Rutgers Head Coach Greg Schiano talks final Spring Practice: Press Conference

Rutgers Football spring ball is fully underway, and the Scarlet Knights completed their 15th practice of the session. Shortly after, head coach Greg Schiano spoke to the media for his spring football press conference.

Hear Schiano’s complete comments to the media embedded in this article, or on live replay on the The Knight Report YouTube Channel. Schiano spoke for roughly 8 minutes and addressed a range of questions, including how the program has responded to the new coaches, quarterback battle thoughts, other positional battles, and much more.

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Full Greg Schiano Presser Transcript

GREG SCHIANO: “Last practice of the spring, really a great day. It was family day and we had, I don’t know, maybe 300 people up there. Family members came in from all over the country to be with their sons and grandsons and nephews and that to me is what our program is all about.

So it was really cool to get a chance to meet our new coaches this afternoon and get to spend time together. It’s always cool for me, you know, you see them when you’re recruiting them and then you don’t see them as much so it’s nice to catch up with them and this is a great opportunity to do that. So overall, I thought it was a really productive spring.

We have a long, long way to go, there’s no doubt about it, but we’re talented and we worked really hard the way that I like our teams to work. This group of guys, they’re unselfish, no drama, just love to go play football and that’s, to me, that’s my sweet spot personally and as a coach and I think it’s our program’s sweet spot. So we, I’m excited.

We got to get through final exams, get a little rest and then we got to get them back here at the end of May and then it’s going to be critical, the third quarter of our offseason and it’s probably the most important quarter. So a lot of player-led things that go on during that time, that’s where the identity of your team really comes together and with all the newcomers and new coaches and all that, this is going to be a critical time when we get them back. So between now and end of May, make sure we take care of all the things we have to take care of and then yeah, really a critical time for our program.”

GREG SCHIANO: “Today we also recognized our spring award winners, so I’ll share them with you. The Douglas A. Smith Award, which goes to the most improved defensive player, a guy that I was really, I am really, really proud of. He epitomizes what chop is.

He’s had an up and down career, but he just kept going and fighting and in this day, modern day college football, a lot of these guys would have said, you know, I’m out of here. I’m gonna go find a new place. Instead he stuck with it and he had a great spring and is going to have a great 2026 and that’s Jesse Ofurie, one of the most improved defensive player.

The Mark Mills Second Effort Award goes to the most improved offensive player. Another story that epitomizes chop, here’s a young guy that I thought really had a chance to help us in 2025 and that got injured and he really went about his business of taking care of his body, getting his body ready to go for this spring. All winter long, all spring long and had a great spring, so the most improved offensive player is Jourdin Houston.

And then the Frank Burns Award for the player that best exemplifies mental and physical toughness, the legendary coach and player Frank Burns. Here’s a guy who battled some injuries and really toughed it out, got surgery in the offseason and fought his way back and had a great spring and the Frank Burns Award winner is Logan Blake. So those are the three award winners and the other bit of housekeeping which is great, great news.

Just got it the other day, Zaire Angoy has been cleared and will be eligible to play in 2026. So that’s some housekeeping, some really good exciting things and I’ll try to answer any questions you might have.”

Just kind of what’s your overall takeaway for how you feel like the defense came together over the last month? I know the coaching staff, my judges and the new staff, kind of what’s the start, what’s the point that you feel like they’re leading off at?

GREG SCHIANO: “Yeah that’s a great question. I really am pleased with where we are defensively. We got a long way to go, like a long way, but Coach Johansen’s done a great job of integrating staff, players, everybody. Very impressed with the job he’s done and the staff and the players have bought in Hoechlin and Sinker, they’re all in and they’ve played really well.

They’ve had fun together. You can see a chemistry building, a bond and that’s what great defenses have. This will be, it’ll take every second we have right through the season to get anywhere close to where we all want to be, but there’s certainly a group of young men and a group of men that are coaches that are working at an unbelievable clip to get that done. So I’m very excited about it.”

How are you guys staying health-wise here at the end of spring? Any major updates or injuries?

GREG SCHIANO: “Yeah I’m really, I’m very excited about how we came through the spring. I mean, you know, it was a physical spring and we practiced really hard and tough and we were able to come through it.

You know, you’re never unscathed, but pretty much we came out of it very well. And, you know, I’m grateful to our strength and conditioning staff. I’m grateful to our training and medical staff.

They’ve really done a good job. Our sports performance people, they’ve all doubled, you know, we’ve had some issues in that department and they’ve doubled down and worked really hard to get that fixed. And we’re not there yet, but we’re heading the right direction.”

The quarterback position, have you seen enough to name a guy and where does AJ Surace fill the stand in that race?

GREG SCHIANO: “Yeah, it’s going to be the next couple weeks. Kirk and I will go through it all again, watch all the cut-ups. You know, we make spring cut-ups and we watch them and we evaluate them.

But just my gut is they both did well. They’re making it hard on us to make a decision. Will we be able to? I don’t know. I don’t think, but I think it’ll probably go to training camp. But we’ll see. Give us some time to, you know, when you’re in the middle of it, it’s hard, you know, because the last play is the most important or the next play is the most important. When you have an opportunity to go back and watch the tape and really talk through things, I’ll have a better idea.”

Greg, what’s the most encouraging thing you’ve seen from spring camp and something that you think you guys will have to work on going into the summer?

GREG SCHIANO: “It’s a tough one. Encouraging, I think, just when you have this many new people on defense to see the progress that we’ve made, that’s probably the most encouraging.

You know, I haven’t really had things where I came off the field and was just aggravated. These guys have worked incredibly, incredibly hard. We’re just young, you know, I don’t mind that, you know, like young players. People say, oh, you’re young. Yeah, I like young players. You know, what they lack in experience, sometimes they make up for it.

They don’t know what they don’t know. So they just go as hard as heck and make plays. And I’m excited to see some of our young, talented guys just go out there and let it rip. But all in due time.”

I had a question on the spring game as it would have been today. You’ve mentioned in the years past how important you see it to the tradition of college football and with Rutgers coinciding with Rutgers Day. I guess, how difficult was it to strike that balance between keeping up that tradition and not having it this year, as you mentioned, for the well-being of the program?

GREG SCHIANO: “You’re dead on, and that’s a great question. Because I do, I love everything that goes into college football. And spring games were always a lot of fun, especially here at Rutgers when we try to make it match with Rutgers Day. So it was hard for me personally, because I like that. But what’s best for the team was not to do it. And that’s my job.

And I tell the players all the time you battle feelings versus choices. My feelings were I would have liked to have a spring game. But the best choice for our program was not to. So that’s why we did it.”

Speaking of youth, one of those young position groups is the wide receivers. What have you seen from them this spring camp?

GREG SCHIANO: “Very encouraged. Yeah. Coach Brock is just a tremendous position coach, tremendous coach, period. And Coach Carpenter joined him this spring, and he’s done a great job too.

So I think that those players, they work so hard at it. And that’s just the way Brock is. I mean, you’re going to earn your keep. And this is as competitive a group of receivers that I may have been around at any level. Because they all want it. They want it bad. They are fighting for reps. And that’s great. Because in my experience as a coach, when you have a room like that, the cream rises to the top. And we’ll have an opportunity. I think we have the best depth we’ve had ever at wide receiver. Some of it’s young, again, but I don’t mind that. And when you have a coach like Coach Brock, he’ll get those young guys ready to play.”

To kind of go off on the injury point, where do you feel like this team is depth-wise as obviously it’s been tested in recent years?

GREG SCHIANO: “I think we’re in good shape depth-wise. It’s taken a while to get here, right? The positions that, you know, it doesn’t happen in a year or two if you have really a bad situation at a position.

It’s hard to gain depth at every level. Because what happens? You say, well, just go get them in the portal. Okay, but what happens to the guys that were here when you bring in the portal guys? Well, they say, well, then I’m going to the portal.

So you’re washing, right? We’ve really been able to establish some quality depth. And it sure helps when a guy like Jesse, if he sticks around, toughs it out, and then goes and plays the way he has. You know, it’s a great example to point to as a head coach.

Look, if you just keep chopping and you keep your eye on that spot, you’re going to be fine. And that’s where we are now. We have a lot of guys who I think are totally bought into the culture of the program.

As I said earlier, there’s not a lot of drama. And, you know, I’m not naive. I know the guys come and they want to play. I just, you know, my message has constantly been to them. You never know what’s right around the next bend. But if you go turn around, then you’re never going to find out.

So just keep going, keep going. And there may be a time to go into the portal. There may be a time that someone’s going to offer you something crazy and you can’t say no, but let’s make sure it’s that and not just you reacting to a feeling.

How big is that for the D-line? And at the D-tackle position, is this the deepest it’s been since you’ve been back?

GREG SCHIANO: “It’s huge, and I was starting to sweat because, you know, he’s practicing the whole spring, but I don’t have confirmation that, you know, it’s legal for him to do that. But I don’t have confirmation that he’s going to be cleared for the fall.

And literally we just got it the other day. And to see the joy on his face and the weight come off his shoulders, you know, those are some of the little rewarding things you get as a head coach. You don’t get a lot of them, but that was a fun.

And I went to find him as soon as I found out and I hunted him down in the hallway. It was, it was cool. On the defensive line, both at tackle and defensive end, just where do you feel like that position is right now? And where does it kind of stack with some of the units you’ve had in the past couple years? Yeah, I’m, I’m comfortable with our D-line, excited about our D-line.

We have a lot of growth that we have to make between now and an opening game, but I’m encouraged by Coach Dott has done a great job kind of getting with the guys. And then, and then, you know, Joe has done a great job as well with the R’s. So when you get coaches like that, that live it with the players, then they’re going to get better.”

Ja’shon Benjamin told me that pass blocking was something that he’s really been working hard at this offseason, trying to work that. If he can improve that, I guess, how much more valuable will that be to him as a player?

GREG SCHIANO: “Yeah, I mean, Benji does a lot of good things, right? And the one thing, he’s very, very smart and self-aware. And I think, you know, Coach Shaw does an unbelievable job with those guys. You look at their production and it’s not just the starter, it’s all the way down. Guys get in the game or in the scrimmage, they do well, they do their job.

I think Benji really took heart to what Coach said. Like, if you want to be a complete player, because Benji’s got tremendous hands, he’s a really good receiver. But if you get in there and you have to pass protect, you know, the play goes to junk in a hurry if you can’t get the running back to handle the linebacker and, or understand how to chip and help the tackle.

You know, chipping is a great concept as long as you know how to do it. If you don’t, you chip the guy off the block and it makes it easier for the defender. So, all that stuff, you know, I think no one teaches it better than Coach Shaw and I think Benji’s really worked hard to make that a positive of his, not a neutral.

I thought he was, I thought he was fine, but it wasn’t something you say, he’s a great protector. He’s working really hard. Is he there yet? No, but he’ll get there. If he keeps doing what he’s doing, he’ll get there by the season and we need him to. Again, guys, really appreciate you coming out all spring and hope you have a great summer. We’ll see you, I guess we might see you somewhere before, oh yeah, I’ll see you at the golf.

But until then, appreciate you.