Greg Schiano didn’t hide from it at Big Ten Media Days on Tuesday: Rutgers got Eric O’Neill wrong early last season.
The Scarlet Knights coach said the team misused the edge rusher in the first half of the year, and that decision affected both Rutgers and the current Detroit Lions undrafted free agent signing.
“What we saw coming out of James Madison was a guy who played incredibly hard, played with great passion. And technically, he was pretty proficient,” Schiano complimented his pass rusher.
“I think we made a mistake with Eric O’Neill for the first half of the year. We played him in the wrong position.
"When we finally moved him to what I believe was the right position, I thought he showed what he could do in the back half of the season. He played very well.
Had he been able to do that the whole year, I think he would have helped our defense and (it) would have helped Eric (O’Neill’s draft stock). So I’m really hopeful that he does well in Detroit and gets to stay a part of the team.”
O’Neill arrived at Rutgers after a huge year at James Madison, where he piled up 13 sacks in 2024. The production dipped sharply in his lone season with the Scarlet Knights, though, as he finished with 2.5 sacks despite posting similar pressure numbers.
That drop was part of what scouts had to sort through. The concern wasn’t whether O’Neill could flash; it was whether he could finish plays consistently and avoid getting washed out of the action.
Schiano’s explanation centered on fit. O’Neill is at his best when he’s lined up wider, in a 7- or 9-technique, where he can attack from outside the tackle instead of being squared up directly on the lineman. At 6-foot-3 and 249 pounds, he doesn’t have ideal size for the interior of the front, and keeping blockers from getting hands on him is a big part of what makes him effective.
Film study also points to another issue: O’Neill can be a beat late getting into his pass-rush move. That’s part technique, part experience, and part the reality of his rapid climb from Long Island University to James Madison to the Big Ten in three years. Now he’s making another leap, this time to the NFL.
The upside is still obvious. Schiano pointed to O’Neill’s motor and relentlessness, and those traits helped him settle in once Rutgers moved him to a better spot later in the season. The coach believes that stretch showed the player O’Neill can be when used correctly.
There’s still one question that may have kept him from hearing his name called in the draft: explosiveness. O’Neill is more of a power rusher, but he needs a better first step if he wants to stick in Motown.
Even so, Schiano sounded confident that the former Scarlet Knight has a real shot. The coach’s message was clear enough: the talent is there, and if Detroit gives O’Neill the right role, he can still carve out a place for himself.
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