- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,253,821
- Reaction score
- 59
PISCATAWAY – As far as Greg Schiano is concerned, there’s no doubt.
This is the best the Rutgers football coach has felt about the state of his team’s offensive line since he’s returned for his second stint.
“As a starting five, I don’t know if it’ll be proven if they’re the best unit or not,” Schiano said on July 28 at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago. “But depth-wise, it’s not even close.”
That’s a good spot for the Scarlet Knights to be in.
Developing offensive line depth – especially quality depth – is difficult to do in a tough, physical conference like the Big Ten. It’s a position that was lackluster for the first few seasons of Schiano’s return, but the unit saw an uptick under former offensive line coach Pat Flaherty.
But as Schiano begins his seventh season of his second stint, he’s now looking to new O-line coach Jim Turner to take the unit to another level – and identify the right combination for the starting five with several spots to fill and position battles to oversee.
Kobe Asamoah returns for his fifth season – he started all 12 games at right guard last season and all 13 in 2024, and will almost certainly slot right back in as the experienced and battle-tested member of the line.
Tyler Needham is the likely candidate to start at right tackle, but left tackle remains unclear.
Dantae Chin started two games there last season before suffering a season-ending injury – Schiano said he’ll be a full-go in training camp. Ryder Langsdale, a 6-foot-7, 295-pound Ridgewood native who transferred to Rutgers from Lafayette prior to last season, is also back healthy after missing all of 2025 with an injury. Moshood Giwa, an LIU transfer who started one game at left tackle last season, is also an option.
But Schiano also mentioned an under-the-radar name who’s also in the mix.
“There’s great competition at the tackle spot right now,” Schiano said. “Ryder’s definitely in that competition. I think Kenny Jones is poised to do some really good things. And he’s put in a lot of work. He’s had a tough go, but he’s chopped away and he hasn’t gotten discouraged. I see a guy that’s on the rise there. I think we have some guys that are going to be able to help us.”
Rutgers also has to replace center Gus Zilinskas, who made 41 starts there, including every game the previous three seasons as a stalwart for the line.
His younger brother Hank, who transferred to Rutgers from Colorado prior to last season, is now battling against Terrence Salami, a six-year member of the program, for the starting job.
Schiano called Salami a “very powerful guy and a guy that’s really improved over the year and now it’s his shot so to speak.
“Right now Salami is working and has been working with the ones but it is a real competition,” Schiano said. “And one that I think this training camp is going to determine is who really wants the job.”
The decision to bring in Turner to oversee the unit stemmed from offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca, who worked with Turner at Delaware two decades ago.
When Ciarrocca joined Rutgers ahead of the 2023 season, Schiano had already committed to bringing in Flaherty, who won two Super Bowls as the Giants’ O-line coach under Tom Coughlin. Schiano said Flaherty was who he wanted for the job.
But this past offseason, the time was right to bring in Turner.
“Right from the very beginning he talked to me about Jim,” Schiano said. “I told Kirk that if the time was right, and that’s still how he felt, we could do that and he wanted to do it so I was very much open to doing it. Kirk does such a good job with the entire operation on offense, you need to give ownership where it’s deserved.”
Asamoah said Turner, a former Marine, has made a strong impression so far on the unit.
"Coach Turner, he's a very energetic guy," Asamoah said. "He's very hard-nosed. You know, he got that military background, you know, from the Marines. It's been great. "
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Why Greg Schiano is optimistic about Rutgers football's offensive line
Continue reading...
This is the best the Rutgers football coach has felt about the state of his team’s offensive line since he’s returned for his second stint.
“As a starting five, I don’t know if it’ll be proven if they’re the best unit or not,” Schiano said on July 28 at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago. “But depth-wise, it’s not even close.”
That’s a good spot for the Scarlet Knights to be in.
Developing offensive line depth – especially quality depth – is difficult to do in a tough, physical conference like the Big Ten. It’s a position that was lackluster for the first few seasons of Schiano’s return, but the unit saw an uptick under former offensive line coach Pat Flaherty.
You must be registered for see images attach
But as Schiano begins his seventh season of his second stint, he’s now looking to new O-line coach Jim Turner to take the unit to another level – and identify the right combination for the starting five with several spots to fill and position battles to oversee.
Kobe Asamoah returns for his fifth season – he started all 12 games at right guard last season and all 13 in 2024, and will almost certainly slot right back in as the experienced and battle-tested member of the line.
Tyler Needham is the likely candidate to start at right tackle, but left tackle remains unclear.
Dantae Chin started two games there last season before suffering a season-ending injury – Schiano said he’ll be a full-go in training camp. Ryder Langsdale, a 6-foot-7, 295-pound Ridgewood native who transferred to Rutgers from Lafayette prior to last season, is also back healthy after missing all of 2025 with an injury. Moshood Giwa, an LIU transfer who started one game at left tackle last season, is also an option.
But Schiano also mentioned an under-the-radar name who’s also in the mix.
“There’s great competition at the tackle spot right now,” Schiano said. “Ryder’s definitely in that competition. I think Kenny Jones is poised to do some really good things. And he’s put in a lot of work. He’s had a tough go, but he’s chopped away and he hasn’t gotten discouraged. I see a guy that’s on the rise there. I think we have some guys that are going to be able to help us.”
Rutgers also has to replace center Gus Zilinskas, who made 41 starts there, including every game the previous three seasons as a stalwart for the line.
His younger brother Hank, who transferred to Rutgers from Colorado prior to last season, is now battling against Terrence Salami, a six-year member of the program, for the starting job.
Schiano called Salami a “very powerful guy and a guy that’s really improved over the year and now it’s his shot so to speak.
“Right now Salami is working and has been working with the ones but it is a real competition,” Schiano said. “And one that I think this training camp is going to determine is who really wants the job.”
How the change from Pat Flaherty to Jim Turner as Rutgers offensive line coach played out
The decision to bring in Turner to oversee the unit stemmed from offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca, who worked with Turner at Delaware two decades ago.
When Ciarrocca joined Rutgers ahead of the 2023 season, Schiano had already committed to bringing in Flaherty, who won two Super Bowls as the Giants’ O-line coach under Tom Coughlin. Schiano said Flaherty was who he wanted for the job.
But this past offseason, the time was right to bring in Turner.
“Right from the very beginning he talked to me about Jim,” Schiano said. “I told Kirk that if the time was right, and that’s still how he felt, we could do that and he wanted to do it so I was very much open to doing it. Kirk does such a good job with the entire operation on offense, you need to give ownership where it’s deserved.”
Asamoah said Turner, a former Marine, has made a strong impression so far on the unit.
"Coach Turner, he's a very energetic guy," Asamoah said. "He's very hard-nosed. You know, he got that military background, you know, from the Marines. It's been great. "
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Why Greg Schiano is optimistic about Rutgers football's offensive line
Continue reading...
