Five big takeaways from Rutgers football's 1st winning season in a decade
A season that began with many prognosticators calling for a maximum of five wins for Rutgers football ended with seven victories, a Pinstripe Bowl win and the program’s best campaign in a decade.
By nearly every measure, it was a successful 2023 for the Scarlet Knights.
Coach Greg Schiano and his coordinators received contract extensions. Most of the team’s most impactful players announced they’d be returning for one more season, including Rutgers’ first 1,000-yard rusher in 11 years.
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Was it all perfect?
Of course not. The Scarlet Knights still have areas that need improvement heading into the 2024 season.
But there’s plenty to build off.
Here are five key takeaways from this season:
1. The defense was stellar, and has a chance to get even better
It didn’t really come as a surprise that Joe Harasymiak’s unit shined. Rutgers’ defense was the team’s strength in 2022, also.
But the Scarlet Knights still met expectations and in some ways, surpassed them.
Rutgers has the 30th-ranked scoring defense in the country (21.2 points allowed per game), the 10th-ranked passing defense (176.3 yards), the 41st-ranked run defense (137.2) and the 17th-ranked total defense (313.5).
And the good news for Rutgers?
Nearly all of the defensive starters will be back in 2024, including linebackers Mohamed Toure and Tyreem Powell, safety Flip Dixon, cornerback Robert Longerbeam and defensive ends Aaron Lewis and Wesley Bailey.
The Scarlet Knights’ defense has a chance to be dominant next season.
“I'm excited about our defense,” Schiano said after his team’s 31-24 win over Miami in the Pinstripe Bowl on Thursday. ‘We were able to keep Coach Harasymiak here. He had a lot of attention, a lot of opportunities to leave. He decided to stick around with us, which is huge. He's a great coach, has a great staff. (Linebackers) Coach (Corey) Hetherman really did a great job, (cornerbacks) Coach (Mark) Orphey, you go down the staff, (safeties) Coach (Drew) Lascari. You're talking about really good football coaches that are getting a lot out of these guys. I tell you what, the players, they believe in them. They believe in what they're being taught.”
2. The emergence of Kyle Monangai as the Big Ten’s leading rusher
How many people would’ve predicted the Scarlet Knights having the conference’s leading rusher?
Probably not many.
But Don Bosco Prep product Kyle Monangai, who’s always run with toughness and physicality, had an outstanding season, finishing with 1,262 yards on 242 carries (5.2 yards per attempt) with eight touchdowns. He was Rutgers' first 1,000-yard rusher since Jawan Jamison in 2012.
For an offense that wants to run the ball, Monangai was a weapon and a difference maker.
And he’ll be back in 2024 to build off of it, choosing to postpone a shot at the NFL for one more year.
“I think I was able to build on a lot of things,” Monangai said. “I think I set out a lot of goals for myself and I was able to accomplish them. Not all of them, but some. It was great to be in a role that a lot of guys look to me in leadership, being a captain for the first time. A lot of guys, like I said, leaning on me just to make a play or even just for that boost to just be a leader. It's something to build off of going into this offseason and for next year. But I think I did some things well, but like I said, it's stuff to build off of.”
One of the big reasons Monangai was able to have a big season was because of…
3. An improved offensive line
Schiano last offseason turned to veteran offensive line coach Pat Flaherty, who helped the Giants win two Super Bowls while working for Tom Coughlin, to stabilize an inconsistent unit.
Flaherty did that and more, turning a major question mark into a competent, competitive Big Ten offensive line.
Later in the season, with the return of Reggie Sutton, the Scarlet Knights found a combination that worked: left tackle Hollin Pierce, left guard Bryan Felter, center Gus Zilinskas, right guard Curtis Dunlap and Sutton at right tackle.
Rutgers will need to replace Dunlap and Sutton, but Pierce, Felter and Zilinskas are all returning.
Offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca lauded the job Flaherty did with leading the unit.
“I give them a lot of credit because the perception of that group maybe when I got here wasn't the greatest, and they've battled through adversity,” Ciarrocca said. “Every time they've been knocked down, they were able to get back up again and keep learning. So I'm super proud of them and glad to see that people are recognizing that we had the leading rusher in the Big Ten, and he can't do that by himself. But I'm also excited about where they can go in the future.”
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4. Rutgers’ passing game needs improvement
The offense overall showed improvement. It was much more productive, again, largely because of the success of Monangai and the running game.
Rutgers needed to run the football because its passing game was inconsistent.
Quarterback Gavin Wimsatt made strides in his first full season as a starter. He ran the offense well, he looked more comfortable and he played with confidence. But his completion percentage (47.8) still needs to improve going into next season.
Wimsatt’s ability to run the football was crucial – he was Rutgers’ season-leading rusher behind Monangai with 497 yards on 131 carries with 11 touchdowns.
But for the Scarlet Knights to take a leap offensively, the passing game needs to be more explosive.
Not all of that is on Wimsatt. A good passing game requires a lot of parts coming together, from the offensive line to the quarterback to the receivers running the right routes and making plays.
Wimsatt showed signs of growth. But he also knows what he needs to work on in the offseason.
“I think there are definitely some things that I could have did better this season, but that's what the offseason is for,” Wimsatt said. “Going into the offseason and have a plan, make sure we get better for next year.”
And now Wimsatt will have some competition as Rutgers is bringing in Minnesota transfer Athan Kaliakmanis.
5. Young players who showed promise
Schiano talked about this season being a “mile marker” for the program – becoming bowl eligible with six wins, winning a bowl game, achieving a winning season for the first time since 2014.
All of that is progress for a team that had fallen badly in the years before Schiano’s return.
But for Rutgers to continue to pass those mile markers, it’s going to need to continue to develop its young players, some of whom showed glimpses of how they can help.
Players like wide receivers Ian Strong and Famah Toure and running back Ja’shon Benjamin, as well as linebackers Abram Wright and Moses Walker, are among those players. The Scarlet Knights are welcoming in more with their 2024 recruiting class, including Bergen Catholic safety Kaj Sanders and top-New York recruit Korey Duff Jr.
This is an important offseason for development – spring practices will also be crucial – as Rutgers looks to build on a promising 2023 campaign.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Rutgers football: 5 takeaways from 2023 season
