Did not have any specific players in mind. While xr are a develpmental prohram my post was relative to the need to rebuild almost the entire D via the portal going into year 6 thus could the relaxing a bit the cultural fit help with incoming talent. Thus the promise was based on a general observation
Should Schiano lighten up on the Cultural match ?
- Thread starter Spartared
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Here is how Greg is doing it...And it seems that it has evolved in the past year as NIL has become more of a factor that we actually have $$$
The last few years- Greg did go for kids and families that valued what they can get at Rutgers as well as play for a B1G team. Many of these HS kids were the lower to mid 3 star type kids. Maybe not the star of their HS team- Think Kyle M.
What was smart is that when Greg built these kids up- they appreciated it and stuck with us when others schools came knocking with NIL money. Greg then started to fill in some gaps with a handful of portal players each year.
Greg worked the HS recruiting trail with this type of efforts and it is paying off at the HS recruiting level. So, we have a really good core of players going into years 3-4...
But now- we have NIL cash- Greg is using it to hold onto the kids we want to keep and finally getting the really good portal kids. Thus, why we are something like 7 in the nation with the portal this year. We were 30 in recruiting...And our kids have been crushing it in school as well.
There is zero reason to go after the less solid kids and their families at this point.
The last few years- Greg did go for kids and families that valued what they can get at Rutgers as well as play for a B1G team. Many of these HS kids were the lower to mid 3 star type kids. Maybe not the star of their HS team- Think Kyle M.
What was smart is that when Greg built these kids up- they appreciated it and stuck with us when others schools came knocking with NIL money. Greg then started to fill in some gaps with a handful of portal players each year.
Greg worked the HS recruiting trail with this type of efforts and it is paying off at the HS recruiting level. So, we have a really good core of players going into years 3-4...
But now- we have NIL cash- Greg is using it to hold onto the kids we want to keep and finally getting the really good portal kids. Thus, why we are something like 7 in the nation with the portal this year. We were 30 in recruiting...And our kids have been crushing it in school as well.
There is zero reason to go after the less solid kids and their families at this point.
And getting one or two "cancers" in the locker room can have a serious detrimental effect.
We need guys who will promise to forgo wine,women,and song. Sober,virginal and lyrical. Right?
Funny but on a serious note is the basic criteria willing to work hard both on and off the gield, be a team player..
Etc..etc..etc
Maybe you take one off who might be a risk if you’ve done your due diligence. He has in the past and has been quick to cut his losses. But not many and you don’t sacrifice the culture for a few transfers.
There's definitely a need to change the late-game, freezing / windy weather calling timeout culture.
Greg has always looked for certain things- He tries his best to find the kids who have strong support- I am not going to say parents as there are many kids who may have that support from a Brother/Sister/Aunt/Uncle etc...And who understands that they have to take responsibility for themself and their actions.
He makes it clear that it isn't going to be easy on the field but also wants them to understand that they need to take it upon themselves to excel everywhere in life. And that could take shape in many places and ways- Greg is very spiritual but realizes that a kid may not be- and that is ok, as long as that kid does not disrespect another kid who is. And maybe a kid likes to just work on cars in his spare time.
But Greg does not like idle minds.
He is also very big with respect. All of his players could be a crazed 300lb beast in a game but they walk off the field and hold a door open, they smile and laugh with a young kid who looks up to them, etc.
And he really does look for a kid with drive. And not just drive on the football field. This is why you see kids on our teams do so well in school. Why, even when they may make the Pro's- they are all doing charitable work.
And it is why they respect themselves and this is why so many will stay here at Rutgers when those other teams are trying to grab them.
Greg told us first hand- I try my best to ensure your son as well as every other kid in the locker room is safe and surrounded by other young men like this. But admitted he has failed many times but he will be very swift and decisive to either give a kid that 2nd chance or just remove him.
It also seems like the way Greg uses NIL- he does the same thing. Going after the kids looking to move up to a B1G team vs a kid who is just a mercenary from another P4 team
I guess you might not realize it but kids graduate from College & move on with their lives especially after 5 years, which nearly the whole defense was, most from Gregs first recruiting class. Replacing those kids with one year transfers who all have experience playing to fill the wholes that graduation created is smart business. Greg will never relax the rules he recruits by since we have seen in the past what happens when kids are not a cultural fit, we end up reading about them in the papers.
No problem with use of the portal to replace and fill holes. My point was where are guys from subseqent years when you need the portal to rebuild the defense. Just a suggestion to perhaps draw in some talent while we are still a deveiopmental program. Was not suggesting that we bring in bozos just perhaps some a little off from a perfect fit
I have had some crazy ideas expressed on this board from time to time.. all I had to do was admit it when shown I was wrong or, in general, we come to the conclusion that it is unknowable and we agree to disagree.
But no answer? *crickets* as you say.... that makes me think it was troll behavior all along.
No. Just read about this year's Ohio State and the culture. Culture is critical for real success. And it's not culture for one year, but a continuous culture. Everyone know what to expect, their accountability, how things work and are working in the same direction.
I’m not the biggest Schiano fan here but this is the one thing he got right all these years. There’s not many, IF ANY, scumbags in the program that would embarrass their family, friends, schools, or Rutgers. For the most part, he brought in quality young men to compete and represent the program. He shouldn’t budge on that, IMO.
Rutgers Lands 4 Star Running Back Jaylen McGill
"McGill had made several visits to Rutgers before his commitment on Saturday but it was recent events that really seemed to tip the scale in the Knights favor. Last week, Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano, Running backs coach Dymere Shaw, and assistant running backs coach Steve Thomas flew down to South Carolina to meet with McGill and his family.
“There were six of us in the room and I am sure that’s one of the best conversations everyone in that room ever had,” Shaw said after Schiano’s visit. (Via Brian Dohn from Scarlet Nation)
It seemed that Schiano’s family based recruiting style worked as intended. He also seemed intrigued about playing his college ball just 30 miles away from NYC due to his heavy interest in business. After their conversation, McGill and his family booked the trip to Rutgers where he would his announce his commitment to the team."
Rutgers Lands 4 Star Running Back Jaylen McGill
2026 4 Star running back Jaylen McGill announced his commitment to play for Rutgers football from the stands at Madison Square Garden during the Rutgers Basketball game against Michigan State....
www.onthebanks.com
I answered the cricket comment and I am a 30 year season tkt holder. So feel free to believe whatever you wish
I live and die with this team and believe that Greg Schiano will eventually get us to where we all want to be
For those who flat out said no not a good idea or even said "dumbest idea" ...thats fine. But the troll supposition is not remotely true
I will continue to post and you will find that I am essentially a positive poster
I tried responding to this a few days ago but it looks like I was not successful in posting that
I have no specifics on who we might have missed out on by not meeting the culture fit
Since we are a developmental program the jist of the thought was that as we are needing to rebuild over half the defense with the portal maybe for the interim relaxing a tad how he valuates a kid might help. Not saying to bring in just anybody but maybe close but not 100 % fits. In any event as things improve ie - results on the field, this becomes a non issue
this thread / OP proves: it’s the off-season ;)
But as it’s not a ridiculous question I’ll weigh in….
OP - imho I think your post is a few years too late.
When Schiano 2.0 started (and we had NO talent/ depth) it would have been a very good question to ask whether he should roll the dice with some talented / but questionable kids to bolster the roster.
But now he really does seem to have a plan/ system in place to build up the roster in a long term/ sustainable way
I suppose your question is whether he should alter that to speed it up.
Again , not an absurd question imho.
But I think you’re getting an overwhelmingly consistent response to your question - seems the rest of us are happy to see where Schiano is gonna take this with the system he is employing.
maybe, just maybe, this approach will eventually result in Rutgers having a solid/ deep program.
As of right now there doesn’t seem to be a reason to doubt what Schiano is doing
we ALL wish it would happen overnight but seems those responding to your question (including me) see the direction he’s going and are willing to have a little more patience - it’s what Rutgers fans excel at ;)
But as it’s not a ridiculous question I’ll weigh in….
OP - imho I think your post is a few years too late.
When Schiano 2.0 started (and we had NO talent/ depth) it would have been a very good question to ask whether he should roll the dice with some talented / but questionable kids to bolster the roster.
But now he really does seem to have a plan/ system in place to build up the roster in a long term/ sustainable way
I suppose your question is whether he should alter that to speed it up.
Again , not an absurd question imho.
But I think you’re getting an overwhelmingly consistent response to your question - seems the rest of us are happy to see where Schiano is gonna take this with the system he is employing.
maybe, just maybe, this approach will eventually result in Rutgers having a solid/ deep program.
As of right now there doesn’t seem to be a reason to doubt what Schiano is doing
we ALL wish it would happen overnight but seems those responding to your question (including me) see the direction he’s going and are willing to have a little more patience - it’s what Rutgers fans excel at ;)
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It's funny- we all watched the first couple of years of GS 2.0 and even his biggest fans were kind of saying- Can he do it? A couple of years later- NIL happened, recruiting on a whole was still not where we wanted it. The team looked better and we saw a slight glimmer but, we were losing the NIL battle. Greg called us developmental and that he was going to spend his limited NIL on retention rather than portal and recruiting.
The NIL equation looked like it may make us linger for decades of being blah.
Then, either he figured it out or he had it right. And of course, we were all of a sudden swimming with the $20 mil money. Greg's recruiting has started to step up, product on the field looks much better- bringing in a top portal class while not losing the kids we want to stay.
It feels that we may have just climbed to the top of the hill and we may see things escalate very quickly from here. It feels like we were just chugging and would never get there but now it seems the next couple of steps forward, go faster then we ever imagined.
We shall see how fast we go up hill -our schedule next year and beyond is still ridiculous and the gap between us and the likes of PSU, OSU, Michigan and Oregon are still very large.
But hopefully with (1) retaining the kids we want and (2) bringing in good recruiting and portal classes year-after year we will consistently compete with (and beat more often than not) the likes of Iowa and Wisconsin (and be a constant threat to knock off a big boy from time-to-time)
You answered the *crickets* comment which was about how you seemed to drop the conversation rather than answer my question. So I got no alert that you had replied to me.
Still.. your response is about what I expected.. your real question is not and should not be about "cultural fit", but why we need to pick up portal players. But that question does not allow you to question Schinao's "cultural fit" thing so you glossed over it. That question could be applied to so so many coaches.. including "Coach Prime". Meanwhile, Rutgers lost so few players the prior season.. had so many returning players and high expectations that they failed to meet.. I think due to injuries and generally being thin at top-BigTen level depth. But Schiano has us in much better position there than any other coach we have ever had.
I think you just have a problem with "cultural fit" and are seeking ways to justify attacking it.
I think you want the swag of the bad boys and to hope for the best.
I am glad you do not make such decisions.
Yeah who makes these schedules ? we are getting a tough schedule just about every year it seems. This was the only year it wasn’t murderers row and sure enough the media could not stop saying how easy our schedule was ! Annoying .
I totally agree that Schiano has us in great position and that is the best guy for the job. I was trying to get across that while we are still a developmental program that possibly a mlnor tweak might get us a few more good players. Never meant to bring in bad apples perhaps I did not state that clearly enough. My main focus was needing to rebuild over half the defense using the portal, otherwise our D was not looking very good going into next year. One thing that I agree on is that if I were making decisions on this program I would make Chris Ash look like a genius
OSU/Oregon/PSU is not the next step- it is the following one. Not sure if we hit that level but the next step in the fast track is playing those teams with the hope of an upset or just not getting blown away. This year’s OSU game shows we are not that far off. And this time last year- we were afraid of what is going to happen to us when we lose our Seniors. There could be an argument that we have reached the point where GS now knows the portal and we have enough NIL to not worry as much about getting worse.
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