Greg Schiano Previews #Akron Game -- #Rutgers Scarlet Knights Football

okay guys appreciate you uh coming out it's um on to week two the akran season um I watched got a chance to watch a lot of college football this weekend and obviously watched watch that Ohio State game um I thought akan played really well defensively they present some issues their scheme is one that uh is a little bit different uh reminds me a little bit of when Jim Lenard was at Wisconsin that that kind of that kind of scheme I know there's some connection there with the coordinator playerwise you know they're Stout up front defensively inside they're big they're 300 plus pounds and then the 19 the Nunley kid I think is active off the edge number 40 I think McCoy's name the line Packer he's a he's a good player um you know very active in the secondary I think their DBS are pretty good uh the safety I think it's number nine Lewis he he's an active player long good-looking kid and then uh golden Nelson number three I thought he was uh he showed up the kid who I think is a kind of a ball Hawk is 24 the Nickelback I believe his name is Lewis so they they have a they have what I thought a very active defense they they gave Ohio State you know you look at the score and say well they didn't give him a lot of they gave him some problems up front what they were doing uh defensively so we're going to have to really work hard to to be able to move the ball um when you look at the offense uh their quarterback Finley number 10 I thought he was doing some good things and then he got injured so I don't know what the status will be uh someone that we're very famili with Taj bulock who's a New Jersey kid um was playing in a two quarterback system and then they when he got hurt Taj became the sole quarterback I thought he did a he did a good job he's a very athletic guy that uh presents problems both running and throwing so we're going to have our hands full there I thought they tight end 88 um can't remember his name Newell maybe I thought he had he has uh he has he's a big kid and and does some good things and then uh number four I forget his name gold golden maybe uh you could see he's speed he has he's their speed guy um at the receiver position and then the offensive line is big uh 300 pound plus across the board now the center might not be depending who plays but um you know the guards and the tackles are big so uh you know Joe Morehead is an accomplished Coach Joe is uh you know we've competed with Joe when he was at Connecticut and then again at Ohio or at Penn State when I was at Ohio State he's an excellent coach his teams are always well coached um they always have some wrinkles that you're not ready for uh so I said already defensively schematically they present some issues offensively um you know you know Joe's always going to have him prepared so that's what we're up against and we got to you know we got to take care of our business uh opening game we learned a lot about our team learning a lot about our team um that's what that's what early season's about you figure out where you're good enough where you're not try to make some adjustments um I thought our guys as I mentioned Thursday night they chopped through the game it wasn't smooth they just kept chopping through it and ultimately the you know succeeded um you know now we're headed on to to the akan season and everything we got will be poured into this season and see where it leaves us I mentioned it late in the press conference on Thursday but I thought our student section was awesome I thought it was a force um and I think that quite frankly they had a lot of fun but now they've set the standard and just like you know I always say around here the standard is the standard well the student section set the standard we need them and I'm looking forward to seeing them again Saturday I really think our whole crowd are starting to find their Collective voice and uh this could get interesting is if we can do our part I think our fans are going to do their part so uh I'm excited about that so with that uh open it up for questions St with kaj Sanders what did he show you in the spring and then in training camp that allowed him to continue to improve and then earn that starting spot the other day yeah that's a good question um kaj is a very gifted athlete right when you watch him play in high school and even now he could be playing on the offensive side of the ball he's that kind of athlete uh we think that safety is his best position but he he's he's fast he's uh athletic he's got instincts and he's just got to learn you know he just what the only thing he lacks is experience so he'll keep getting that and and hopefully continue to get better and better you mentioned Taj Bullock being familiar with him his story as a New Jersey guy what did you learn about him uh and did you personally recruit like recruit him um as a high school Prospect we did yeah we we were involved in the recruitment he ended up going to Virginia Tech um but yeah we we he's St Peter's prep kid and um you know I have a lot of respect for him he's very tough he is a tough hard worker um yeah I got to see his dad his dad was at the seven on seven this summer and we were we were talking a little bit but I always had a lot of respect for Taj the way he carries himself the way he approaches the game so uh again I don't know who's going to be you know who's going to be the quarterback who's or who's going to play what but uh we'll be ready for both coach What specifically is something that Ruckers can improve on against akan oh that list is a long long list yeah we have a laundry list of things we have to improve on um special teams wise we had new people kicking off new person long snapping new person puning um so we had some glitches there we have to improve on um we had a new person returning a true freshman uh and Ben black and as you go back and look at it Ben had an opportunity there that we just didn't quite see it correctly but he will eventually and when he does he he'll be a force um so we have a lot of things special teams wise we got to work on we missed two real opportunities in the punt block game which we can't afford to do right we spend time on it we got to cash in on it um offensively you know I think we learned more about our offensive line we learned more about our receiving core um obviously we have a new quarterback so learned more about what it's like to go into under pressure with him you know we've been in practice and things but it's always different during the game and then defensively I think we learned about some young linebackers we learned about a young safety to Chris's uh point and then we learned about our young linebackers you know with with both our starters down uh DJ deomi stepped in as well as Moses Walker and some others you know Timmy Hein speeder stepped in there uh Abram Wright stepped in there so it was good to see that up front um you know you got a a chance to see some young guys jump in there and play a little bit so we learned a lot we know we have a lot to work on we were out there last night practicing uh which one of the benefits of a of a Thursday game now the players are off today um you know today is a big day because tomorrow they start school and uh that's when things get really interesting for the whole month of August really end of July month of August it's just been football and now here comes you know at ruter as I say to you guys all the time it's quite a challenge it's a challenging school one of the top schools in America and uh our guys have to compete and I'm really proud of the way they have competed after summer school again we continue to set new highs we had the highest team GPA cumulative in the history of Ruckers football and that's something that I'm very proud of and uh we just got to keep keep going and uh as we start classes now tomorrow it's a whole new semester just like football right you're you're only as good as your last play or your last your last class and we got to make sure our guys understand that you guys had 14 pressures against Howard one sack are you concerned with the sack numbers or is it a matter of continuing that level of pressure and turning those into sacks yeah certainly concerned uh that quarterback is as mobile as any quarterback we'll see in the Big 10 I mean he was he could really move there was a couple times he got into space with our guys and we couldn't catch him right so he's a very Talent ented young man uh but we're going to see another one this week right so uh it seems to be the way the way college football's headed and uh you better have a good plan and you got to get them on the ground and hopefully get them on the ground and get the ball out so yeah we have to get better in that area I think overall defensive front uh we played solid but we didn't play up to our our expectation and we will I know it's only one game but I guess what's your assessment so far the way the old line performed and now that there's some continu at that position at that unit how much do you how valuable is that do you kind of feel like that's fueling any Improvement that that group might have well I think as you know as an o line as the pieces play together more and more they're a cohesive unit and there was a couple times Howard did some really good things schematically on defense I thought they did a great job and uh plug some gaps you know some some of the blitzes they showed one and came in other areas so hats off to them uh but I think our guys did a good good job of picking up a lot of stuff and passing it off and that's all communication related that's all being comfortable with one another so now can we can we keep getting better each and every week that's going to be the key and can you keep your your group healthy can those five guys keep showing up each week because if they can they really get into a Groove as as one Antoine Raymond what did you see from him uh that performance can you just kind of take us through unusual way to get here right early and rolly as early as he was well it all you know you're right Antoine Raymond I thought was very impressive but we've seen that we've seen that uh in the summer in training camp um but very interesting way he came you know he was at Clearwater Academy down in Florida and they dropped their program so kind of the guys were all scrambling and we knew or we C we came to know that he was going to be eligible to graduate and if he wanted to reclass and come out in 24 we we had a scholarship available for him and he he decided to do that he and his mom and so excited you know she she and the his sister and his girlfriend they all came down to the game and as I was leaving late Thursday night after doing a lot of recruits and things they were still here and it was great to see just the Joy on their face you that's the fun part of of college coaching is you see the families just so involved invested and enjoying the success of their sons or their brothers or their boyfriend and that was that's the that's the pure part of it that uh that you know keeps a guy like me coming back for more because it was really cool to see so now he's got a lot of work to do but he's a talented young man for more um Troy Rainey was unavailable last game it seemed like he was having a nice summer what's his status and um what can you update there yeah I'm going to just for the rest of the year so you guys know I'm going to just defer to the availability report if there's a season end injury I'll let you know because I know that's something that you got to you know is a timely deal but other than that I think the the availability report kind of cleans it up for me and it you know again it'll be a competitive disadvantage until we get into Big 10 Play Because Akon's not required to do it but we are two hours before kickoff so uh I'm not complaining I'm just saying that so that's that's something that I'll lean back or lean into is is our kind of way to communicate injuries and things two quick ones quarterback I'll ask them separately so they don't get mucked up uh what does it do for you when you have a quarterback that can complete aan completed a majority of his passes what does it do for you when you have a quarterback that is efficient accurate in the passing game how does that open up the offense well I I agree I thought Athan was efficient in in his in his passing and um it makes you more confident to throw the football for sure um but it allows you to have kind of a I know for Kirk it allows him to kind of be able to ham and egg the play calling a little bit more which you know each week's different depending on what the defense gives you but uh yeah I was again it's one game let's not get in front of ourselves but I was I was uh pleased with not only the way he played Athan but the way he prepared all training camp and in the spring I think he's done a good job of coming in here as a newcomer and just kind of putting his head down and working and by doing that I think he's established himself as a leader in our program it might might have been matchup dependent no passes Beyond 20 yards no real deep attempts in this game are you guys confident that when that time comes that you do need you know some deep passes stretching the field that Athan is going to be able to do that for you guys yeah I'm very confident of that and we had a couple called uh we got pressured on one of them actually on two of them and then a third one they kind of threw a coverage at us that wasn't you know didn't really fit for the play call so uh yeah but we'll push the ball down the field athan's very good at doing that so I'm not concerned but uh you're right we got to we got to hit them right until you hit them they they're not a threat well guys I appreciate it and again uh you know I always appreciate the way you cover our team so thanks for coming out and uh we'll see you later this week [Music] hey hey hey