As new Rutgers coach Greg Schiano traverses the state of New Jersey to recruit, he finds himself meeting and conversing with teenagers who were nine or 10 years old the last time he held this job. Some, as he starts to look toward the class of 2021 and beyond, were even younger.



“Their memory and recollection of that isn’t as good as we’d like it to be,” Schiano tells The Athletic. “So, we kind of explain to them — and their parents and their coaches can also explain to them — what all went on here and what (we) anticipate will happen again and even greater. What we were able to do our first go-around with the commitment we have — the commitment now is so much greater. It’s been very clear that Rutgers has gone all-in on big football.”



Schiano famously inherited a program in December 2000 that had just endured the worst five-year stretch in program history (11-44) and built it into a regular eight- to...