Rutgers Football 2022 Preview: Defensive Line
The college football regular season has officially begun, and Rutgers has their first game scheduled for just under a week from now. That mean it is time to get ready for Rutgers football. The Scarlet Knights are looking to improve over their 5-8 record from the 2021 season. Despite their record, they were selected as a replacement team for a bowl game last season. They stepped in for Texas A&M in the Gator Bowl, in a losing effort against Wake Forest. Head coach Greg Schiano was happy his team got the opportunity, but they will be looking to earn a bowl game bid outright this season.
Rutgers is still attempting to find its place in the Big Ten. The Scarlet Knights have not finished the year with a winning record since 2014 – their first season in the conference. If there is one thing that people know about Big Ten play is the intense battles in the trenches is where games are won or lost. This is Schiano’s third season since returning for a second stint with the program and he wants to continue to build the strength of his units on the inside.
Let’s break down how the Scarlet Knights look along the defensive line going into the 2022 season.
The Scarlet Knights have a good portion of their defensive line from last year returning this season. Greg Schiano has also bolstered the defensive line by making the position a priority when it comes to recruiting. Although some of the players may be familiar, the coaches room looks very different. Both defensive coordinator Joe Harasymiak and defensive line coach Marquise Watson are in their first year with the program.
Catch up on Rutgers Wire’s preview series here:
Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Wide Receivers | Offensive Line
Watson is in the first year of his second stint with the program, previously working as a defensive assistant back in 2018.
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Last season, the defensive line produced what was possibly the best position group on the team. Looking ahead to this season, they will need help to improve after some players left and a key injury cut out some hope for the group. The players brought in to bolster the line have looked strong in camp but overall, they are a smaller, younger line. The program will need some young players to step up if they want to add to some of the success from recent seasons.
The interior of the line will be anchored by seniors Mayan Ahanotu and Ifeanyi Maijeh. Ahanotu finished 2021 with 18 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack, and a forced fumble. He is the only returning starter on the line after Mohamed Toure, the team’s sack leader over the last two years, underwent season-ending surgery after an injury sustained in spring. He was also named to the 2022 Wuerffel Trophy Watch List. Maijeh is in his second year with Rutgers after transferring from Temple. He started to come on towards the end of last year after getting past his own injury. The former Owl was named to the Shrine Bowl 1000. Maijeh finished last season with 19 total tackles, three for loss, 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble, two fumbles recovered, and even added a pass deflection.
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The defensive ends have a bit more youth. Sophomores Kyonte Hamilton, Aaron Lewis, and Wesley Bailey will be the main players on the edges. Hamilton started one game last season but appeared in all 13 contests and showed flashes of greatness on the field. He finished the year with 22 tackles – two for loss. One of those tackles behind the line of scrimmage even came in the Gator Bowl. He can line up as a defensive end or defensive tackle, providing versatility for the team. Hamilton was also part of the Rutgers wrestling team this past year which may have cut into his strength and conditioning for football itself, but shows his strength and athleticism are something to watch closely this year. He played the most of any freshman at Rutgers last season.
Lewis saw game time in 11 contests – seven of which he recorded multiple stops. The sophomore New Jersey native finished the 2021 campaign with 30 total tackles, three tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. Lewis has shown flashes to be a strong defensive end, but lacked the overall strength needed to be one of the better ends in the Big Ten. A former Michigan commit, Lewis was a highly touted recruit and if the offseason strength and conditioning gave him that needed boost in strength, he could be the consistent pass rusher/run stopper that Rutgers has been looking for over the next few seasons.
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Bailey may see plenty of starts on the weak-side edge himself. He will look to build on a strong 2021 campaign that saw him finish with six tackles – including two assists in the Gator Bowl, one and a half for loss, and one sack across seven games. He focused on adding muscle this offseason, and he impressed coach Schiano during training camp:
“Wesley has stepped, you’ve seen him physically, right? He looks like a different guy. He’s 250-something-pounds,” Schiano said.
“He looks like a Big Ten end and he’s playing really, really hard and he’s playing really well. So, we need him to play that way.”
A few other players to keep your eye on in the defensive line rotation are Zaire Angoy, Henry Hughes Jr., and Keshon Griffin – all of whom were redshirted last year. All three student-athletes focused on strength and conditioning during their initial season with the Scarlet Knights and they add some much needed size to the interior line. There should not be mismatch issues in the trenches when it comes to size this year – a major issue in recent years.
Bottom line is, this group will have challenges – especially with the loss of Toure – but the main players have shown improvement each year with the Scarlet Knights and the improved strength and conditioning should help this group be an even strong unit for Rutgers in 2022.
