Behind Enemy Lines: Rutgers
Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)Publisher
Boston College opens the 2022 season against Rutgers Saturday afternoon.
BC has won its last 11 games against the Scarlet Knights, a streak that started in 1995. The Greg Schiano rebuild is in full force. Rutgers is coming off its first five-plus-win season since 2014, with a pair of top-40 recruiting classes now in the building.
The problem is, Rutgers has a tougher schedule this time around. Plus, there are still question marks about a few major position groups, namely quarterback.
Here at Eagle Action, we reached out to The Knight Report publisher Richard Schnyderite to learn more about Rutgers.
Q: What are some of the biggest storylines coming out of Rutgers fall camp?
Schnyderite: The biggest storyline has been can the new look offensive line group improve enough to give the quarterback some time for a change. Rutgers added four transfer portal offensive linemen this offseason in JD DiRenzo, Curtis Dunlap, Willie Tyler and Mike Ciaffoni along with seven more via the high school route, so this unit as a whole has seen some serious turnover. Not to mention they also have a new coach in former Boston College Eagle Augie Hoffman, who switched spots with fellow assistant coach Andrew Aurich this offseason, going from RBs coach to OL coach. Now they are much bigger from left to right, but the main question is will they be better? It's definitely still a work in progress along the offensive line, but can they give the quarterback an extra second or two?
Q: Who will be starting under center Week 1, and, if it's Noah Vedral, what is the length of his leash? How likely is it that Gavin Wimsatt plays this year?
Schnyderite: That's a very good question, but let's not count out Evan Simon just yet as this is a true three-quarterback battle. Each of them has had both good days and bad days throughout both spring and training camp. They all bring something different to the table, but honestly none of them have stepped up more than the other to earn the job. Even Schiano himself hinted on Monday that he could possibly play multiple quarterbacks, something that he has done in the past.
"Whatever it takes to give us the best chance to win. And I say I—Sean [Gleeson], myself and the offensive staff, if we feel that's the best way to win a game, then we'll play multiple guys. If not, we'll just play one."
Q: Aside from the quarterback situation, what is the biggest question facing this Rutgers' offense? How about the unit's biggest strength?
As I said before, the offensive line is still a giant question mark. Yes there are a ton of new faces there and yes they are definitely much bigger in size, but is bigger always better? Transfers JD DiRenzo is making the leap from Sacred Heart up to the Big Ten, Willie Tyler goes from ULM to the Big Ten, Mike Ciaffoni and Ireland Brown are converted defensive linemen, so, at the end of the day, are they better? Only time will tell. A lot will also depend on how these guys can gel as well, because, as we all know, every lineman is only as good as his entire unit.
Q: Who are three players to know on Rutgers' defense and why?
Schnyderite: CB Malachi Melton — He is easily the best player on this defense and will be an early draft pick as long as things fall his way in 2022. He will be CB1 for the Scarlet Knights this season and did the same last year before getting involved in some off the field stuff that forced him to miss a few games. End of the day, he is a lengthy cornerback prospect that has proved time and time again that he can compete with the best of them. Expecting a big season out of him this year.
OLB Tyreem Powell — Easily the Scarlet Knights' top linebacker who is molded into that new-age linebacker that can do it all, including a little bit of pass coverage at times if need be. This offseason he added some significant muscle and is expected to be the top guy in this unit. Now, he will have some serious shoes to fill as former linebacker Olakunle Fatukasi was one of the best linebackers in not only the conference, but also the country during his time on the banks.
DE Aaron Lewis — The Michigan transfer has been working behind a couple of different guys over the past few seasons, but his time is now. He is a tall, lengthy defensive end that uses his long wingspan to get around guys on the edge. With top defensive lineman Mohamed Toure out for the season, Lewis is now expected to be the top outside guy for the Scarlet Knights this season and one could argue he will lead the team in sacks. Also, he was high school teammates with BC edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku.
Q: What's the biggest misconception about this year's team?
Schnyderite: That the wide receiver room will be worse without Bo Melton. Yes, Melton has been the team's only true receiving threat for a good part of the past three or more seasons, but with him now in the NFL, there is a lot of speculation as to who will step up, if anyone at all. I think you could make a solid argument that this year's group is better than last year's. The team added two very good portal guys in Taj Harris out of Syracuse and Sean Ryan from West Virginia. For starters, Harris was a stud at Syracuse in 2020 where he had 733 yards and five touchdowns and he was on pace for another big year in 2021 before he quit on his team midseason. Regardless, the potential is there for him to explode for a big year on the banks. On the other side, Ryan is a tall receiving threat that Rutgers hasn't had in a long time. He is listed 6-foot-3 and has very good hands, which could make him a prime red zone target. Add in Aron Cruickshank returning for another year in the slot and this unit has some serious potential. They just need to protect the quarterback long enough to get them the ball.
Q: What does the Greg Schiano timeline look like for Rutgers fans? What is a successful 2022 season for the program?
Schnyderite: This is a very long rebuild, both fans and admin alike all agree on that front. I'm not sure there is a specific timeline as to when you can expect Rutgers to be back to making a bowl game almost annually like Schiano had them back in the mid to late 2000s, but I think it's very possible that could start as early as the 2023 and 2024 seasons if development continues.
This season shouldn't be defined by wins and losses, rather it should be defined about making progress at key positions. The offense as a whole needs to show some signs of improvement, whether that be the offensive linemen progressing or the quarterback's developing. Overall, this is year three under the same OC, so this offense needs to show it's headed in the right direction. I'm not saying they need to score 30-plus points per game, but they sure as hell can't finish near the 120s or worse this season.
Q: Finish the following sentence, Rutgers will win this game if…
Schnyderite: They protect the quarterback and establish their dominance in the trenches. If the Scarlet Knights can get to Phil Jurkovec and attack the new look BC line early and often, I think they can get him out of his groove and make him throw up some not so smart passes.
Now, as I said before, they have to win on both sides of the trenches, so even if they make Jurkovec uncomfortable, they also have to win the battle up front on offense. They have a decent group of running backs that, if given holes, could make some noise and, if the quarterback—whoever it is—gets protection, then the sky's the limit here.
Q: Prediction for the game and why?
Schnyderite: I don't think this is a secret, as I've been saying it all offseason, but Rutgers lost a lot of talent from the past season to both graduation and the NFL. They lost their top rusher, top receiver and top tackler in Isaih Pacheco (Chiefs), Bo Melton (Seahawks) and Olakunle Fatukasi (Bucs). On top of that, similar to Boston College, they will likely trot out at least three new faces along the offensive line, so who knows how those guys will gel especially since they also have a new O-Line coach in Augie Hoffman. Now add in the fact that they suffered injuries to guys who were expected to be key contributors in DE Mohamed Toure (top pass rusher in 2021) and Moses Walker (four-star freshman) and you can see why I'm not all that confident in the Scarlet Knights.
Could the influx of transfers along the offensive line and wide receiver room gel quickly and become studs? Yes they definitely can, but this Rutgers offense ranked 120th in points per game last season, and they lost some key players, so, with that being said, I'm going to go with Boston College here.
