Rutgers’ quarterback battle is still very much a work in progress, and Greg Schiano isn’t forcing the issue.
On Tuesday, the Scarlet Knights head coach made it clear there’s no deadline attached to the competition between AJ Surace and Dylan Lonergan. Schiano said he’s willing to let the situation sort itself out, even if he’d prefer the answer to come sooner rather than later.
“We won't do it until it's clear,” Schiano said on Tuesday.
“It’s my hope, though, that it clears itself up sooner than later. That would be the best thing for our team, but you can't make that stuff happen. Once you start trying to manipulate the situation, it has never worked for me.”
Lonergan arrives with the more extensive résumé. The Boston College transfer is the only quarterback on Rutgers’ roster who has started a Power Four game, and he brings one season of starting experience from the transfer portal this spring. At Boston College last year, he completed 66.9% of his passes for 2,025 yards, 12 touchdowns and five interceptions.
He also has already shown he can handle Big Ten competition. His biggest outing came in a double-overtime loss at Michigan State, where he went 34 of 45 for 390 yards and four touchdowns.
Lonergan also had notable performances in losses at Stanford, against SMU and at No. 16 Georgia Tech.
Surace, meanwhile, has been in the Rutgers program longer than anyone else in the quarterback room and has quietly taken steps forward this offseason. Now entering his third season with the Scarlet Knights, he made his collegiate debut last September in a blowout win over Norfolk State. Last season, he appeared in three games and completed 4 of 9 passes for 58 yards and two touchdowns.
His comfort in offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca’s system has helped his growth.
Schiano said the choice at quarterback will be based on the full body of work, not just what’s happened in camp.
“It’s a cumulative decision, right? So it goes all the way back to January, when we started the winter program,” Schiano said.
“Every bit of it is our data points that go into it. But at the end of the day, Kirk (offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca) and I are just going to make a decision that we think gives the team the best chance to win.
And you know how much respect I have for him. He’s the one that’s most closely involved, so he he's going to have a great deal to do with what I ultimately decide.
“Then as the head coach, you look at it: What’s best for the team? And then you try to make that decision. And you know once you do it, you got to give the guy an opportunity to go be the quarterback.”
There was one injury update from camp: defensive back Zilan Williams is out for the season. Schiano did not give specifics on the injury.
Rutgers’ roster has also changed quite a bit since spring practice. Twelve new players have been added: linebacker Sean Allison, defensive back Tyler Childress, offensive lineman James Cocozzo, defensive back Robbie Engelberg, running back Aiden Gibson, wide receiver Justice Hurt, defensive back Mikey Munn, offensive lineman Ian Asali Ngaue-Stephenson, linebacker Tanner Raymond, wide receiver Quentin Redding, long snapper Talan Shields and linebacker Alex Sczesniak.
Raymond and Ngaue-Stephenson are members of the 2026 class. Gibson and Cocozzo reclassified from the 2027 class, and both had been scheduled to play high school football this fall.
One player is no longer with the program. Defensive lineman Canaan Edwards is not listed on the training camp roster, and Schiano confirmed Tuesday that he is not with the team. Edwards, a former three-star recruit in the Class of 2025, played in one game last season and had offers from UCF, USF and several other programs coming out of high school.
Another area drawing attention this offseason is the offensive line. Rutgers hired Jim Turner to coach the unit, bringing in a veteran with NFL and SEC experience. Turner has spent the offseason mixing and matching pieces across the line, testing different spots and combinations as he builds depth.
Schiano said he likes what he’s seeing.
“I have a great deal of confidence in our offensive line. It’s the best depth we’ve had,” Schiano said.
“I look at our second line and you go back six years, that would have been the first line. So that’s real improvement, and coach Turner’s done a great job, he really has.”
Schiano also addressed athletic director Keli Zinn, who recently marked her one-year anniversary at Rutgers. He praised the progress she has made since arriving from LSU, especially on the NIL and infrastructure fronts, and pointed to the broader alignment around the program.
“Keli's been great. I think she's done a tremendous job.
I think she's learning a lot in her first year as far as being the AD at Rutgers. Every school is different, and you have to kind of get the lay of the land,” Schiano said.
“And she's done that incredibly - she has a great team put together. You know, Todd Knisley (executive deputy athletic director) is our football administrator, does a great job working with her. But I think the whole athletic department - she's forming the athletic department in her image and the way she wants it, and it's good the way things are working.
“I've made mention of it (that) I think there's vertical alignment from our president down through our athletic director, through the head football coach. When you have that, it gives you a real good chance.”
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