Here's what Greg Schiano said about Washington as Rutgers football preps for Big Ten opener
PISCATAWAY – It’s been a while since Rutgers football had a home game with the level of anticipation surrounding Friday’s contest against Washington.
The Scarlet Knights are 3-0 after beating Virginia Tech 26-23 victory on Saturday at Lane Stadium, and now will host the Huskies at SHI Stadium with a chance to keep their undefeated start going with a victory over the national champion runners-up.
It’ll be a primetime game on national television and it’ll be a “Blackout” theme for fans in the stadium – it stands to be perhaps the most electric atmosphere Rutgers has had since Greg Schiano’s return to Piscataway.
But on the field? The challenge will be significant for the Scarlet Knights’ Big Ten opener.
While the Huskies, now led by Livingston native Jedd Fisch after Kalen DeBoer left for Alabama, haven’t been tested too much this season (they’ve beaten Weber State, Eastern Michigan and Northwestern and lost to Washington State), they clearly have an excellent quarterback in Mississippi State transfer Will Rogers and a stout defense led by coordinator Steve Belichick, son of the legendary Bill Belichick who's a good friend of Schiano.
Here's what Schiano had to say about Washington and what he expects heading into Friday’s game:
Washington’s defense stout under Rutgers football alum Steve Belichick
Belichick is in his first season with the Huskies after spending a decade working on his father’s coaching staff with the New England Patriots.
Steve Belichick was a long-snapper for Rutgers in 2011, the final year of Schiano’s first stint, after spending four years playing for the Rutgers men’s lacrosse team.
So far, Belichick’s defense has been impressive.
“It’s an unbelievable job that (Belichick) has done,” Schiano said. “He’s certainly an excellent coach. And what they do is unique. No one else really plays defense like that. It’s unique. It’s very much like the New England package. He’s put his own slant on it but it’s a challenge.”
The Huskies rank 11th in the country in total defense, yielding 237.5 yards per game (fifth in the Big Ten) and they’re tied with Miami for 11th in the nation in scoring defense, giving up 10.25 points per contest (third in the Big Ten).
Washington’s run defense (106.2 yards per game) ranks 12th in the Big Ten while its passing defense (131.2 yards per game) is fifth.
“Their interior front is very stout,” Schiano said. “It’s going to be hard to get movement there.”
The Huskies’ secondary also stood out to Schiano.
“Not a lot of completions out there,” Schiano said. “They do an excellent job of covering. They play with really good technique. They mix it up. They really mix up the fronts, they present several different fronts, several different looks to you that are really going to test our rules.”
Will Rogers has been solid for Washington after transferring from Mississippi State
Through Washington’s first four games, Rogers is 84-of-111 passing (75.7 percent) for 1,048 yards (27th in the country) and eight touchdowns. He’s yet to throw an interception – that’s a contrast from his previous four seasons when he threw at least four picks in each.
“He is performing at an incredibly high level right now,” Schiano said. “Coach Fisch is an excellent head coach, an excellent offensive coordinator and he’s really good with the quarterbacks. You can see the effects that he’s had. Will earlier in his career has thrown interceptions. When I heard he was going there, I thought, ‘Oh, maybe we’ll get a few.’ But he’s not playing that way now. He’s very, very good with the football.”
The 6-foot-2, 216-pound Rogers had the tall order of replacing Michael Penix Jr., but so far, so good.
Rogers was Mississippi State’s all-time leading in passing yards with 12,315 and 94 touchdowns. He was also the only quarterback in SEC history to reach 1,000 career completions, and he had 19 300-passing yard games and 29 200-passing yard games with the Bulldogs, both of which are school records.
So while Rogers may not be Penix, he’s going to present Rutgers’ defense with a significant challenge.
Schiano also praised the Huskies’ wideouts, mentioning Giles Jackson and Denzel Boston specifically.
“(They’re) guys we’re really going to have to know where they are,” Schiano said.
Stopping Washington football running back Jonah Coleman isn’t easy
The 5-foot-9, 229-pound Coleman is a bowling ball who boasts sneaky athleticism. Coleman twice against Northwestern literally hurdled over a defender.
Through four games he’s rushed for 373 yards on 56 carries (6.7 yards per attempt) with four touchdowns. He hit the 100-yard mark against Weber State and Eastern Michigan.
Coleman is one of the players who followed Fisch from Arizona to Washington. He led the Wildcats in rushing last season with 823 yards on 128 carries.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Rutgers football: Greg Schiano previews Washington game
