Photo credit Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK
Rutgers football held it’s first scrimmage of fall training camp on Saturday and head coach Greg Schiano gave a pretty honest assessment of how things went. He was more candid than usual and seemed disappointed in the team’s overall performance.
“Early on, we were sloppy. Not very precise,” said Schiano. “Later in the scrimmage we got better. I don’t know if it was nerves or what it was.”
In regard to starting quarterback Gavin Wimsatt, Schiano said he was “sped up” at times. That led to some accuracy issues that were “surprising” due to how he has improved in that area in practice.
As for the inexperienced wide receiver group, it was a mixed bag.
“Inconsistent,’ Schiano said. “Made some really fine plays, and then dropped some of the easy ones.”
Even the defense wasn’t immune from some frustation as Schiano said he was disappointed with how the 3’s and the 4’s played.
“I thought the defense played better than the offense. I’m not sure that’s really a relevation right now. They’re a little bit ahead.”
The return game struggled on Saturday.
“No it’s not settled. And I didn’t think we did a very good job in the return game. We put two of them on the ground. That will lose a game for you.”
Overall, it was Schiano’s tone and body language that stuck out the most. It was refreshing to see him more candid than usual. However, it also signaled that Rutgers has a long way to go to be successful this season.
I discuss my takeaways on certain comments, the importance of September and more on this episode. Listen and watch below to Schiano’s presser as well and my thoughts on his comments and demeanor.
Schiano’s Press Conference
Audio
Video
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A little more subdued than his first practice press conference but overall seems we’re about where we should be given where we started from. The first three games are the season. We don’t win them, and we’ll have the usual lies from the athletic department claiming 30,000 in attendance but that will include the empty paid for seats while actual seats in seats will be under 20,000.
The first scrimmage is a great opportunity after you’ve viewed the film. With this staff and level of talent we have plenty of time to correct fundamentals. Wimsatt’s consistency was concerning as was the reference to dropped passes. We’re mixing a bigger batch of Scarlet Coolaide for the NU game and remain optimistic for that game and the season. Again, not much discussion of the RB’s which I found interesting.
I’m willing to withhold concerns for now, given this was the 1st scrimmage. If it becomes the same song & verse after the 2nd scrimmage, I’ll begin to enter phase one of concern.
Henry Rutgers
August 13, 2023 at 8:56 am
A little more subdued than his first practice press conference but overall seems we’re about where we should be given where we started from. The first three games are the season. We don’t win them, and we’ll have the usual lies from the athletic department claiming 30,000 in attendance but that will include the empty paid for seats while actual seats in seats will be under 20,000.
The first scrimmage is a great opportunity after you’ve viewed the film. With this staff and level of talent we have plenty of time to correct fundamentals. Wimsatt’s consistency was concerning as was the reference to dropped passes. We’re mixing a bigger batch of Scarlet Coolaide for the NU game and remain optimistic for that game and the season. Again, not much discussion of the RB’s which I found interesting.
thevinman
August 13, 2023 at 6:54 pm
Well, people wanted Schiano to be more honest and that sure sounded like an honest appraisal rather than coach speak.
pj43
August 13, 2023 at 9:59 pm
I’m willing to withhold concerns for now, given this was the 1st scrimmage. If it becomes the same song & verse after the 2nd scrimmage, I’ll begin to enter phase one of concern.