Rutgers football: 7 storylines entering spring camp, from QB competition to new defensive staff
· Yahoo Sports
When Rutgers takes the practice field for the first time in five months this week, it will look a lot different than it did at the end of the 2025 season.
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As the Scarlet Knights start spring camp on Friday, there will be a whole new coaching staff on the defensive side of the ball (and one change on offense), over a dozen incoming transfers, multiple position battles (including at the most important position on the field) and some players who were hurt longterm making their return.
Here are seven storylines heading into spring camp:
QB competition
After putting together two of the best seasons by a quarterback in program history, Athan Kaliakmanis is off to the NFL. Who will replace him?
That will be the biggest question head coach Greg Schiano, offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca and company will have to answer this offseason.
The two competitors are clear:
— Redshirt sophomore AJ Surace waited in the wings behind Kaliakmanis for two years, learning Ciarrocca’s system and observing what it takes to be successful at the Big Ten level. But he played 34 snaps and threw just nine passes across three appearances last season, so he will have to overcome his inexperience in the first true quarterback competition of his career.
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— Boston College transfer Dylan Lonergan is similar to Kaliakmanis in multiple ways. A fellow former four-star prospect, he comes to Rutgers in hopes of winning the starting job after earning plenty of experience elsewhere. Lonergan threw for 2,025 yards, 12 touchdowns and five interceptions on 66.9% passing (190-of-284) for the Eagles last year.
There is no telling who will win and when the competition will be completed, but Rutgers will hope Surace and Lonergan make it a difficult decision.
How do new transfers look?
There will be 13 new faces from the transfer portal joining the Scarlet Knights this spring — with South Dakota transfer Mikey Munn and Drake transfer Sean Allison missing camp due to signing too late to enroll for the spring semester — and Rutgers will hope a number of them will begin earning the key roles they project to play.
While Lonergan’s battle will be watched the closest, there will be intrigue among the multiple cornerbacks (Maryland’s Kevyn Humes, Villanova’s Zahmir Dawud, the Citadel’s Bradlee Jones) and defensive lineman (Toledo’s Malachi Davis, Appalachian State’s Rondo Porter, Tulsa’s J’Dan Burnett) brought in.
Injured guys coming back
A number of players who were expected to contribute during the 2025 season did not see any action due to season-ending injuries. It is unclear how many of them will be available for the spring, but it will be intriguing to see where defensive back DK Gilley, defensive tackle Doug Blue-Eli, offensive tackle Ryder Langsdale and wide receiver Famah Toure stand in the pecking order after watching from the sidelines last fall.
Who is the second-leading wide receiver?
There is no doubt that star junior KJ Duff will be the best player in a deep wide receiver room. But after his close friend Ian Strong transferred to California and Rutgers did not replace him through the portal, there is no telling who wide receiver coach Dave Brock’s second-best target will be.
Could it be junior Ben Black, who had a big game in a road win over Purdue last fall? Will it be Toure, who was set to contribute last year before getting hurt in the spring game? Will it be any of the rising sophomores who showed flashes, be it Vernon Allen III, Michael Thomas III or Jourdin Houston? Will it be Dyzier Carter or Elias Coke, two highly-touted true freshmen?
It will be a key position battle to keep an eye on.
New defensive coaching staff, better results?
Fixing the defense, which is coming off of one of the worst seasons in modern Big Ten football history, was a priority this offseason. Schiano replaced most of the staff, hiring South Dakota head coach Travis Johansen as defensive coordinator and allowing him to build out a staff.
How will the new coaches, most of whom come from several levels below the Big Ten, approach the early days of the offseason? They could be working with more talent than last season’s staff — for the Scarlet Knights’ sake, that better be the case — but they will need to bring some fresh ideas and significantly better teaching methods to show improvement over last fall’s debacle.
A lot of options along the offensive line
The Scarlet Knights have a lot of dependable bodies in the trenches, and it will be up to first-year offensive line coach Jim Turner to put the puzzle together.
Multi-year starter Kobe Asamoah seems like a lock at right guard, but everything else could be up in the air.
Between Langsdale, veteran Tyler Needham and Dantae Chin, Rutgers has multiple players with starting experience at tackle. Does Chin move back inside after playing left tackle last year following Langsdale’s preseason injury?
Is Hank Zilinskas, who redshirted last fall behind his older brother Gus, the next starting center, or will he be challenged for that spot?
Will any of the two offensive line transfers Rutgers brought in compete for playing time?
One thing is certain: Rutgers is in a better position now along the line than it was years ago, when the challenge was finding enough bodies to fill all five starting spots.
Is there a tight end in Piscataway?
With multi-year starter Kenny Fletcher running out of eligibility, a longtime position of weakness could be set to take a step back. The Scarlet Knights did add Ball State transfer Kam Anthony, but he is recovering from a longterm injury and will not be available in the spring.
Will junior Logan Blake, who played 57 snaps last season, make a leap? Will sophomore Ben Rothhaar make his debut after playing 21 special teams snaps last fall? The position is likely far down the list of Rutgers’ concerns this offseason, but it is one worth keeping an eye on.
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