he did last year.

He inherited a unit that was, arguably, the worst in college football for much of the last decade. The Rutgers line struggled at times against Group of Five schools let alone in the Big Ten.

Fast forward a year and Flaherty’s yeoman-like work was a major reason why Rutgers finished the season 7-6 and won the Pinstripe Bowl against Miami.

But last spring, there were no sure things about the offensive line. Just surety from Flaherty for the group to trust his experience.

“The offensive line last year – we started off just kind of feeling our way as a group. From day one, you know, they’ve been really locked into meetings, they want to learn, they want to learn the different techniques that we’re teaching them,” Flaherty said.

“And now it’s as a coach, it’s your job to make sure that we’re doing it with consistency day in and day out. And that’s the hardest thing for any football player is to be able to come off and just do everything and – they feel that they’re straining, but they can always strain more. And as an offensive line coach, we always preach that you can never strain enough, right? You always play it longer than your defender is what we talk about.”

Flaherty speaks with a clarity and conviction that belies the simple belief in his methods. Improvement is made, he says, through practice.

It doesn’t matter where a player is at in his career, whether college or the NFL, the art of improvement is found in repetition.

Flhaerty’s career began in 1978 at McLone Catholic High School in McSherrytown, Pennsylvania. Within two years, he was coaching the offensive line at East Stroudsburg University. The following years would see him stop at Penn State and Rutgers for seven years, before making stops at East Carolina, Wake Forest and then in 1999 for a season at Iowa.

By 2000, he was in the NFL with the Washington Commanders where he was a tight ends coach. He would end up spending over two decades in the NFL as a position coach, but he is best known for his time with the New York Giants.

Hired by the Giants in 2004, he would spend 12 years with the organization. He turned around a terrible offensive line into a group that won two Super Bowls protecting Eli Manning.

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He earned the respect of the Giants locker room with his attention to detail. He didn’t have to do much to earn the respect of his players when he arrived at Rutgers, where he had worked as a consultant prior to being named the offensive line coach last year.

The players stood and applauded when he got the job.

“The first thing that came out of my mouth, I said be ‘Be careful what you wish for.’ Have they adapted to me? I don’t know if they’ll ever adapt to me,” Flaherty said.

“Listen, as the years go in coaching, we are teachers – it is listen to the corrections, don’t listen to the tone of the corrections.”

His players refer to him lovingly as “old school” but there is a reason why Flaherty stays with the tried and true: It works.

And it has them coming back for more.

For Hollin Pierce, he returned to Rutgers for a final season despite being talked about as a potential selection in this spring’s NFL draft. The All-Big Ten left tackle said he decided to return to Rutgers to fine tune his game and get one more season under Flaherty’s guidance before heading to the NFL.

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Part of the charm for the linemen like Pierce when it comes to Flaherty is that he can rely on his experience and cite certain examples from the NFL in coaching up their individual play.

“It’s very impactful – you know, coach Flats he’s been coaching for so many years. So the stories that he’s telling us – when he’s sharing this knowledge with us it’s incredible because it’s like he just opened up my eyes or something,” Pierce said on Tuesday.

“I just never saw it that way before. I never knew how that worked like that. And it just helps so much.”

Make sure to follow Kristian Dyer for Rutgers news and information on X: @KristianRDyer 

Woody Celucien is locked in for a Rutgers football official visit, praises relationship with coach Pat Flaherty

Woody Celucien is enjoying his relationship with Rutgers football.

Woody Celucien is set to take an official visit to Rutgers this summer. It is the only one that the Florida offensive lineman has firmed up to this point.

On Thursday, Celucien confirmed on social media that he is visiting Rutgers from June 7-9.  He is a three-star offensive lineman according to On3, who rank him as the No. 92 interior offensive lineman in the nation.

Celucien holds other Power Five offers from Boston College and West Virginia. He also has been offered by Eastern Kentucky, Florida Atlantic, Toledo, UMass and Western Michigan among others.

One of the reasons why Rutgers is trending so well with Celucien is the relationship that is being formed with the coaching staff. Celucien said that head coach Greg Schiano, safeties coach Drew Lascari and offensive line coach Pat Flaherty are “building a good connection.”

Flaherty, in particular, is standing out to Celucien.

“He’s been at all the high levels, his workouts are serious – I want to work out with him,” Celucien told Rutgers Wire.

“And off the field stuff – he’s a really good person who talks about family. And (he) tells me about to become a better man.”

Flaherty has spent two decades in the NFL as an offensive line coach, most notably with the New York Giants where he won two Super Bowls. He joined Rutgers last offseason and made huge strides with the program.

Toldeo and FAU are also in the mix for official visits he tells RutgersWire. He is a 6-foot-5, 300-pound guard prospect who plays for Lety High School (Naples, Florida).

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The phone conversations with coach Flaherty aren’t frequent, but Celucien said that doesn’t matter to him.

“When we do, it’s a great conversation,” Celucien said.

Ziyare Addison on Rutgers football offer: ‘They smashed Miami in the bowl game’

Ziyare Addison breaks down his recent Rutgers football offer.

Ziyare Addison was offered by Rutgers football on Thursday, with the four-star offensive lineman already intrigued by the Big Ten program.

A  6-foot-4 and 280-pound offensive tackle from Sumner High School (Riverview, Florida), Addison was offered both by Rutgers and USC on Wednesday. He is ranked as the No. 244 player in the nation.

An offer list that includes Duke, Florida, Florida State, Louisville, Miami,  Oklahoma and Ole Miss among others speaks to a recruitment that continues to grow for Addison.

Wednesday’s offer by Rutgers is one that Addison already has done his homework on.

“Came by my school before the dead period. [autotag]Mark Orphey[/autotag] – the cornerbacks coach – said they were going to go back and watch my film,” Addison told Rutgers Wire.

“He loved my length and athleticism but had to talk to the offensive staff and the head coach. Once we all connected on the phone – the offered was triggered. The one thing about coach Greg Schiano – he used to coach for the Bucs (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and coached at Berkeley Prep.”

Schiano, after two years as head coach in the NFL with the Buccaneers, volunteered as a coach at Berkeley Prep (Tampa, Florida).

One of the intriguing parts for Addison is [autotag]Pat Flaherty[/autotag]. In his second season back at Rutgers, Flaherty has one of the best resumes of any position coach in college football.

He spent over two decades in the NFL as an offensive line coach, where he won two Super Bowls with the New York Giants.

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Last year, Flaherty did a miracle job with the Rutgers offensive line, turning around a unit that had been the worst in the Big Ten the last five years into a group that paved the way for the Big Ten’s leading rusher, [autotag]Kyle Monangai[/autotag].

Addison said that Flaherty “is a guru (with) over 15 plus years in the league.”

The offer from Rutgers is new, but Addison is aware of the Big Ten program and the rebuilding project under Schiano.

“They smashed Miami in the bowl game. Plus the head coach has a proven track record of players in the NFL,” Addison said.

“Plus, he was a NFL head coach. Loved the energy they played with against Miami in the bowl.”

Rutgers defeated Miami 31-24 in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl. Rutgers finished the season 7-6 (3-6 Big Ten) while playing the second-toughest schedule in college football.

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In the bowl game, the offensive line was impressive against Miami. They didn’t give up a sack and they opened up holes for Monangai to run for 163 yards and a touchdown.

Monangai was named the bowl game’s MVP.

Of the four toughest schedules in college football, Rutgers was the only team to make a bowl game.

Gabriel Osenda is intrigued by last week’s Rutgers football offer

Gabriel Osenda updates his recruitment, talks Rutgers football offer.

On Friday, Rutgers football offered Gabriel Osenda. The offensive lineman from Florida counts Rutgers as his second Power Five offer.

He is a 6-foot-7, 300-pound offensive tackle prospect from Clearwater International Academy (Clearwater, Florida). Rutgers joins an offer list that also includes Cal and Nevada.

Last season, Osenda was impressive for a Clearwater team that was 5-5.

Because he is a 2026 prospect, Rutgers was unable to directly communicate the offer to him. Osenda’s coach at Clearwater told him about the Big Ten program offering on Friday

He passed on to Osenda that Rutgers had offered and that it is a “really good academic school.”

Over the weekend, Osenda broke down what he has learned about Rutgers since the Friday offer.

“I’ve done some research on the school,” Osenda told Rutgers Wire.

“I’ve seen it’s on the Raritan River which is pretty cool and seen videos of the campus which looks beautiful.”

Osenda is familiar with the program a bit, having seen some of their games this past season. Rutgers, while playing the second-toughest schedule in college football, finished their season 7-6 (3-6 Big Ten).

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In the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl, they beat Miami in a game where the offensive line was a very effective unit.

“I’ve watched their games – they like to run the ball and I like that the trenches get down and get aggressive,” Osenda said.

“Playing in one of the best conferences in college football – (the offer) it’s a huge accomplishment for me.”

And while Osenda is just starting to learn about Rutgers, he does have some familiarity as well with [autotag]Pat Flaherty[/autotag].

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Now in his second season at Rutgers, Flaherty transformed the Rutgers line in 2023. He inherited a unit that was the worst in the Big Ten (and perhaps in the Power Five) and diligently coached up the group to be a solid group that held their own.

Flaherty has extensive experience as an NFL offensive line coach, with two Super Bowl rings as part of his two decades in the league.

“His resume speaks for itself coaching six different NFL teams and than four Power 5 college teams means he knows how to coach at all different levels,” Osenda said.

“It’s definitely a given that he will develop the players under him.”

Osenda is hoping to visit some schools local to Florida in the next couple of months as he continues to ramp up his recruitment.

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“Not really eyeing any (visits) since I’m still young,” Osenda said.

“So just building relationships now but I’ve gone on visits to University Of Florida, UCF, and Florida State”

Rutgers football recruiting: A Pennsylvania standout got a chopper visit from Greg Schiano

Greg Schiano took a helicopter to visit Pennsylvania offensive lineman Michael Carroll.

Michael Carroll got the chopper treatment from Rutgers football and head coach Greg Schiano on Tuesday.

Rutgers has made Carroll a priority recruit.

One of the nation’s premier offensive linemen, Carroll is a 6-foot-6, 295-pound offensive tackle from Central Bucks East  (Glenside, Pennsylvania). Carroll has a strong offer list that includes Baylor, Boston College, Cincinnati Maryland, Michigan State, Penn State, Rutgers, South Carolina, Virginia Tech and West Virginia among others.

His most recent offer came earlier in January from Kentucky.

Rivals ranks him as the No. 229 player in the nation and Pennsylvania’s sixth-best recruit in the 2025 class.

On Tuesday, Schiano took his helicopter to visit Carroll. The helicopter is used by Rutgers to make a splash and it certainly appears to have done just that.

 

Also on the visit along with Schiano were wide receivers coach [autotag]Damiere Shaw[/autotag] and offensive line coach [autotag]Pat Flaherty[/autotag].

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The work done by Flaherty this past season at Rutgers was borderline miraculous. In his first season at Rutgers, Flaherty turned what had been one of the worst offensive lines in college football the previous five seasons into a solid unit in the Big Ten.

The play and development of the line under Flaherty is a major reason why Rutgers finished 7-6 (3-5 Big Ten) and won the Pinstripe Bowl against Miami.

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The helicopter used by Schiano on recruiting visits is paid for using private funds and donations that are separate from the athletic department’s budget.

Michael Troutman on where things stand with Rutgers football

Michael Troutman III talks about where things stand with Rutgers and Penn State.

One of New Jersey’s top prospects in the 2024 class is intrigued by Rutgers football. Michael Troutman III sees Rutgers as trending up both on the field and in his recruitment.

An offensive lineman at DePaul Catholic (Wayne, New Jersey), Troutman is the No. 21 player in New Jersey according to On3. He is a three-star prospect and has a strong list of offers that includes Boston College, Duke, Illinois, Michigan State, Penn State, Pittsburgh and Texas A&M among others.

On Sunday, Troutman will be one of several dozen blue chip recruits who will be on the Rutgers campus for an unofficial visit.

“They’re going pretty well, I talk to them regularly,” Troutman told Rutgers Wire of his relationship with the Scarlet Knights.

“Definitely, how consistent they are when you hear from them, it’s not a once-in-a-while thing. I talk to the staff regularly.”

The relationship with Rutgers is a strong one, and the relationship with coach [autotag]Pat Flaherty[/autotag] is definitely a growing one.

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Flaherty’s first season with Rutgers saw the offensive line coach transform the unit. A former offensive line coach in the NFL for two decades, Flaherty won two Super Bowls with the New York Giants.

“Coach Flats is a great coach, he’s the kind of coach you can call and football won’t be the only thing talked about. He genuinely has conversations with the people he talks to,” Troutman said.

“Our most recent call was just about life and things like that. Really, just a catch-up kind of thing. And we were talking about the basketball game this weekend.”

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Troutman will be at Rutgers this weekend and at Penn State for a visit the first weekend of February.

“I’m still getting to know the new coaches but I have a good relationship with the staff that’s been there,” Troutman said.

Four-star offensive tackle Owen Strebig is offered by Rutgers football

Owen Strebig gets offered by Rutgers football on Monday.

One of the top offensive linemen in the nation was offered by Rutgers football on Monday. Owen Strebig, the top recruit in Wisconsin in the 2025 class, saw Rutgers officially join his recruitment.

Strebig is a 6-foot-8, 290-pound offensive lineman from Catholic Memorial (Waukesha, Wisconsin).

He is the No. 135 player in the ESPN 300 and is ranked the No. 17 offensive tackle in the country.

His offer list is impressive and includes Florida, Florida State, Illinois, Miami, Michigan, Notre Dame and Wisconsin among others. This past weekend, he was on an unofficial visit to Notre Dame

Strebig posted about the offer on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. He tagged Rutgers head coach [autotag]Greg Schiano[/autotag] and tight ends coach [autotag]Andrew Aurich[/autotag]:

 

Rutgers has the benefit of using [autotag]Pat Flaherty[/autotag] as a recruiting weapon in their pursuit of blue-chip offensive linemen.

Flaherty spent over two decades in the NFL as an offensive line coach, most famously reshaping and remaking the New York Giants offensive line into a unit that was dramatically improved and won two Super Bowl titles.

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Now in his second season back at Rutgers, Flaherty did an incredible job in 2023 as he re-made the offensive line into a solid Big Ten unit. Rutgers, as an offense, went from the bottom of the Big Ten in nearly every statistical category into the middle of the conference’s rankings.

The jump was made in large part due to Flaherty’s tremendous job in improving the offensive line.