Antwan Raymond has already put together a breakout season for Rutgers, but as his junior year nears, the running back says the next step is about something bigger than numbers.
At Big Ten Media Day, Raymond made it plain that the standard in his mind starts with winning.
"Expectations for me are to win. That's first.
That's number one on my list," Raymond said at Big Ten Media Day. "I definitely think we have the firepower on offense and on defense to do so."
That confidence comes after a season in which Raymond became one of the Big Ten’s most productive backs. He earned second-team All-Big Ten honors after rushing for 1,241 yards and 13 touchdowns, helping keep Rutgers’ offense dangerous on the ground.
Still, the Scarlet Knights finished 5-7 and ended the year with a painful loss to Penn State that knocked them out of bowl contention. Raymond said that chapter is closed.
"I've fully moved on. We all fully moved on," he said.
"We have a game on September 3rd against UMass. We have a great training camp ahead of us… So I think we moved on to bigger and better things as a unit, as an offense, as a team, as an organization."
For Raymond, the offseason work has been about sharpening the mental side of his game as much as the physical one. He said he and Rutgers’ running backs coaches built a plan around learning the sport at a deeper level.
"We have a saying in our program: 'A smarter player is a better player,'" Raymond said. "So I think me and Coach [Damiere] Shaw, Coach [Steve] Thames, we cooked up a plan just to understand football more - understand the game itself, understand defenses, and master our offense."
He also credited former Rutgers back Kyle Monangai, now with the Chicago Bears, as a model for how to carry himself.
"He was one of the leaders that didn't have to say too many words. He led by example.
He led by actions," Raymond said. "I saw the way he moved in the facility, I saw the way he took care of his body, the way he carried himself, the way he approached the game.
And everything I could take… I did, and I tried to apply that last season."
Now entering year three, Raymond says the game is slowing down for him.
"I'm definitely becoming a smarter football player," he said. "I'm learning how to play in the Big Ten more and more every chance I get."
That growth shows up in how he talks about running the ball. Raymond knows the big gains won’t always be there, and he’s embracing the grind between the tackles.
"Not everything's gonna be a big play," Raymond said. "You gotta let those set up with body blows and just keep going… Don't just let the game come to you - go attack it."
He also weighed in on Rutgers’ quarterback battle, with Boston College transfer Dylan Lonergan and AJ Surace competing for the job. Raymond said he likes what both bring to the table.
"They're both amazing and elite quarterbacks, and I always believe in iron sharpening iron," he said. "It's only gonna raise the level of our team. I love both of them, and I can't wait to play in games with them."
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