Rutgers may not drag its quarterback decision all the way to opening day.
Greg Schiano said Tuesday that the Scarlet Knights are hoping to settle the battle between AJ Surace and Boston College transfer Dylan Lonergan “somewhere in the middle“ of training camp next month, with the goal of getting the offense pointed in one direction before the season gets too close.
Speaking at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago, Schiano said the ideal path would be to name a starter after the first scrimmage of the summer. He also made clear he won’t rush it just to hit a deadline.
“If it’s not time yet, it’s not time, but it better be the week after,” Schiano said. "I don’t want to go much more than that because soon after that, you’re getting into at least the first part of your game prep for UMass."
Surace and Lonergan are trying to replace Athan Kaliakmanis, who started the last two seasons for Rutgers and is now with the Washington Commanders at his first training camp this week. Kaliakmanis leaves behind a run that ranks among the most productive stretches by a Rutgers quarterback in program history.
The competition wasn’t decided in the spring, either. Schiano said both quarterbacks made it difficult for him and offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca to separate them.
"They both performed very well,“ Schiano said Tuesday. ”I just wasn’t ready to make a decision."
Each quarterback brings something different to the table.
Surace knows the offense better after spending two years under Ciarrocca and working as Kaliakmanis’ backup. Lonergan, though, has the edge in live game action.
Surace logged just 34 snaps last season, while Lonergan played 487 snaps over 10 appearances and nine starts at Boston College. He threw for 2,025 yards, 12 touchdowns and five interceptions while completing 66.9% of his passes, going 190-of-284.
Lonergan is from Georgia and is in his fourth season of college football after beginning his career at Alabama, where he was recruited by Nick Saban.
For Rutgers, the next few weeks will decide it. Schiano said the choice will come down to what happens on the field and in the meeting room with Ciarrocca.
“I’m hugely confident one of them will make it clear,” Schiano told the Bergen Record. “I’m hugely confident the other one will be prepared if needed.”
While the quarterback race plays out, Rutgers is also trying to clean up a defense that was a major reason last season’s record never matched the offense’s production.
Schiano said the offense was good enough to win “nine, 10, maybe even 11 games,” but the defense held the team back badly enough that the Scarlet Knights finished with only five wins.
The numbers were rough. Rutgers ranked last nationally in yards allowed per play at 7.6, last in the Big Ten in yards allowed per game at 432.8 and second-to-last in the league in scoring defense at 31.8 points. The unit gave up 40 points to Penn State, 31 to Minnesota and 38 to Iowa.
Schiano responded by overhauling the staff on that side of the ball after taking over the room midway through the season. He hired South Dakota coach Travis Johansen as coordinator and replaced most of the assistant coaches on defense.
“It was no mystery on what we needed to fix,” Schiano told BTN. “We’ve been fixing it for the last eight months.”
He said he is “really excited” about what Johansen has done since arriving and “can’t wait to see how we improve.”
“We’ll be a much better defense,” Schiano said. “(It’s about) how much better.”
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