For Greg Schiano, the evolution of Saturday’s season-opening win over Boston College represented the on-the-fly growth of his young group.
“We started the game with some young team mistakes and made some nervous errors,” Schiano said after Rutgers’ 22-21 upset victory at Alumni Stadium. “But it was a great lesson that if you can stay in the moment…eventually we got there.
“It’s always more fun to teach from the W column. That’s what we’re gonna do.”
The first half saw Rutgers use three different quarterbacks in as many plays in a three-and-out opening drive, then turn a first and goal at the 10-yard line to a fourth and goal at the 43, with the punt unit on the field. Social media had a field day about the disastrous end to that drive, but the ever-growing Rutgers squad had the last laugh with a 12-play, 96-yard drive ending in the game-winning touchdown with just under three minutes to go in the game.
“I love the way that we won this game,” Schiano said. “That’s Rutgers football. It was a 60-minute chop, and it took every one of those minutes.”
As for the quarterback situation, Evan Simon and Gavin Wimsatt shared the bulk of the snaps, with Wimsatt, the highest-rated quarterback recruit in the history of the program, completing five of nine passes for 47 yards, while busting out a 48-yard run.
As for veteran quarterback Noah Vedral, who did not play, Schiano didn’t want to get into the specifics of his injury, citing the possibility of other teams using knowledge of the injury to their advantage.
“Noah’s gonna be week-to-week, it’s not gonna be a whole season deal,” Schiano said. “He’ll be back. I’m not gonna get into it. He’s got an upper body injury, and I’ll leave it at that. It’s a competitive thing.”
As for whether either quarterback stuck out as a potential consistent presence behind center, Schiano said, like the team as a whole, it is still a work in progress.
“I got no idea,” Schiano said. “We’re gonna evaluate how they played and see how they do in practice. We have the most unselfish quarterback room I’ve ever seen. They just pull for each other.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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