Big Ten football: Nebraska defeats Rutgers, 14-13
Four days removed from what Rutgers coach Greg Schiano hopes will serve as a kickstart to his offense when he moved tight ends coach Nunzio Campanile to interim offensive coordinator, special assistant Joe Susan to interim tight ends coach — which he coached previously — and offensive coordinator Sean Gleeson out the door, fans are still adjusting to the moves.
They know Rutgers’ offense was bad and wasn’t improving fast enough, and can only improve by making a drastic change, while some view the firing as a distress signal of Rutgers’ latest revamp. It remains to be seen how the Scarlet Knights (3-3) will respond the rest of the way — especially on offense — and if they can scratch and claw their way to their second consecutive bowl game.
But do recruits and local coaches think these coaching moves can get Rutgers there with little time to recalibrate? And what about the future? What are Campanile’s offensive plans? And should Campanile not be the permanent pick, what type of offense do Rutgers’ recruits prefer?
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Some chose not to address it while some were more impacted than others, who took it all in stride. Some are prepared for anything.
Hun School (Princeton, N.J.) head coach Todd Smith has two seniors committed to play for Rutgers beginning next year. He “preps” his players to survive in all environments as nothing is as certain as change in college football.
“We educate our kids here to understand that when they pick a school the position coaches should most certainly play a role in their decision, but it can’t be the ultimate reason,” Smith told NJ Advance Media. “They must believe in the head coach most of all. They must believe that he will bring the right people in to make them successful. But our kids understand the odds of the coaches that recruit them being with them for four years are not great. That’s college football. Right or wrong that’s just the way it is.”
One of Smith’s two Rutgers commits — 6-foot-7, 220-pound receiver-turned-tight end Logan Blake — believes that Campanile “will be great in the position and put the team in a place to win.” He plans to succeed at Rutgers regardless of what becomes the new plan.
“I believe that my skill set can be use in a spread style or pro-style offense,” said Blake, a sharp route runner with ball skills and sticky hands who Smith believes can provide a shot in the arm for Rutgers’ offense as he builds strength.
Rutgers’ tight end room is being handed off in the interim to Joe Susan, the 2000 Division I-AA Coach of the Year by the Independents Sports Information Directors Association after leading the Davidson Wildcats to a 10-0 record, who has filled a plethora of roles over his 40-plus years coaching.
“Coach Susan has forgotten more football than any of us actually know,” Smith said. “He has devoted his life to the game. I would trust him to coach any position on the field.”
Four-star athlete Josiah Brown would like to “play in a passing offense” but doesn’t have a preference other than that. He’s unfazed by Gleeson losing the reins to Rutgers’ offense, which ranks 109th in total offense out of 131 Football Bowl Subdivision teams.
“I feel the same way about Rutgers as I always have,” said Brown, a junior at Holy Trinity Diocesan in Hicksville, N.Y., who came close to choosing Rutgers in June. “Coach Schiano made what he thought was the best decision for his team and I respect it.”
Brown’s teammate, Dylan Braithwaite, a DB-slash-receiver who accepted his offer on the spot from Schiano after dominating Rutgers’ prospect camp on June 2, was bummed by the news of Gleeson’s firing. But Braithwaite, above his years, knows that college football is a results-based business.
“I heard the news,” the senior said once Schiano released a statement removing Gleeson and elevating Campanile to OC. “I really bonded with Coach Gleeson well, but I’m very much open to changes and can’t wait to meet Coach Campanile.”
Junior wide receiver and priority target Korey “KJ” Duff, from St. Anthony’s in Long Island City, sees the OC change as “pretty big news.”
“I had a good relationship with Coach Gleeson,” the 6-5, 190-pounder, and teammate of class of 2023 Rutgers pledge Ian Strong, said. “We had a lot of talks about how he would utilize me in the offense, so that’s tough. But I’m excited to see who they bring in next.”
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Fellow pass-catcher, New Yorker and junior Rutgers offeree, Jaylin Ballew, from Erasmus Hall in Brooklyn, sees the moves as a blip on the radar, which won’t affect his choice.
“Although Coach Gleeson was fired, the offense is in great hands with Coach Nunzio,” Ballew said. “He’s an amazing coach and an even better man, so I think Rutgers will be just fine.”
While others couldn’t have taken it well. Like junior quarterback A.J. Surace, a 6-2, 200-pound gunslinger from Notre Dame in Lawrenceville, N.J., who Rutgers offered on June 2, and who did not respond to questions from NJ Advance Media about the moves. A.J. has a preexisting relationship with Gleeson, who coached under A.J.’s dad, Bob, at Princeton.
Or 6-5, 300-pound junior offensive tackle and Rutgers offeree Kenny Jones, who hadn’t heard the news five hours after Schiano’s statement had been released on Sunday.
“To be honest, I didn’t know he fired him so it’s really a surprise right now to me,” Jones, who played with Rutgers freshman four-star edge Kenny Fletcher at Delran (N.J.), said on Sunday night. “I have no idea what to think.”
However, Jones knows what he wants to see from Rutgers’ offense, no matter who steers the ship moving forward.
“I prefer a run block scheme because that feeling of overpowering another man feels amazing,” Jones said.
Meanwhile, some, like Ballew, prefer more “balance.”
“I’d like to be in an offense that is balanced between running and passing,” the junior from Brooklyn said. “I like to get involved in the ground game with my hand in the dirt and have an impact on the air game, too. I know I’d thrive in an offense like that.”
Ex-East Orange (N.J.) Campus coach Rae Oliver, who retired at the end of the 2021 season, and whose son Raeden is a freshman preferred walk-on quarterback at Rutgers, worked under Campanile at Bergen Catholic from 2011 to 2013, and under Nunzio’s brother, Vito, at Seton Hall Prep for two years in between other coaching stops. He feels Rutgers’ offense should stabilize itself under Nunzio’s guidance.
“One thing Nunzio is good at is using the talent that he has,” Oliver said. “In other words, he doesn’t force the square screw into the round hole. He’s going to maximize kids’ abilities. Then, if the job becomes longterm he can recruit kids more suited for his style. But whatever he has, he’s going to get the best out of them. That’s why I loved coaching with Nunz.”
In addition to Rutgers’ inability to score points, Oliver says there were other reasons Gleeson was let go, which Oliver gets in this new age of college sports.
“What happens is you’ve got a lot of boosters who have expectations and then there’s NIL and competition for players. They’ve got to keep the fire down. And I think he made the move — which he’s never made midseason — in part due to that. I appreciate his ability to transition and pivot.”
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Todderick Hunt may be reached at thunt@njadvancemedia.com.
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