PISCATAWAY — The education of Kemoko Turay is progressing at an incredible rate.

From not knowing the positions on the field two years ago to leading in the Big Ten with four sacks through the first four games of his redshirt freshman season, the Rutgers defensive end is only scratching the surface of his unlimited potential.

Turay, who only played one year of varsity football at Barringer High in Newark, estimates that his knowledge of the game is about 50 percent of where it will eventually be.

"There's a lot of learning, like speaking football and talking to your coaches and when they're talking football, it's kind of hard sometimes for me understand what they're trying to say," Turay said. "I barely learned the plays, but I feel like I could do it faster. The other thing is reading the offensive formation and all that type of stuff. I'm still learning that. I only know that a little bit. I've got a long way to go."

That Turay already is a dominant pass-rusher despite his lack of football knowledge elicits the same type of excitement that Rutgers coach Kyle Flood felt when he first saw the 6-foot-6, 235-pounder at a showcase camp in June 2012.

"I went out there and watched him run around and I just thought he was a really explosive guy," Flood said of the former two-star prospect with no other Division 1-A offers. "I want to say he broad jumped over 10 (feet). A guy who broad jumps over nine is pretty impressive. When a guy goes over 10, that's not very common. He's just a twitched-up explosive athlete. He was gangly and lean, and he's still lean. He's filling out a little bit now. But (his success) doesn't surprise me. It didn't take long to figure out he had a special skill set."

A jaw-dropping photo of Turay soaring to block a field goal against Penn State made the rounds last week. It was the latest athletic feat in a growing portfolio for the player known as "Kemoko Dragon."

"He's physically gifted out there like no one else is," junior defensive tackle Darius Hamilton said. "There's certain things that Kemoko can do that normal people can't do. That's not a knock on us. That's just real high praise for him. He does great things. He's only been playing for 2-3 years. The older he gets, the higher the ceiling is going to get for him to do great things. He's going to be a great player."

Praise of Turay is typically tempered with the qualification that he's far from a finished product. Turay's four sacks represent half of his tackle total, and he's the first to admit that he's not yet a complete player.

"I'm hoping to do more," Turay said. "I don't want to just be a third-down guy. I want to be more. I want to a first- and second-down guy."

Turay said he looks up to his veteran teammates on the defensive line for their individual attributes. He tries to absorb the work ethic of fifth-year senior defensive end Dave Milewski, the strength of redshirt sophomore defensive end Quanzell Lambert and the technique of Hamilton.

Pass rushing comes naturally to Turay, but he's not satisfied with his role as a sack specialist.

"Once I'm 100 percent, I feel like I'm not only going to get sacks, I'm going to get a lot of tackles for a loss," Turay said. "That's my next move. I'm trying to get a lot of tackles for a loss. To be great, you have to learn everything."

Dan Duggan may be reached at dduggan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DDuggan21. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.