Rutgers football: 5 hot topics including Gavin Wimsatt as Big Ten Media Days begin

INDIANAPOLIS −Football season is back.
Almost, anyway.
The Big Ten will unofficially kick off the 2023 campaign on Wednesday and Thursday when the conference holds its annual Media Days at Lucas Oil Stadium. Every head coach and three players from each team will be attending − Rutgers is bringing defensive end Aaron Lewis, linebacker Deion Jennings and tight end Johnny Langan with coach Greg Schiano, and they'll address the media the first day of the event.
Here are five topics surrounding Rutgers football Media Days get going:
How much improvement can the offense show?
Rutgers has a new offensive coordinator in Kirk Ciarrocca, who brings a wealth of experience to the coaching staff, and some new pieces in wide receiver transfer JaQuae Jackson and Naseim Brantley, as well as tight end transfer Shawn Bowman. The Scarlet Knights will have a fully healthy Sam Brown at running back, and an offensive line that is making progress, but still needs to be much better than it’s been.
Offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca observes warm up exercises before Rutgers University football spring practice at Marco Battaglia Practice Complex in Piscataway, NJ Tuesday April 11, 2023.
It’s going to be up to Ciarrocca to figure out how to use the pieces that he has to make the offense more productive – it wasn’t anywhere close to the level that it needs to be last season. Ciarrocca knows how to build solid Big Ten offenses, something he did as the coordinator at Minnesota. He’s taking on his new project at Rutgers.
Of course, much of the Scarlet Knights’ success will come down to…
Gavin Wimsatt’s improvement
No offense can do much without a consistent quarterback. Helping Wimsatt reach that point was one of Ciarrocca’s top priorities throughout the offseason. Wimsatt has shown he has the skillset – from his quick release to his strong arm – but he needs to make better decisions this season and limit mistakes and turnovers. Physically, Wimsatt looks more and more like a Big Ten quarterback every year. Now his level of play needs to follow.
The potential of the defense
Rutgers’ defense under Joe Harasymiak was undoubtedly the strength of the team last season. The unit kept the Scarlet Knights in several games and gave them a chance to win. Multiple players said they believe the defense will be better this season with more familiarity with Harasymiak’s defense. Rutgers got a big lift when linebacker Deion Jennings, the team’s leading tackler in 2022, chose to return for another season. He’s part of a linebacker corps that also returns Tyreem Powell, as well as a healthy Mohamed Toure and Moses Walker. Add in a defensive line that has depth and talent, and a secondary that returns Max Melton and Robert Longerbeam, and the entire defense is again poised to be a considerable strength.
Can Rutgers make a statement to start the season?
For the first time since joining the Big Ten, the Scarlet Knights will open the season against a conference opponent: Northwestern. The Wildcats have had a tumultuous summer that included the firing of head coach Pat Fitzgerald following the revelation of hazing within the program. David Braun, hired earlier in the offseason as the defensive coordinator, has never coached at the Power 5 level. The Wildcats have struggled in recent seasons, going 1-11 last season and 3-9 the year before. Rutgers has an opportunity to start of the season by beating a reeling Big Ten team and building immediate momentum.
Getting to six wins
While reaching six wins and achieving bowl eligibility might not be an expectation at this point, it's still a goal for the Scarlet Knights. For Rutgers do so, it's almost certainly going to have to beat all three of its nonconference opponents (Temple, Virginia Tech and Wagner), while also winning games against some of the more beatable Big Ten opponents like Northwestern and Indiana. If the Scarlet Knights can do that, they'll enter November with a potential bowl bid still in play.