After a prolonged search, Rutgers has finally zeroed in on its next defensive leader - and it’s a name that might not be familiar to Big Ten fans but carries serious credentials in the FCS ranks. Travis Johansen, most recently the head coach at South Dakota, is set to take over as the Scarlet Knights' new defensive coordinator.
This marks the third straight year Rutgers will enter a season with a new face calling the shots on defense under head coach Greg Schiano. Co-defensive coordinators Robb Smith and Zach Sparber lasted just one season before being let go this past fall. Before them, Joe Harasymiak held the role for three years before departing in December 2024 to become the head coach at UMass.
It took Rutgers 64 days to land on Johansen - the second time in just over a year the program has taken more than two months to fill its defensive coordinator vacancy. That kind of delay underscores just how important this hire is for Schiano and his staff, especially after a season where defensive struggles were front and center.
Johansen brings a deep defensive résumé. He spent the past seven years at South Dakota, first as the program’s defensive coordinator for six seasons - three of those as associate head coach - before being promoted to head coach ahead of the 2025 season.
Prior to that, he led the defense at NAIA school Grand View for five seasons and also served as defensive coordinator at his alma mater, Concordia-St. Paul, a Division II program in Minnesota.
His track record at South Dakota is what really stands out. In 2024, the Coyotes boasted a top-10 scoring defense and ranked in the top 20 against the run at the FCS level. That kind of production helped fuel a playoff run that ended in the semifinals, part of a three-year stretch where South Dakota reached the quarterfinals twice and the semifinals once - the best run in program history since moving to the FCS in 2008.
Now, Johansen steps into one of the toughest jobs in the Big Ten: fixing a Rutgers defense that was statistically among the worst in the country last season.
The numbers were brutal. The Scarlet Knights gave up 31.8 points per game - tied for 116th nationally - and allowed a staggering 432.8 yards per game.
That included 209.9 yards on the ground (131st out of 133 FBS teams) and 222.9 through the air (73rd). In Big Ten play, things got even worse: Rutgers allowed 7.92 yards per play, the highest mark in the conference this century - and quite possibly the highest in league history.
Big plays were a recurring nightmare. No team in the nation gave up more plays of 50-plus yards (15), and opponents averaged 7.6 yards per play overall - a number that speaks to both schematic breakdowns and execution issues.
The low point came in a 56-10 blowout loss to Oregon, where Rutgers was gashed for what may have been a program-record 750 total yards. The Ducks scored touchdowns on their first five drives - from 68, 30, 31, 21, and 28 yards out - and that game proved to be the tipping point. Schiano unofficially took over defensive play-calling duties after that, sidelining Smith in the process.
There were some signs of life late in the season. Rutgers put together solid defensive efforts in wins over Purdue and Maryland.
But in their season finale - a must-win game against Penn State - the Scarlet Knights gave up 40 points and 426 yards in a crushing 40-36 loss. That capped a five-game stretch where the defense surrendered an average of 426.4 yards and 32.2 points per game.
That’s the situation Johansen walks into - and the expectations are clear. Schiano has made it known he wants his new coordinator to have full control of the defense, much like offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca does on the other side of the ball.
“What I have here in (offensive coordinator Kirk) Ciarrocca is exactly what I’d like to have on defense,” Schiano said. “I have a guy who leads the room, calls the plays and really leads the players. So if we can get that on the other side, that would be perfect.”
For Johansen, this is a major step up - from the FCS to the Big Ten, from South Dakota to the gauntlet that is Power Five football. But if his past success is any indication, Rutgers may have found the right architect to rebuild a defense that badly needs a new identity.