Everything Rutgers Football HC Greg Schiano said ahead of Penn State game week
Rutgers Football head coach Greg Schiano met with the media again today as the Scarlet Knights prep for the upcoming game against the Penn State Nittany Lions this upcoming Saturday afternoon inside of SHI Stadium.
Full Press Conference Transcript
Hey guys, appreciate you coming out. Big week this week, Penn State coming to town on Saturday. Start off preparation’s been good and we’ve got to make sure that it continues to be that way.
I’ll open up for questions.
Penn State’s been able to string together some wins on the backs of the improved running game. What kind of challenges do they provide with both of their backs that can execute at a high level?
GREG SCHIANO: “Yeah, you hit it on the head. They’re excellent running backs. They’re both NFL running backs. Probably high draft picks.
They have an exceptional offensive line as well. It’s not just that they have good running backs. They also have good tight ends.
When you put it all together, it creates a very, very formidable run game to defend. Certainly keeping us up at night trying to figure out how to do that.”
When you watch them on film, is there anything that stands out to you about what’s allowed them to string some wins together these last couple of weeks and have an uptick after the way the first half of their season went?
GREG SCHIANO: “Just sheer opportunities for those running backs. They’re pumping the running backs with runs that good running backs like that are good at. It’s pretty simple. They have a young quarterback who’s gotten a lot better each week.
Literally, you can see his development over the weeks he’s played. When you have those backs and you have a young quarterback, I think they’re doing exactly what most coaches would do. It’s helping them out.
Facing off against an interim head coach, does it make it a little bit tougher not really knowing what he can present, whether it be play calling schemes or anything like that?
GREG SCHIANO: “Maybe a little bit, but the reality is we have games of them since he took over and we have games of them since the quarterback took over. We have stuff to go on. Might they change? Sure.
That’s a risk any week. You go on what you have. You prepare on what you have, but certainly your schemes need to be flexible enough to adjust during the game.”
You overlapped with Terry Smith for a couple years at Penn State. What do you remember him as a player and did you see some of the signs and marks of a future coach even back then?
GREG SCHIANO: “I did. His brother Harvey was actually a graduate assistant with me at Penn State. Harvey and I had shared an office and Terry was a player then and an exceptional player. Led the team in receptions I think 91 and punt returner and really just a tremendous college football player. Truly over performed.
He was not the biggest guy. He was just a tenacious competitor. You could see that. He was captain of our team, one of our captains. You knew that he had something special. Then I got to watch Terry coach at Gateway where he did a tremendous job on Pittsburgh as a head coach.
None of this surprises me. Terry’s an excellent football coach.”
You got AJ Surace in the game at the last drive on Saturday. How important is it to get a young quarterback like that reps in the late game? Looking back on the season, do you feel like you wish you would have got him in a little bit more?
GREG SCHIANO: “A.J. gets a lot of work. We do a lot of developmental work. Is it the same as a game? No. We will have a chance to develop our depth. I’m not concerned about that.”
Going into this game, both teams have the same record. They’re looking for a bowl, winner gets a bowl, obviously for the loser, the season is over. How does that factor into the messaging and the preparation for a game like this and the regular season finale?
GREG SCHIANO: “When you have a situation like that, I think the worst thing I can do is make a big deal of it. They know. These guys are elite competitors.
They know what’s at stake. I know what they want to do. As I always say, goals are a little overrated. My main appreciation of goals is that it forces people to create a plan. Other than that, the team on the other side will have the same goal we do when the game kicks off. They’d like to win and go to a bowl.
We’d like to win and go to a bowl. It’s all going to be about execution. It’s all going to be about the preparation that we’ve put in this week and what kind of execution that leads to on Saturday.”
Eric O’Neil has been pretty productive the last couple weeks. Anything you’ve seen from him that’s allowed him to take this step up these last few games?
GREG SCHIANO: “Yeah. He’s probably more comfortable in what we’re doing. He’s probably more comfortable. We’ve tweaked a few things that play to his strengths a little bit more, probably. He’s playing with great confidence and great energy. He’s a fun guy to coach.”
Timmy Ward, what has he meant to this program?
GREG SCHIANO: “You’ve seen his rise and a little bit more production this year, but certainly what he’s meant off the field. He’s meant a lot on the field, like you said.
Timmy’s got a tremendous story, so a lot of people like to talk about his story, but I think what’s lost a little bit is he’s a very good football player. He’s an excellent special teams player, understands it, captains our special teams, leads our special teams, makes checks all over the place, but he’s also a quality safety. He’s provided depth at safety and his story is unbelievable, overcoming, surviving cancer, being an equipment manager here, working his tail off, going through walk-on tryouts twice or three times, I don’t know how many times, and then earning a spot on the team and eventually becoming one of the leaders on this football team. Those are the stories. Those are the situations that really are rewarding when you’re a coach. Final question.”
I know it’s game week, but it’s also Thanksgiving. What do you guys do as a team? Side note, what is your favorite Thanksgiving side dish?
GREG SCHIANO: “As a team, my thing is I want to make sure that everybody has some place to go. I don’t want anybody sitting alone in their apartment on Thanksgiving, so it’s whether they go to coaches’ homes or they go to their teammates’ homes.
We have a lot of local kids on the team, so they take the guys that are from distance a little bit. Some of the parents are up for the game this weekend, so they’ll go out with their folks, but my whole thing is to make sure everybody has a place. As long as that’s the case, we’re enjoying that, but we’re still getting ready for a game on Saturday.
There are certain things you have to do. You can’t break the routine. I really want the players to experience it, but I also want them to stick to their routine because routines as an athlete are critically important. What was your other question?”
Favorite Thanksgiving side? I like stuffing.
GREG SCHIANO: “As you can tell, there’s not a lot I don’t like. I kind of like food. It’s one of my pastimes, so I like it all. Thanks, guys. You’re welcome.”
The Knight Report joins On3 Sports
With the merge of Rivals and On3 Sports, The Knight Report has joined the On3 family! For those of you that don’t know, On3 is a leading sports media and technology company delivering trusted coverage, data, and connectivity across youth, high school, and college sports.
There’s also no better time to join the premium side of The Knight Report and get access to all the inside scoop on the football team ahead of the upcoming Transfer Portal, latest recruit scoop, team news and more.
If you are having issues with accessing or logging in to the On3 network or The Knight Report, please email us at [email protected] and we will do our best to help you shortly!
💬 Wondering what other Rutgers fans are saying?
Head to The Round Table and jump into the discussion →
