Rutgers Head Coach Greg Schiano hosted his usual post game press conference after the Scarlet Knights’ 27-24 win over Purdue to answer questions from the media and give insight about what was happening
during the game.
Schiano was visibly emotional after the win. The first question had to do with what was going through his mind when Jai Patel’s kick made it through the upright to seal the win.
“I just wanted these kids, and the coaches, I gotta tell you, the staff, everybody who works their tail off. I have had success. I wanted it for those players so badly because they have not balked at one thing we asked them to do. And you know, you lose four games in a row, that’s hard. With a bye week in there, that’s a long stretch. There’s reasons why people should start to say ”eh, why should I do that?” Are we perfect? No, but I am so proud of the way they kept chopping. That is why I was, you know.“
Jai Patel has had a rough start to the year, but was able to come through at the end of the game for Rutgers. The next question had to do with what that was like for Schiano, who has been coaching him through his struggles. Schiano once again reiterated how proud he was that Patel kept chopping to bounce back from his woes.
The next question concerned how Schiano was visibly more involved with the defense in this game and what changes had been made behind the scenes. He discussed how the game itself is a culmination of the decisions they made throughout the week, and how the defense played much better in this game, especially on third down, where Purdue went 1 for 9. It should also be noted that Schiano was seen holding a play sheet several times and was involved in several of the defensive huddles. Despite this, when Schiano was asked if he was calling the plays later in the press conference, he said that he wasn’t going to get into that, and how it was all three of them working at it together, and how it felt like a defensive staff meeting during the game.
He also talked about how proud he was of running back Ja’Shon Benjamin, who had 78 yards on just 8 carries.
One of the last questions had to do with the wide receiver room, regarding KJ Duff’s legendary performance and the injury status of Ian Strong. Strong was pushing hard to come back as soon as possible, and gave it a try in pre game, but it was not time yet, according to Schiano. Then, of course, Schiano talked about how proud he was of Duff, who had 241 receiving yards and 1 touchdown on just 6 catches.
To view the entire press conference, click here.
