PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- In his first three seasons, they said about Gary Nova what they've said about Rutgers for a long, long time. The potential is there, but where are the results?

Nova has the body (6-foot-2, 220 pounds). He had the pedigree. Nova went 24-0 as a starter and led Don Bosco Prep to two New Jersey state championships. Yet, through 30 starts in three seasons at Rutgers, Nova rarely rose above mediocre. A touchdown-to-interception ratio of 57-40 will whiten a coach's hair.

Rutgers, of course, has been a paragon of potential unfulfilled for decades. The state university in a state that takes its high school football seriously has won 10 games or more exactly twice (1976 and 2006). The Scarlet Knights, a founding member of the Big East football conference in 1991, never won the league before they left.

Rutgers offensive coordinator Ralph Friedgen, in his 44th year of coaching, has been a QB guru. Ben Solomon/Rutgers Athletic Communications

But now that they are preparing for their Big Ten debut against Penn State, Nova suddenly looks like a guy ready for a bigger stage. In two games this season, Nova has completed nearly 70 percent (.674) of his passes, a significant upgrade from his first three years (.553). He has thrown six touchdowns and only one pick.

And the most important stat of all: Rutgers is 2-0.

The difference is noticeable in the numbers and on the field. And the reason for the difference is noticeable, too. The Fridge is back in college football.

"I think he has a chance to be a good quarterback," offensive coordinator Ralph Friedgen said of Nova. "I think he has vision. I think what he's got to do is keep focus. That's what he has to do. If he loses focus, he's just a guy. If he's on target, on point, he's pretty good."

Friedgen is 67 years old. He has been in coaching for 44 seasons. He didn't become a head coach until he was 53. He went home to Maryland, where he played linebacker. He coached 10 seasons, won 60 percent (75-50) of his games -- the threshold for the College Football Hall of Fame -- won an ACC championship, and went 9-4 in 2010. And then he was fired.

Friedgen and his wife, Gloria, repaired to a home in Charleston, South Carolina, where Friedgen boarded his 24-foot Boston Whaler and started chasing redfish. The boat's name is Fishin' With the Fridge.

"It wasn't like I disliked retirement," Friedgen said.

Gloria asked: "How can you just like not doing anything?"

Friedgen reminded her. "For 43 years," he said, "I worked 18 hours a day. I had three weeks off. It's kind of nice not to have to do anything unless I want to."

Quarterback Gary Nova says he has benefited from Ralph Friedgen's tutelage already. James Snook/USA TODAY Sports

But then Charleston started a college all-star game, and someone asked Friedgen to coach a team, and Gloria saw how much fun he had, and she told him he needed to go back to the game. So you ask him why he is coaching again, and Friedgen cracks: "Because she wants me to. Something about not wanting my brain to go to waste -- my body is already there."

His body shows the wear and tear of carrying his still-considerable weight around. At practice one day last week, Friedgen stood behind the offense as it worked on red zone play. He walks as if his left hip is uninterested in cooperating. His knees don't help much, either.

But from the neck up, every joint is oiled. The guy who molded 5-10 quarterback Joe Hamilton into a Heisman Trophy runner-up at Georgia Tech in 1999 has a new project.

"[With Friedgen] coming off retirement, you don't know how he's going to be," Nova said. "He's probably the hardest worker in the building. He's got a lot of energy, even at the age he's at. He keeps the meetings fun. He cracks jokes. He keeps everybody's attention. He's a great teacher."

"Ralph has the qualities of any great teacher," Rutgers head coach Kyle Flood said. "He's got the ability to take a lot of information and make it understandable in a short amount of time. He was able to simplify the game for Gary, and the other quarterbacks, as well. And I saw it immediately in spring practice. I saw him being a better decision-maker."

The coach also enrolled his pupil in the Fridge School of Quarterbacking, which takes a lot of brain cells and the ability to take the needle. Friedgen, who grew up in the New York City suburbs, communicates through sarcasm, the native tongue of the Big Apple.

"This season is only one time around. And when you get to be my age and look back, well, I wish I had done more to have that successful season. Just a little advice from an old man. Enjoy it now, because other things will always be there. This season, you got less than 100 days left." Ralph Friedgen, on prioritizing football

"The first thing he said to us is he's a perfectionist," Nova said. "That's something you really want to hear. Maybe not as a younger guy, but as an older guy, you can really appreciate that. You just want to get better every day. I got that feeling that he's going to push me every day."

Friedgen quizzed him on alignments and coverages before he showed him a single offensive play.

"I try to tell them, there's a progression," Friedgen said. "Which is better? A sack or a turnover? A sack. Which is better? A sack or an incompletion? An incompletion. Which is better? A run or an incompletion? A run. You've got to understand: What are your choices? Pick the lesser of two evils. The worst thing you want to do is turn the ball over."

Friedgen also made one physical correction. He told Nova to get off the balls of his feet and plant his back leg before he throws.

"It's funny," Nova said. "Every time I did it the way he told me, I threw an accurate ball. And every time I didn't, I didn't throw an accurate ball."

Friedgen signed a contract that expires in January 2016. He is enjoying himself immensely. He even tries to dispense a little fatherly wisdom in his offensive meetings. Take one morning last week, when he tried to explain why football should be their first priority.

"You know, men, I'm 67 years old," Friedgen said. "I've been where you've been."

He paused.

"Women are going to be there the rest of your life. Parties are going to be there" -- he paused again -- "the rest of your life. This season is only one time around. And when you get to be my age and look back, well, I wish I had done more to have that successful season. Just a little advice from an old man. Enjoy it now, because other things will always be there. This season, you got less than 100 days left."

Friedgen thinks his offense, like his quarterback, has a chance to be good. The Scarlet Knights' Big Ten life has yet to begin, and already Friedgen warns them the clock is ticking.