Rutgers ended the 2022 season on a major downswing.
After a perfect run through their non-conference slate, the Scarlet Knights lost eight of their nine Big Ten games, finishing with a 4-8 record overall, one less win than the previous 2021 campaign. Pin it on the consistent injury issues, an unprecedented mid-season staff change by head coach Greg Schiano, a severe lack of talent compared to their peers or coaching deficiencies across the board, the fact is that Rutgers took a step back this fall.
Schiano believes it is a “dip” in the non-linear program-building process.
“I look forward to working with this team and getting to where we know we’re going to get to,” Schiano said following a season-ending 37-0 loss to Maryland. “I’ve been here before. We’ll get it done. We’re going to get it done. It starts with me, I’ve got to look at myself. And then I’ve got to look at everything in this program and decide where we go, what direction, how we do things. But certainly we will examine everything. It’s not a lot different than what we did the first time here. There’s going to be dips. There’s going to be some peaks. It’s not a linear process but very, very confident we’ll get there.”
Here are five offseason priorities to address for Rutgers to head in the right direction:
Nailing the offensive coordinator hire, with perhaps more staff changes
Interim offensive coordinator Nunzio Campanile was given a nine-week job interview for the position, but aside from two good outings against Indiana and Michigan State’s dreadful defenses, he could not create much buzz around his candidacy.
In his six games at the helm, Rutgers averaged 12 points per game and was shut out twice, averaged 229 yards while failing to break the 200-yard mark three times, had 135 passing yards or less four times and rushed for less than 50 yards four times. The horrendous showing in Saturday’s season finale in College Park — 135 total yards and zero points against the 10th ranked defense in the Big Ten — may have been the nail in his candidacy’s coffin.
So what’s next for the position?
Schiano did not divulge any timeline for the process in his postgame press conference Saturday, saying he would first “examine everything” about the program. Curiously, Schiano twice pointed to himself, saying he “does not need to do this anymore” and that he will question whether “I still want to do this” and if he is “a good enough coach to do this.” But those remarks appeared to be him rhetorically saying the program examination process begins with him rather than an insinuation that he will step aside in what would be a shocking retirement or resignation.
Schiano did leave the possibility of making other changes across the coaching staff open, saying evaluating the coaching staff will be a priority given it is “time-sensitive” given college football is in “hiring mode” as it moves into the offseason.
The offensive coordinator hire will be the most crucial staff decision yet of his second stint in Piscataway. He nailed his second defensive coordinator hire last offseason with Joe Harasymiak, who had a strong first season in Piscataway this fall. Doing so on the other side of the ball is crucial for the Scarlet Knights, who cannot take a step forward as a program until its offensive woes are fixed.
Maintaining key young players, staff members
The Scarlet Knights have a strong core of potential-filled young players who shined this season, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. Schiano said Saturday that 45 players who participated in Big Ten games have at least two years of eligibility remaining, and that includes program cornerstones like quarterback Gavin Wimsatt, defensive ends Wesley Bailey (3.5 sacks; eight tackles for loss) and Aaron Lewis (1.5 sacks; eight TFLs), linebacker Tyreem Powell (three sacks; six TFLs) and star true freshman running back Samuel Brown.
Keeping as many of its young stars as possible in Piscataway in an era of unprecedented player movement is paramount for Rutgers to avoid a major step back in its build. And holding onto Harasymiak, who has surely garnered some attention after his successful first season at Rutgers, will be just as crucial.
Developing Gavin Wimsatt
The redshirt freshman is perhaps the most important player for the Scarlet Knights to maintain this offseason. Rutgers feels good about that possibility, with Schiano saying on Saturday that he “certainly anticipates” Wimsatt being on the roster next fall.
To that end, his development will be vital to the Scarlet Knights fixing the dreadful offense that held them back this season. Wimsatt showed in his five starts this season that needs to grow in multiple areas, and helping him do so will be the main objective for whoever Schiano ends up hiring at offensive coordinator. Rutgers needs its quarterback of the future to become the quarterback of the present sooner rather than later.
Bolstering deficient position groups
Wimsatt’s struggles were not entirely his own doing.
His supporting cast was lacking across multiple areas, and the Scarlet Knights need to help their young quarterback out by getting him some help in those positions.
- Tight End
Rutgers got very little production at the position. Starter Johnny Langan caught 31 passes for 296 yards and a touchdown, but showed some major struggles. Langan led the Big Ten and ranked third nationally among tight ends in drops (six), caught just 32 of the 61 passes thrown his way (52.5% receiving percentage) and committed a killer fumble in a blowout loss to Penn State.
Senior tight end Matt Alaimo made just two catches for 13 yards after getting targeted six times in nine appearances this season, while junior Victor Konopka had one catch for 17 yards before suffering an undisclosed injury that kept him out of the final nine games of the season.
Langan, who has another year of eligibility and did not participate in the team’s Senior Day ceremony, did not signal his future plans in his latest meeting with the media last week. Alaimo has another year of eligibility, but considering he participated in the team’s Senior Day ceremony and spent a long year dealing with injury, he could potentially move on. Konopka has three years of eligibility remaining after redshirting this season.
No matter who returns, this is the position that most desperately needs improvement. The Scarlet Knights failed to land a transfer tight end out of the portal last offseason, and falling short once again would signal another season with a significantly limited passing attack.
- Offensive line
The Scarlet Knights will lose starting guard/tackle J.D. DiRenzo, who exhausted his eligibility in his only season in Piscataway, and he may not be the last. Fellow transfers Willie Tyler and Curtis Dunlap both have another year of eligibility left, but whether they elect to use it is a different story. Tyler participated in the team’s Senior Day ceremony last week, which does not necessarily mean he is moving on, but it is worth noting.
Regardless of who stays and goes, Rutgers needs to continue building the unit, which Schiano repeatedly said was “improving, but not where we need to be” this season. The unit struggled to protect the quarterback, allowing 14 sacks and 107 pressures on 374 pass plays (28.5%) per ProFootballFocus, and could not establish the run against rush defenses that ranked in the top half of the Big Ten, with Rutgers rushing for a combined 155 yards on 99 carries (1.57 yards per carry; 38.75 yards per game) against Michigan (No. 1), Penn State (3), Iowa (5) and Minnesota (6).
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The Scarlet Knights have handfuls of young offensive linemen they brought in during Schiano’s first two recruiting classes, with true freshman Kobe Asemoah already making the first three starts of his career at the end of the season, but a majority of them are not ready to play regular roles just yet. Attacking the portal for another offensive lineman or two is a must.
- Wide Receiver
Rutgers’ three most productive receivers — seniors Sean Ryan, Shameen Jones and Aron Cruickshank, who accounted for 58.3% of their team’s receiving yards — all exhausted their eligibility this season, leaving a huge hole to plug. And while there are some promising young prospects on the roster like sophomore Chris Long and freshman Rashad Rochelle, there is no doubt that the Scarlet Knights — which had the worst passing attack in the Big Ten during conference play (157.9 yards per game) — desperately need to acquire some proven talent at the position. Grabbing at least one wide receiver through the transfer portal is an absolute must, but ideally, Rutgers adds two or three of them.
Clean up penalty issues
Rutgers averaged eight penalties per game against FBS opponents this season, which ranked 128th out of 131 FBS teams nationally, per TeamRankings. From where they stand as a program, the Scarlet Knights have a slim margin of error in most games they enter, so they cannot afford to shoot themselves in the foot that frequently. That was clear in one-score losses to Nebraska (nine penalties) and Michigan State (14 penalties), as well as narrow wins over Boston College (10) and Temple (10).
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Brian Fonseca may be reached at bfonseca@njadvancemedia.com.
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