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Big Ten Preview: Rutgers Football Kicks Off The 2024 Season Against Howard Thursday Night

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Football

Rutgers football opens its 2024 season by hosting Howard Thursday at SHI Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. on Big Ten Network. The Scarlet Knights are 11-4 in season openers under head coach Greg Schiano, including victories each of the past four years.

SCOUTING RUTGERS
• The roster includes 14 players who started at least seven games for the Scarlet Knights last season, 32 players who have been in the program at least three years and 16 who have been on the roster since Schiano returned for the 2020 season. RU brings back nine all-conference players, fifth-most in the Big Ten.
• Rutgers is 102-40-11 all-time in home openers, winning 12 of the last 14, and is 10-5 under Schiano.
• Rutgers is 6-3 all-time in games played in August. The last August game was Rutgers' first as a Big Ten member, a 41-38 win over Washington State in Seattle (2014). That game also marked the last time the Scarlet Knights opened a season on a Thursday.
• Following a team vote, QB Athan Kaliakmanis, DB Robert Longerbeam, DB Joe Lusardi, RB Kyle Monangai, LB Tyreem Powell and LB Mohamed Toure were selected as the 2024 Rutgers football captains. Lusardi, Monangai and Toure also served as captains last year.
• Rutgers is 13-1 since 2020 when not committing a turnover in a game.
• Rutgers, "The Birthplace of College Football," has played 1,409 games in program history on record dating back to 1869, the most in the sport.

VERSUS HOWARD
• Rutgers and Howard are set to meet on the gridiron for the sixth time. All meetings have taken place in Piscataway.
• Rutgers has won the previous five matchups by a combined margin of 217-53, including a 26-0 shutout in 2012. The series started in 2006.
• In the last meeting in 2016, Janarion Grant combined for 248 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns in a 52-14 win. The Scarlet Knights found the end zone five times in the second half while limiting the Bison to five yards of total offense after halftime.
• Rutgers is 14-0 all-time against teams from the MEAC, winning by a combined score of 623-88.
• Rutgers game highs versus Howard:
Rushing Yards: Jourdan Brooks, 124 (2009)
Passing Yards: Gary Nova, 282 (2014)
Receiving Yards: Tim Brown, 132 (2009)

LAST TIME OUT
• Rutgers defeated Miami, 31-24, at the 2023 Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl. It marked the program's seventh bowl championship, sixth under Schiano and second victory in the Pinstripe Bowl.
• Down 17-14 with just over 10 minutes left in the third quarter, RU scored 17 unanswered points to collect the win over the Hurricanes. Trevor Yeboah-Kodie blocked a punt at Miami's one-yard line, which was recovered by DB Timmy Ward in the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown.
• Monangai earned the game's MVP trophy after he finished with 25 carries for 163 yards and a touchdown.
• Deion Jennings led the defense with nine tackles and one for loss, Toure added eight tackles, two tackles-for-loss and a sack, while LB Abram Wright recorded his first career interception.
• Schiano's six bowl wins are tied for second-most among active Big Ten head coaches and tied for 10th among active FBS head coaches nationally.

OFFENSE
• Kirk Ciarrocca is in his second season back as Rutgers' offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2024. Ciarrocca has over 30 years of coaching experience (20 as an offensive coordinator). He has been selected as a semifinalist for the Broyles Award and coached 27 players who had their name called in the NFL Draft (six in the first round). Ciarrocca has coached the Big Ten's leading rusher each of the past two seasons (Monangai, Mohamed Ibrahim).
• In 2023, Rutgers was the most improved team in the Big Ten by total offense (+24.1) and one of just four teams in the league to increase its average from 2022 (Wisconsin +17.6, Illinois +13.0, Indiana +4.6).
• Rutgers rushed for 2,193 yards last year, its best total in the Big Ten era, most since 2007 and 10th-highest mark for a season in program history. The average of 168.7 rushing yards per game (fifth in the Big Ten) was an improvement of 40.5 rushing yards per game compared to 2022.
• Kaliakmanis is set for his Rutgers debut and brings 23 previous games of Big Ten experience, completing 216-of-405 passes for 2,784 yards and 17 touchdowns.
• The reigning Big Ten rushing leader, Monangai enters 2024 with 1,942 career rushing yards, seeking to become the 16th player in program history to reach 2,000. He ran for 1,262 yards last year, posting seven games with 100 or more.
• WR Christian Dremel leads the roster with 45 games as a Scarlet Knight and paced the offense with 36 receptions and 468 receiving yards last year.

DEFENSE
• Joe Harasymiak is in his third season as the Rutgers football defensive coordinator in 2024. A native of Waldwick, New Jersey, Harasymiak also leads the linebackers and has been a nominee for the Broyles Award each of the past two seasons. The Scarlet Knights have improved by 83 yards per game since he joined the staff.
• In 2023, Rutgers ranked 16th nationally in total defense (313.5), posting its best mark and ranking for a season in the Big Ten era and best since 2012 (311.6, 10th nationally). RU held five opponents under 300 yards.
• Rutgers ranked 32nd nationally with a scoring defense of 21.2, its best mark and ranking for a season in the Big Ten era and best since 2012 (14.2, fourth nationally). RU held 10 opponents under 30 points, five under 20 points and three in single digits.
• Rutgers posted 14 stops on fourth down, including four in the red zone.
• DB Robert Longerbeam leads the unit with 29 career passes defended (26 breakups, three interceptions) and five forced fumbles.
• DL Aaron Lewis enters the season with 148 career tackles with 17 for loss and 7.5 sacks, while DL Wesley Bailey brings 8.5 career sacks and four fumble recoveries.

SPECIAL TEAMS
• Rutgers has blocked 71 kicks (41 punts, 17 field goals, 13 extra points) under Schiano. That includes 12 games with multiple blocks and a 9-4 record when returning or recovering a blocked punt for a touchdown in a game.
• Rutgers leads the nation with eight blocked punts since 2022.
• In 2023, Rutgers ranked 10th nationally and second in the Big Ten holding opponents to 15.9 yards per kickoff return. Opponents averaged starting at their own 24 following a Rutgers kickoff.
• PK Jai Patel went 15-of-18 (83.3 percent) on field goals last year, the most accurate season in program history.

UP NEXT
Rutgers remains home to face Akron on Sept. 7 for the first matchup between the programs since 1990. It will be the R Community Game and a celebration of Eric LeGrand's "A Walk to Believe." That game is set to kickoff at noon on the Big Ten Network (BTN).