Dec 31, 2021; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Rutgers Scarlet Knights running back Aaron Young (4) scores a touchdown defended by Wake Forest Demon Deacons defensive back Nick Andersen (45) in the first quarter at TIAA Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
Entering the 2023 season, the biggest question about Rutgers football is whether the offense can make real progress this fall. With new offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca, there should be hope that this will become a reality.
Ciarrocca has a history of adapting his system to his personnel. While Minnesota was a run heavy offense, he had explosive units in the pass game at Western Michigan and Delaware.
In regard to the Rutgers offense, there are several areas that seem like obvious choices to focus on.
Rutgers four tight ends that seem likely to play this coming season. Shawn Bowman is an all-conference transfer from Maine. Johnny Langan returns. Victor Konopka is healthy after missing most of last season. And the development of Mike Huggins is inspiring buzz he could be a factor this fall. Ciarrocca has made tight ends a focus in the past and certainly seems like he could lean into this group more so than Rutgers has in years past.
Calling and executing in short pass plays is another area Rutgers hasn’t been strong in within the offense. Whether it’s slants with the receivers or short passes to running backs out of the backfield, RU hasn’t even tried to do much in either option in recent history.
In addition, there should be some hope that Ciarrocca will try to tap into quarterback Gavin Wimsatt’s natural talents. Having him utilize rollouts in the pass game while also calling designed run plays would play to his strengths. Obviously his ankle injury prevented a lot of development in those areas last season, but it hasn’t been a priority in Wimsatt’s time so far.
In this episode of The Scarlet Faithful podcast, I discuss all these areas that could potentially result in progress on offense this season. I also discuss position groups, players to watch and much more.
Listen and watch below.
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