Tag: Steven Beauharnais

Former Rutgers football linebacker Steven Beauharnais blasts Big Ten officials for targeting call

Former Rutgers player Steven Beauharnais reacts to Tyreem Powell’s targeting call.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Former Rutgers football linebacker Steven Beauharnais was having none of it on Saturday, questioning the Big Ten officials for the ejection of Tyreem Powell in the first half of what turned out to be an improbable win over Michigan State.

The targeting call was part of a first half that saw Rutgers spiral and get undone. While some of the issues were self-inflicted, there was also an element of the officiating that seemed difficult to justify.

Pass interference calls – two of them in fact – were called against Rutgers. On both plays, Michigan State’s wide receivers pushed off before contact came from the defensive players.

But wait, there’s more.

Twice in the first half, a Michigan State player lined up offsides. Neither time was it called. And on two occasions, the play clock appeared to expire. Those weren’t called either.

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Powell was flagged for targeting and ejected from the game in what was clearly a questionable call from the Big Ten officials. The ejection became the central talking point of the game until Rutgers began its fourth-quarter comeback in what would be a 27-24 win.

 

Beauharnais, a former standout linebacker, was a seventh-round pick of the New England Patriots in the 2013 NFL draft who spent three years in the league. At Rutgers, he was a semifinalist for the Butkus Award, given to the top linebacker in college football.

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On social media, the former Rutgers standout did not hold back his thoughts:

 

 

As for head coach Greg Schiano, his response was more restrained in his post-game comments than Beauharnais. But on the sidelines, Schiano was visibly upset with the officiating Big Ten crew.

“That’s a huge loss – I mean, Tyreem is one of our elite players,” Schiano said after the game.

“You know I can’t comment on the call; I’m confused but what are you going to do? I’ll do the process. I always do it every week. Send the plays in. It’s hard. Officiating is not easy.”

Former Rutgers linebacker Steven Beauharnais has a plan for Gavin Wimsatt next week: ‘Let him cook’

Steven Beauharnais has a plan for how Rutgers football should approach Saturday’s game against Wagner.

Steven Beauharnais has a plan for Rutgers football’s offense next week: Free Gavin Wimsatt.

The former Rutgers linebacker believes that his team needs to pass early and pass often on Saturday against Wagner. Beauharnais’ comments came after Rutgers lost 31-7 on Saturday at No. 2 Michigan.

Rutgers is now 3-1 (1-1 Big Ten) on the season.

Beauharnais released his thoughts on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. He had several thoughts during the game, but his most poignant one came after the game about the team’s offense and the play calling for Week 5.

It is time to unleash quarterback Wimsatt, Beauharnais said on X:

 

It isn’t like Wimsatt was left out of the game plan as he threw a healthy number of passes and was the brightest part of the Rutgers offense. In fact, it could be argued that the former four-star fully distinguished himself on the day.

Wimsatt finished a very solid 11-of-21 for 180 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The interception was his first turnover of the season.

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Beauharnais was a Day 3 selection of the New England Patriots in the 2013 NFL draft following his strong career at Rutgers. He played three years in the NFL.