Greg Schiano

Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano took some time out last night to talk with Dave Resvine of the Big Ten Network. The discussion ranged from rebuilding and recruiting Rutgers and there was also talk of what lies ahead in what has become uncertain times for all sports. Here is a look at what Schiano had to say during that interview with the Big Ten Network.

“We are trying to make the best of the situation obviously and still trying to recruit,” Schiano said.. “…This is all new to our guys and for everybody really so it’s a bit of a challenge.”

The staff is still meeting on a daily basis but doing so from remote locations.

“We’ve done a lot of WebEx meetings and things like that with our staff, we’ve done a little bit with our players,” Schiano said. “Our biggest concern is to make sure our guys, we have over 100 guys, are safe and have a safe place to stay. A lot of them are back home, some of them remained in New Brunswick, not too many of them. So really making sure they are fed and they are safe. Anything else we can do is a bonus.”

Spring practice was canceled and that negated Schiano’s chance to see his team on the field for the first time. He talked about what is missed with the cancellation of spring practice.

“As a head coach, it’s important to me that our culture is being integrated in everything we do. I am sure our coordinators and our position coaches, they are concerned about their guys learning the scheme and learning how to do it correctly. So it is an all-around 360 effort when you are trying to install an entire program, not just schemes.”

Being away from football is also going to take some toll on the players.

“The longer they are away, the further they are going to get from what you would consider football-playing condition,” Schiano said. “And our kids are working hard, I know they are. But it’s different than when you are training with the team. It’s different from when you are doing all those sudden movements in training.

Schiano would not give an exact timetable for how long the team would need to prepare for a college football season, but did mention it would probably between six weeks and two months as was referenced by Resvine.

“I think from a safety standpoint, that’s what I would be concerned about. How fast can you get your team safely ready to go out. It’s not going to be a great product when guys have been away for months. It’ll get better as the year goes on. I’m hopeful we get to do that. That’s really where I am looking at it right now from my seat. If we can get our guys back together, that will be great.”