Rutgers quarterbacks Aj Surace and Dylan Lonergan spoke with several members of the media yesterday after the second day of spring camp to talk about the ongoing battle between the two for who would succeed Athan Kaliakmanis as the starting quarterback for the Scarlet Knights.
Surace had long been hailed as the eventual successor for Kaliakmanis, as the highly rated prospect is now in his third year with the program. While the addition of Lonergan does provide a wrinkle to this mindset, Surace doesn’t
believe that anything has changed in terms of the overall competition.
“There’s always competition within the room. Between everybody, I think as a whole room, we’re constantly competing with each other. So, I mean, it really didn’t change much for me. It’s just still about getting a little bit better and trying to be the best I can be,” said Surace in a statement to 247sports.
Both sides have at least one advantage over the other, with Surace having the benefit of more time in Ciarrocca’s system. Ciarrocca himself stated that his system is very difficult for those without experience in it. Even with the extra time to learn the system, Surace has kept pushing for a better understanding of everything.
“I think every day, when you think you’ve got it, it’s got you. So, you’re constantly trying to master things and go over it until you can’t get it wrong. I feel confident, and I’m happy with where I’m at, but there’s still a lot more to get better with, and keep growing.”
Lonergan has the advantage of more on-field experience, starting in nine games for Boston College last season and appearing in three more. Head coach Greg Schiano did not sugarcoat anything when attempting to recruit Lonergan out of the portal, making it very clear that he would have to earn his spot if he decided to come to Rutgers.
“It is a really fast-moving process. Rutgers reached out early, and I took my first visit here and was really just blown away by the facilities, all the coaching, everything. I didn’t know what to expect. I’ve never been here, and never really heard anything about it. But I loved it, and from there I knew it was the spot for me, so here we are,” said Lonergan about his decision to come to Rutgers in the transfer portal.
“He told me exactly what it was gonna be, I knew it was gonna be a competition,” said Lonergan about what Schiano said to him before he came to Rutgers.
“The decision to come here was a no-brainer. I think competition is competition. I went through it last year, and I’m not afraid of it. It’s not like I’m against another person; we’re all working together to be the best as a team.”
Lonergan also mentioned how he believes he is picking up Ciarrocca’s system really well in the time that he has been at Rutgers.
Ciarrocca himself talked about the quarterback battle in his press conference yesterday, where he believes both quarterbacks stand at this point in the offseason, and how the final decision will be made.
“They both need a lot of experiences right now so I’m hopeful that we can end spring ball with both of them in a good position that, when we get to training camp, let’s go and see where we’re at.”
“It’s going to be based on their performance out there on the practice field. Doing this as long as I have, it becomes apparent at some point. You certainly hope that it’s the case, that it becomes apparent. When that time comes, Coach and I will sit down and talk about it, and ultimately, he’ll make the decision. He’ll want my input, but he’s going to make that decision. It’ll play itself out. I’m not in any hurry or anything like that.”
