A few former Rutgers players made immediate noise in their first week at new schools, and none had a louder opening act than Ian Strong.
The wide receiver turned in a big debut for California, hauling in five catches on 11 targets for a team-high 94 receiving yards in a 45-24 loss to UCLA. Strong was on the field for 88 snaps, a sign of just how central he was to the Bears’ offense right away.
Bo Mascoe also jumped straight into a starting role, lining up at cornerback for Texas in its 59-7 win over Texas State. His day was uneven: one tackle, one missed tackle and a catch allowed for 22 yards on two targets over 39 snaps.
Timmy Hinspeter had the kind of return to Piscataway that can’t help but stand out. The former Scarlet Knight, now starting at linebacker for UMass, was one of the Minutemen’s best players in their 37-21 upset over Rutgers at SHI Stadium. Hinspeter finished with nine tackles and allowed just two catches for 11 yards on four targets across 47 snaps, according to ProFootballFocus.
Elsewhere in the Power Five, Mo Toure started at linebacker for Miami in his eighth season of college football and posted four tackles in a 45-6 win over Stanford. He also gave up two catches on two targets for 21 yards while playing 36 snaps.
Darold DeNgohe had one tackle in 19 snaps for UCLA in its win over Cal. CJ Campbell chipped in 25 rushing yards on 10 carries and 22 receiving yards on three catches for Duke in a 17-3 win over Tulane. Jordan Walker started at defensive end for Georgia Tech and made two tackles in 39 snaps during a 14-13 loss to Colorado.
Jacobie Henderson started at cornerback for Virginia in Week Zero and recorded four tackles and two passes defended while giving up four catches for 42 yards on seven targets in a 34-8 win over North Carolina State. Virginia did not play this weekend.
Isaiah Wright opened at right tackle for Maryland and did not allow a pressure in 29 snaps during a 62-0 win over Hampton. Sam Robinson contributed three tackles and a quarterback hit for USF in a 19-9 win over FIU, while also giving up two receptions for 27 yards on two targets across 39 snaps.
Ja’Elyne Matthews did not play for Mississippi State in its 62-13 win over Louisiana-Monroe, and Taj White did not feature for Colorado in its 14-13 win over Georgia Tech.
Temple had a busy day with multiple Rutgers transfers involved. Ajani Sheppard split quarterback reps with Jaxon Smolik and threw for 85 yards on 5-of-10 passing while adding 23 rushing yards on five carries in a 38-14 win over Rhode Island. John Stone started at center and logged a team-high 56 offensive snaps without allowing a pressure, and Zach Aamland played 47 snaps at right tackle and gave up two pressures.
Samuel Brown did not play for Temple because of injury, though head coach KC Keeler said he should be available next week against Penn State.
At UConn, Renick Dorales played 28 snaps in a 56-7 win over Lafayette and did not allow a catch on his lone target. Deondre Johnson caught two passes for 22 yards on three targets in Jacksonville State’s 49-7 win over Eastern Kentucky. Djibril Abdul-Rahman produced three quarterback pressures across 52 snaps for San Diego State in a 53-20 win over Portland State.
A couple of former Scarlet Knights were quiet in losses. Tyclean Luman played nine snaps for FAU and Tycool Luman played 13, with neither recording any stats in a 66-21 loss to Florida. Dominick Rivera did not play for Toledo in a 30-20 loss to Michigan State.
In the FCS ranks, Thomas Amankwaa made his first appearance since leaving Piscataway and immediately delivered a splash play for Indiana State. The Hillsborough native caught one pass for 55 yards, the longest reception of the game, in a 44-19 loss to Purdue. Dane Partridge also saw action for Indiana State, playing 19 snaps without recording a stat.
Fitzroy Ledgister logged two tackles and a pass defended for Prairie View A&M in a 49-30 loss to Tarleton State in Week Zero. The Panthers are scheduled to face Texas Southern on Sunday.
Michael Robinson and Matt Ogunniyi did not play for UMass against Rutgers.
In Other News...
Rutgers Fans Now Have One Big Reason To Judge Keli Zinn
Keli Zinn has spent her first year on the job doing what any new athletic director eventually has to do: deciding what parts of Rutgers athletics need to change and where the department can be pushed further. That has already led to a notable shift in womens basketball, where she moved on from Coquese Washington and brought in Gary Redus to take over, a clear sign that Zinn is not planning to let inherited decisions define her tenure for long.
She has also started putting her stamp on football, pointing to progress under Greg Schiano in both recruiting and the way the program has used its resources since her arrival. For Rutgers fans, that creates a bigger standard for Zinn now, because the early question is no longer simply what she plans to do, but whether the moves she has made will translate into the kind of results the department has been waiting for. [Read more 🡒]
Rutgers Just Put Greg Schiano And Keli Zinn In A Brutal Spot
Rutgers loss to UMass landed like a gut punch, the kind of result that instantly turns a season into a referendum on where the program is headed. The criticism has been loud and immediate, and it has put athletic director Keli Zinn in a difficult position as she weighs how to manage the fallout around a team that was expected to be moving in a more stable direction.
Greg Schiano has not sounded like a coach ready to fold under the pressure, insisting that one game will not define the team. Still, the schedule does not offer much room to breathe, and the next stretch will matter a great deal for a program trying to stop a bad loss from becoming something much bigger. [Read more 🡒]
Keli Zinn Faces Rutgers Problem Fans Know All Too Well
Keli Zinn has spent her first months as Rutgers athletic director working through a familiar list of headaches, from NIL infrastructure and stadium conditions to the schools debt load. Since taking over in July 2025, she has also been candid about something that tends to show up every time Rutgers fans talk about the athletic department: student engagement has not gotten enough attention, even as it remains a basic ingredient for making the programs feel connected to campus.
Now that gap is getting more of a spotlight. Zinn has made student marketing and involvement part of the conversation, with plans to hire staff to help drive both, and she has pointed to the Rutgers Riot Squad as an important piece of that effort. The hope is simple enough, even if the work is not: build stronger ties with students and create more pride around Rutgers sports, one of the tougher assignments any athletic director can inherit. [Read more 🡒]