Rutgers football: Does Greg Schiano think his offensive line has improved?
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Last offseason, Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano rightly predicted that his team would only be as successful as the offensive line would take them.
A 4-8 record was indicative of a season where the offensive line struggled.
Addressing the issues along the offensive line was paramount in the offseason hiring of Pat Flaherty, who comes to Rutgers with over two decades of experience in the NFL. Flaherty most famously won two Super Bowls with the New York Giants.
Rutgers has struggled along the offensive line for much of their time in the Big Ten. Having quality along the line and solid positional play has had a trickle-down effect on the offense as a whole.
“I think we have gotten better. As I watched them practice, it’s a better product on the practice field,” Schiano said on Tuesday.
“Now we’ve got to take it to the game field.”
Last year, Rutgers was second from the bottom in the Big Ten in total offense and scoring offense.
And the line’s struggles over the past decade has made quarterback development a challenge. This year, Gavin Wimsatt was named the starting quarterback in late July at Big Ten Media Days.
The hope is that with a revamped offensive line, Wimsatt can and will take a step forward developmentally. Schiano, not surprisingly, wouldn’t commit to having a short leash with Wimsatt this season if the offense sputtered.
“I don’t even like to get into that stuff to tell you the truth. He’s our starting quarterback,” Schiano said.
“I make decisions, which is always in the best interests of the team what gives us the best chance to win. I’m not going to address that. That’s a hypothetical.”
Rutgers opens the season on Sunday at noon at SHI Stadium against Northwestern.
