By Rich Chrampanis
Greg Schiano’s return to Rutgers for a second head coaching stint had a ton of momentum that came to a screeching halt with the rest of the sports world thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hired in December, Schiano and his newly assembled staff made a big impact on the recruiting trail, securing 11 commitments from the class of 2021 that has been recognized as a top 20 nationally ranked recruiting class. But the coronavirus wiped out Rutgers entire spring practice and forced Schiano to adjust to a digital approach to everything involved with the football team.
The Two River Times spoke with the Scarlet Knights head coach about waiting to get back on the field.
TRT: Football coaches are prepared for almost anything, but no one could have predicted what came with this pandemic. How have you adjusted?
Schiano: They don’t have a chapter in the head coaching book for this one. Everybody is doing everything they can. My biggest concern is that our players and families are safe and our staff’s family stay safe.
TRT: You had so much momentum going with recruiting and getting your culture installed before this all came to a stop. How are you continuing to do that under tough circumstances?
Schiano: You do what you’re capable of doing in any situation. We asked where we can find opportunity in this adversity. We’ve been able to do that in recruiting. We’re figuring out how to use all this technology and using it to our advantage so that in the long run we’ll be able to utilize tools that we never been forced to use. We’ve kept a diary of things that we have learned. Our players and coaches are meeting most weekday mornings and installing the offense and defense. One of the opportunities that comes from that is what would normally take one day to install now we install it in five days. Because what’s the rush? Hopefully, the players, although they’re not actually getting to do it physically, hopefully they are getting a better understanding of things because it’s more thorough.
TRT: The sports fan selfishly wants football back so bad. We’ve heard so many different scenarios. How do you wrestle with everything in the air right now (starting in September vs. some games in the fall and the spring or not starting until the spring)?
Schiano: There is a new scenario every day because we don’t know. I think what people are trying to do is create scenarios and create plans. The thing I’ve said to our staff is the implementation of offense, defense and special teams; overall a culture that we are trained to do, that’s what we’ve done our whole careers. I’m not overly concerned with that. We just need to wait for the authorities to give us the green light.
What can we do now? That’s more what my concern is today. What opportunities exist today, and that would be all my challenge to all the young high school athletes. You certainly have an opportunity to improve your grades as much as you can. Here’s an opportunity that you’re unable to go places and do things but you can work on your school work for a month and really finish strong. I think you see all these YouTube videos and things on social media that there’s plenty of ways to physically train. Your body doesn’t know if it’s a high-tech weight machine or if you’re doing something like pushing a wheelbarrow. You just need to overload your system so it grows. In our little part of the world for our players and coaches, where can we find opportunity and let’s go get it.
TRT: What are the things you look for beyond the football attributes when it comes to recruiting athletes?
Schiano: The talent’s first. I think some people that’s all they need to see. We’re very particular about who we’re going to bring into our family and into our program. They need to be young men of character, guys that are like minded to what our culture is and it’s one of unselfishness, one where the team is bigger than any individual. If that’s not for them, then we’re better off not going down that road. Let’s not waste each other’s time. All 11 years in our first go and certainly in the last four or five months, we’re looking for guys that are Rutgers type of men. We need guys who love the game of football. Just liking it, that’s not what we’re really looking for.
TRT: What’s it going to be like when you get the green light and get on the practice field for the first time?
Schiano: It’s going to be a lot of fun. We have a bunch of guys that are chomping at the bit. We had some winter workouts which are in between no practice and a practice. You don’t have a football; you can’t line up any plays. We did get a feel for how hard our team works and their ability to focus and I was very encouraged by that. They’re a hard-working group, they want to do what we’re asking them to do. I have no idea how we’re going to look when we start playing. It will change because usually when you take a job you have spring practice and there’s no game to get ready for. The first time we get to practice there will be a game looming in the future. Who knows when that’s going to be, but I can’t wait to start being able to coach our team on the field. But we’ve been doing everything we can other than coaching them on the field.
TRT: This state has been devastated by this pandemic. What is your perspective as we try to get on the other side of that?
Schiano: This is a tough, gritty group of people. If there’s a group of people that can handle something like this, I think we are them. Hopefully we can serve as an example for the rest of the country how to keep battling through this thing. In the United States, we’ve been hit the hardest. I’m really proud to say I am a New Jerseyan and that I’m a part of a group of people that are fighting a really good fight. My words are just to encourage people to keep doing it. We will come out of this thing eventually. I believe New Jersey and the metropolitan area are going to come out of it stronger than ever.
The article originally appeared in the May 7th – May 13th, 2020 print edition of The Two River Times.
