Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1472993
9 4 A U G U S T 2 0 2 2 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M The good news? Rutgers has built an offense that showcases the team's best player. The bad news? The team's best player is punter Adam Korsak. As a fourth-year senior last season, Korsak averaged a school-record 45.8 yards per attempt and helped Rutgers set an NCAA mark with a net punting aver- age of 45.25 yards. He had 19 punts of 50 or more yards, and he pinned opponents inside the 10-yard line 16 times with- out putting any punts in the end zone for touchbacks. It was a brilliant season, and the Aussie import received second-team All-Amer- ica honors from the Associated Press, among other outlets. The Scarlet Knights' objective this fall will be to keep Korsak a little less busy than he was in 2021. In the second year of coach Greg Schi- ano's return engagement in Piscataway, Rutgers fielded the Big Ten's 12th-ranked scoring offense with an average of 19.7 points per game. The Scarlet Knights managed just 19.7 points and 310.5 yards per game, thanks mainly to difficulties at quarterback and on the offensive line. This year, the Knights have welcomed back a redshirt freshman who could help them address the first of those problems, and they've scoured the transfer portal in hope of addressing the second. Gavin Wimsatt, an On3 Consensus four-star prospect from Owensboro, Ky., saw action in four games last year and reportedly impressed this past spring. Given the difficulties that returning starter Noah Vedral experienced as a fifth-year senior — he completed 59.5 percent of his throws and had as many interceptions (7) as touchdown passes — Wimsatt is a legitimate contender for the starting job. Meanwhile, the offensive line has four newcomers acquired via the portal, one of whom has ample starting experience at a Big Ten school. Junior Curtis Dunlap Jr. started 16 games in his three seasons at Minne- sota before joining fellow transfers Mike Ciaffoni (Colorado State), Willie Tyler III (Louisiana Monroe) and J.D. DiRenzo (Sacred Heart) at Rutgers this past spring. Schiano also brought in a pair of re- ceivers in Taj Harris (Syracuse) and Sean Ryan (West Virginia), so this group could be more dynamic than it was a year ago when the wideouts totaled just 7 touch- down catches. On defense, Schiano cleaned house af- ter watching his team give up just under 400 yards per game. Joe Harasymiak, a former head coach at Maine and assis- tant at Minnesota, is the Scarlet Knights' new defensive coordinator, and he's taken charge of an overhauled staff that in- cludes three new position coaches. As for the on-field personnel, the Knights return four defensive backs with starting experience, led by senior safety Avery Young, last year's second-leading tackler with 81 stops. Those players will fare better this fall if Rutgers can generate more pressure than it did a year ago when it totaled just 22 sacks as a team. The Scarlet Knights have made strides under Schiano, but there's still a long way to go. — Matt Herb N O V. 1 9 | T I M E T B A | T V T B A | S H I S T A D I U M | P I S C A T A W A Y , N . J . Coach Greg Schiano's five Big Ten wins the past two sea- sons are one more than Rutgers had in the five seasons prior to his return to Piscataway in 2020. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL WEEK 11 RUTGERS 2022 SCHEDULE Date Opponent 2021 Result Sept. 3 Boston College — Sept. 10 Wagner — Sept. 17 at Temple W, 61-14 Sept. 24 Iowa — Oct. 1 at Ohio State L, 52-13 Oct. 7 Nebraska — Oct. 22 Indiana W, 38-3 Oct. 29 at Minnesota — Nov. 5 Michigan L, 20-13 Nov. 12 at Michigan State L, 31-13 Nov. 19 Penn State L, 28-0 Nov. 26 at Maryland L, 40-16 WHAT COULD GO RIGHT The upgrades on the offensive line and in the receiving corps could give Rutgers' start- ing quarterback — either Noah Vedral or Gavin Wimsatt — a chance to get comfort- able and keep this program pointed in the right direction in Year 3 of Greg Schiano's rebuild. WHAT COULD GO WRONG The quarterback problems could continue, and Rutgers could succumb to a Big Ten schedule that opens with games against Iowa and Ohio State and later features Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State on consecutive Saturdays. QUICK FACTS All-Time Series: Penn State leads 30-2 Last Meeting: Penn State shut out the visit- ing Scarlet Knights 28-0 on Nov. 20, 2021 Head Coach: Greg Schiano (76-81 in 13 sea- sons at Rutgers; career collegiate coaching record: same) 2021 Record: 5-8, 2-7 Big Ten Returning Starters: 10 (4 offense, 5 de- fense, 1 specialist) RETURNING LEADERS Rushing: QB Noah Vedral (297 yards, 2 TDs) Passing: QB Noah Vedral (1,823 yards, 7 TDs) Receiving: WR Shameen Jones (334 yards, 0 TDs) Tackles: S Avery Young (81) Sacks: LB Mohamed Toure (4.5) Interceptions: CB Max Melton (3)