Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano spoke on many things during his Big Ten Media Day press conference, but he seemingly had special praise for one of the three players Rutgers brought with him: punter Adam Korsak, who set an NCAA record for net punting average and a school record for gross punting average in 2021.
"Adam is the best punter that I've ever been around in 35 years. That's a pretty big statement, because I've been around a lot of them," Schiano said of Korsak in his introduction. "He's also just a tremendous human being. He's from Australia. Probably those old beer commercials for Dos Equis, probably the most interesting man in the world. He is a lot of fun to talk with, been a lot of places, done a lot of great things, and really a fun guy."
Korsak is on the Ray Guy Award watch list for the fifth straight year, and enters the season as the school's all-time leader in punts and punting yards. It's not a stretch to say he's the best punter in school history – he was also First-Team All-Big Ten and Second Team All-American last year, and was a finalist for the Ray Guy Award – and his success is a reflection of how seriously the Scarlet Knights take special teams as a whole.
"I think special teams are critical right now – that makes a big difference in any league – and I think we put a great deal of importance on it in our program," Schiano said. "Special teams plays cover about 22 percent of the game, but the fact of the matter is they cover the most real estate of any play in the game when you add them all up. So I think they're critically important."
And as Schiano said, Rutgers practices and plays special teams as if they're equal to offense and defense because of that notion.
"Anywhere I've ever been, that's probably the biggest thing is we spend a lot of time on it. We're willing to play our starters, our best players on it, and I don't think all the special teams are created equal either," Schiano said. "I think certain teams are a little more important than others, and you'll see guys, starting linebackers, starting tight ends, starting running backs on those teams."
Kostak will be part of that for one final time, but he won't be the only Aussie punter in the Big Ten, as Ohio State's Jesse Mirco also hails from down under – so when Kostak leaves, will we see another import coming to Rutgers?
Maybe, because it seems like Schiano is enamored with what the many Aussies who have punted in college and the NFL bring to the table.
"It is a unique skill set these young men have; so many of them played Australian Rules Football, where they can move and at a moment's notice drop it and punt it. What a get out of jail free card that can be when you have to protect against these great athletes in the Big Ten Conference," Schiano said. "I really have so much respect for Adam, the way he approaches his craft and the way that he leads on our football team. That's not an ordinary thing for a punter on a football team to be respected and looked up to like he is on our team. I'm just grateful we've got one more year with him."
Schiano also spoke briefly about a number of other topics, including quarterback Noah Vedral's progress and the QB situation, Drew Singleton's eligibility, and where UCLA and USC joining the Big Ten – all of which you can read about in the full transcript here.
For more on Rutgers football, visit https://scarletknights.com/sports/football.
Listen live to WFAN via:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Smart Speaker
Follow WFAN on Social Media:
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch
