For Rutgers football, it was more than just big plays. It was a culture that won out

kristian dyer

Mon, Oct 16, 2023, 6:00 AM·20 min read

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — For two veteran players on the Rutgers football roster, Saturday’s win over Michigan State was especially meaningful. While Johnny Langan and Mayan Ahanotu took different paths to Rutgers, both understood the significance of Saturday’s win for this program.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, more than just the season was on the line for Rutgers. Yes, Saturday’s game was one of those winnable games that the Scarlet Knights need if they are to be bowl-eligible in this all-important fourth year of head coach Greg Schiano’s return to the program.

But had Rutgers lost on Saturday, it could well have been the end of this rebuild. Down 24-6 to a peer program in the Big Ten, it isn’t unfair to say that the vision for the program could have come crashing down.

Hope could have been lost on Saturday. In fact, with only several thousand fans left inside SHI Stadium, many had potentially stopped believing.

Those on the Rutgers sideline never stopped believing either.

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Johnny Langan came to Rutgers five years ago, his time predating the arrival of Schiano to rebuild his original rebuild. He became the starting quarterback for Rutgers in 2019 after head coach Chris Ash was relieved of his duties just five games into the season. Langan has been here for some of the lowest moments in program history.

Moments that lend some clarity and appreciation for what he experienced on Saturday in a 27-24 win over Michigan State.

“I mean, this is probably the best win of my career here at Rutgers,” Langan said after the game.
“So I’m really really happy about that. You know, I’m going to enjoy this…we got the 24-hour rule. So I’m going to enjoy this win for the next 24 hours and then we’re on to the next one.”

Langan, a transfer from Boston College, has bought completely into Schiano’s culture. When asked by Schiano to switch positions from quarterback to tight end, he embraced the idea of becoming ‘Johnny Offense.’

#Rutgers football sings the alma mater following Saturday’s comeback win in Big Ten action against Michigan State. pic.twitter.com/bVyTgzs8I7
— Kristian Dyer (@KristianRDyer) October 15, 2023

The culture is so important to Langan that while his teammates celebrated in the end zone on Saturday afternoon, he stood and screamed for the celebratory music to stop so the team could sing the alma mater.

Like Langan, the journey to Rutgers for Ahanotu began elsewhere. A transfer addition from Minnesota, Ahanotu was a rotational player at his previous stop but has become a big factor in the heart of the Rutgers defense.

He too has bought into Schiano’s message and culture in the rebuilding of a program that hasn’t had a winning season since 2014.

“Definitely 100 percent -I mean every single player in this program has built this place – I’m saying built and came in here and bought in with the culture. And then with wins like this …it just shows you that the ‘CHOP’ is ours, man. It is our culture and we built this and it’s going to be long-lasting,” Ahanotu said.
“We’re trained for adversity. You know, this is what the whole culture is built off of. Just whenever you hit adversity, you got to keep chopping. You got to just do what you can do, control the controllables and so that’s what we did.”

Born and raised in New Jersey, this win was special for Langan. Not only did the team take a massive step towards bowl eligibility, but the improbable and unlikely comeback win underscored that the culture at Rutgers is what sets this rebuild apart from the two previous coaching staffs.

Langan gave up more than anyone else for this culture.

As the team’s quarterback to close out the final eight games of the 2019 season, it isn’t easy to willingly hand over the glamour of the sport’s most iconic position for the unheralded role of being a tight end.

But for Langan, it is all about the culture. And moments like Saturday, as the team finished with the alma mater, are ones he will not forget.

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Scenes.#Rutgers pic.twitter.com/20MstZyyIT
— Kristian Dyer (@KristianRDyer) October 14, 2023

With the team gathered around him and the last notes of the band fading away into the gloom and rain of an autumnal afternoon in central New Jersey, Langan didn’t even pause.

In one motion, as his teammates finished the last words of the alma mater, Langan raised the team’s axe over his head. Symbolic of the mantra to keep chopping, he drove the axe into the end zone.

The point was not lost on Langan. His team had just chopped a game to victory that appeared lost. Culture had won out on Saturday.

The final chop was done for the day.

“I mean, wins like this are extremely important to us. You know, to be able to come back from a deficit like that really proves our culture,” Langan said.
“It’s all about F.A.M.I.L.Y. – ‘Forget About Me I Love You’ – you know, ‘Trust’ and ‘CHOP’ and then that’s what we did today. We just chopped when we were down, we didn’t look up to the scoreboard. You know, we just looked at every single play, and we just did our job and we chopped our job and that’s exactly what we’re about here.”