Recently, Rutgers Football hosted Choose NJ for a spring special for the 2026 season. The spring special featured several interviews with Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano and star players such as KJ Duff. One of the questions Schiano was asked was what exactly makes running back Antwan Raymond so special. Schiano’s longer response gave insight into not only what he sees in his running back, but the entire running game as a whole.
“He is a very gifted running back, right? Great vision, balance, patience,
and he’s got a great coach. Damiere Shaw has done a great job bringing all the backs along, and no different here with Antwan. I can’t wait to see him this year. I think our line is going to be really solid. He’s going to have another year under his belt, and you know we are committed to running the football, as you know, so it should be a fun year.
Nothing that Schiano said here was very out of the ordinary for him, but it did provide some insight into what type of runner Raymond is, and how he has learned from the backs that came before him, mainly Kyle Monangai. One of the most praised attributes of Monangai was his vision and patience, his ability to find the open gap once it opens up. Those skills appear to have been passed on to his successor.
Another thing to take away from this answer is what Schiano said about the offensive line, a position that is undergoing a lot of change. Rutgers offensive line will see three new starters this season with the loss of Gus Zilinskas and Bryan Felter to graduation, and the loss of Taj White to the transfer portal. On top of that, the offensive line will have a new coach this season, as Jim Turner was brought in to replace Pat Flaherty. Despite all of that change, Schiano expressed a lot of confidence in the unit. Even with the departure, the team still has a lot of experience, especially at the tackle position. On top of that, players like Dantae Chin, who played tackle last season before getting injured, have starting experience at guard. It will be interesting to see how the Knights move their experience around on the offensive line so that they can field the best unit possible.
A link to the Choose NJ special, which was uploaded to the Rutgers Football YouTube Channel, can be found here.
