Rutgers is set to begin springs practices on Friday and there is plenty to keep an eye on.
After a five-win season, and 2-7 record in the Big Ten, the Scarlet Knights made changes to the roster and coaching staff. This is the first chance to see how the team looks on the field.
This year, practice will be all fans have. The spring season will not end with the Scarlet-White Game, which has become a tradition for Rutgers. Head coach Greg Schiano previously announced that this game will not be played
this year.
Despite the lack of a spring game, this is an important time for Rutgers ad these three storylines will be at the forefront.
New-look quarterback battle
Athan Kaliakmanis has moved on. While the two-year starter chases his goals at the NFL level, Rutgers will be looking for a new starter and there will be an intriguing battle.
AJ Surace returns for his third year in the program. The Scarlet Knights also hit the transfer portal to add Boston College’s Dylan Lonergan.
Surace has played sparingly during his career, but many believe he has great potential. He has become known for not just his physical intangibles, but for his intelligence as well.
Lonergan began his career at Alabama with Nick Saban before landing at Boston College as a transfer. He now comes to Rutgers with two years of eligibility remaining. Lonergan appeared in 10 games for the Eagles last year, making nine starts. He completed 66.9% of his passes and finished with 2,025 passing yards and 12 touchdowns with five interceptions.
This feels like it will be a legitimate quarterback battle. In typical Schiano fashion, we might not get an answer on a starter for a long time. Maybe we’ll get that answer before the day of the season opener.
KJ Duff & who?
Rutgers had two wide receivers emerge last season and were able to retain a big fish.
KJ Duff announced at a basketball game that he would return to Piscataway next season. This was major news as Duff led Rutgers with 60 catches for 1,084 yards and seven touchdowns in 2025. Ian Strong entered the transfer portal and eventually landed at Cal. With DT Sheffield moving on as well, the Scarlet Knights will be in search of that all-important No. 2 receiver next to Duff.
The good news is, there are some options. The semi-bad news, Rutgers will be looking at options that dealt with injuries last year.
Famah Toure is a receiver with a high ceiling. He missed the entirety of the year after an injury in the spring game. Vernon Allen and Jourdin Houston will also get a chance to step up after dealing with injuries last year.
Ben Black played last season and caught eight passes for 119 yards and a touchdown.
Travis Johansen takes over defense
The Robb Smith-Zach Sparber experiment did not work. Is anyone surprised?
Rutgers allowed a Big Ten-worst 432.8 yards per game last season. It also gave up 31.8 points per game. Schiano made a quick change and brought in South Dakota’s Travis Johansen to be the new defensive coordinator.
Johansen filled his staff well and completed the overhaul on the sideline. Not only will the coaching staff look different, Rutgers added 10 defensive players in the transfer portal.
We can breakdown each player on the defensive side of the ball, and we will when the time comes, but the picture as a whole is what is important. It will be a new-look system with a new group of players and after 2025, that is good news.
