Rutgers offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca has been nominated for the Broyles Award, an award dedicated to acknowledging the best assistant coaches from across college football. The award is named after legendary Arkansas coach Frank Broyles. Ciarrocca was previously a semifinalist for the Broyles Award in 2019.
The offense has steadily improved from when Ciarrocca took over in 2023. This year, the Scarlet Knights are averaging 371.1 yards of offense in Big Ten play, which is on pace to be their
best since joining the conference. Rutgers currently ranks 36th in the country in terms of passing offense, with an average of 259.5 yards per game, which is also good for fourth-best in the conference.
The Knights have had a lot of success running the ball with Ciarrocca as the offensive coordinator. In 2023 and 2024, Kyle Monangai built his legend at Rutgers. So far in 2025, star running back Antwan Raymond has proven himself to be an elite running back, as he already has 1,052 rushing yards this year, which is good for third in the Big Ten. He also has 12 rushing touchdowns on the year. He was nominated for the Doak Walker award and was named the Doak Walker Player of the Week for his 240-yard and one-touchdown performance against Maryland.
On top of that, Ciarrocca has been a key piece in recruiting and developing the Knights’ three NFL-caliber wide receivers in Ian Strong, KJ Duff, and DT Sheffield. Rutgers is the only team in the Big Ten with three receivers with over 500 yards on the season. Duff has 957, Strong has 725, and Sheffield has 550. All three are expected to go at some point in the NFL drafts they enter.
The offensive line has shown steady improvement over time as well. When Ciarrocca first arrived at Rutgers, the offensive line was in disarray. Now they have become a Big Ten level unit.
Ciarrocca will need his offense to be on point on Saturday against Penn State, as the Knights will likely have to score at least 28 points to secure bowl eligibility. That game is set to kick off inside SHI Stadium at 3:30 pm, with live coverage being available on BTN.
