Rutgers is back in camp, and for Kwabena Asamoah, that means another season in the same familiar spot: starting right guard. He has been with the first-team offense for the last 25 games, and after four days of camp, he’s already deep into the daily work that comes with keeping that job.
Following Friday’s practice, Asamoah said the early stretch has been steady, if exhausting. "[Camp] is going really well.
I'm just tired," Asamoah told reporters following Friday's practice. "But we're just taking it day by day, savoring every moment, just trying to get better.
There’s also a new face steering the offensive line this year. Jim Turner has taken over as position coach, and that has brought a lot of movement across the group. Asamoah said players are being shifted around regularly, including himself.
"For the most part, everybody's really taking reps in different spots - even me myself. I'm taking reps in different spots every day too," Asamoah said. "So we're just working guys around, just trying to see who the best five guys are."
One of the biggest changes for Rutgers up front will come at center. For the last two seasons, Asamoah has lined up next to Gus Zilisnkas, but that won’t be the setup when the season opens. Gus’ brother, Hank, is competing with sixth-year veteran Terrence Salami for the spot.
"We got a bunch of guys. We have some guys coming from the portal, we have some guys that have been in the program (like) Salami, we got Hank, his brother," Asamoah said. "We have a lot of guys that are working in that center position, so we're gonna be just fine."
Rutgers made sure to keep Asamoah this offseason, and that decision has come with a bigger voice in the room. He said the leadership part of his role feels different now than when he first arrived on campus.
"It makes me proud of myself because when I came in, I was just a kid," Asamoah said. "Like I said at [Big Ten] media day, I was just a kid when I got here.
I was seventeen. I didn't know much at all.
So being in the position to kind of do the same for the young guys, I'm just blessed."
He also believes the work he’s put in has shown up in his own game. Asamoah said he’s improved across the board, from strength and speed to technique and football knowledge.
"I mean, really in every facet," he acknowledged. "I came in strong, but I've gotten a lot stronger.
I've gotten faster. I've learned football.
I've worked on my technique day in and day out. I feel like I've just gotten better at everything."
That growth, in his view, has been part of Rutgers’ own rise during his time with the program. Asamoah pointed to the way the line has settled in since the early days of his freshman season in 2022, when the group was still being pieced together.
"We've gotten better and better every single year, I feel like, since I've been here. When I came in, it was kind of a makeshift group of guys - a group of guys we brought in, a lot of guys from the portal my freshman year in 2022.
I even ended up playing some at the end of the year in 2022. So just throughout… from the first game, all the same guys are playing unless there's injuries and stuff like that.
So it's just great to see stuff like that."
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Rutgers picked up a little offseason validation this week, with wide receiver KJ Duff and offensive guard Kobe Asamoah both landing on Bruce Feldmans annual Freaks List of college footballs most eye-catching athletes. It is the kind of recognition that does not change a snap count or win a game by itself, but it does say plenty about the kind of physical tools the Scarlet Knights are bringing back into the fold.
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That 2021 group still holds a special place in Rutgers history, not just because it delivered the first Big Ten Tournament title in any Rutgers program, but because it also set multiple records along the way. Revisiting that team in front of the current roster adds a familiar reminder of what the program has already achieved, and of the standard it is still trying to chase. [Read more 🡒]