Drew Mehringer: Numbers matter more than age for new Rutgers OC

Ryan Dunleavy | Staff writer

Numbers tell the story for Drew Mehringer.

There’s the yardage and touchdown totals. The big plays and short drives. The age and experience.

Actually, scratch that last one, says one of the 28-year-old Mehringer’s former bosses, who doesn’t put much stock in the new Rutgers offensive coordinator being the youngest with his job in the Big Ten by about a decade.

“Drew’s knowledge is way beyond 28 years,” James Madison coach Everett Withers told Gannett New Jersey. “He has been around a lot of bright minds in football. It won’t be long, I think, before Drew Mehringer gets an opportunity to be a head coach.”

Mehringer, who was hired Sunday to be Rutgers offensive play-caller, gained his only season of experience as a coordinator under Withers in 2014.

Withers, who was Ohio State’s defensive coordinator in 2013, plucked Mehringer from the grasps of head coach Urban Meyer and offensive coordinator Tom Herman with a big promotion from graduate assistant to offensive coordinator, bypassing the stepping stone of position coach.

“He had a strong grasp of what we were trying to do offensively at Ohio State,” said Withers, North Carolina's head coach in 2011. “I know he spent an awful lot of time in 1-on-1 meetings with Coach Meyer talking about things an offense can do. I know he was a very integral part of that staff at Ohio State.”

Under Mehringer’s watch in 2014, James Madison set program records with 1,060 plays, 6,300 yards, 315 first downs, 475 passing attempts, 286 passing completions, 30 passing touchdowns, 3,499 passing yards and 159 passing first downs.

Of its 70 scoring drives, 34 lasted less than two minutes, but 54 covered 50 yards or more. JMU ranked second nationally in turnover margin at +14 as it committed just 14 giveaways.

In other words, a Mehringer offense looked a lot like the power spread offense that Herman installed this season in his first as head coach at Houston, which went 12-1 and earned a spot in the Peach Bowl. Mehringer is Houston's wide receivers coach.

“Up-tempo, very fast, defenses are going to have to account for 11 guys, including the quarterback,” Withers said of Mehringer’s style. “It’s going to be physical. I know me, I know Tom Herman, I know Urban Meyer, and being physical on offense is going to be the case.

“The run game is going to be really important, but a Drew Mehringer offense will make people defend 53 1/3 (yards horizontally) on the football field and all 11 offensive players.”

If Mehringer brings that playbook to Rutgers, it will be a radical change from the pro-style offense and personnel in place after 15 seasons under former coaches Greg Schiano and Kyle Flood.

A similar situation awaited Mehringer at JMU.

“When I got here, this was a little bit of a hodgepodge offense," Withers said. "Drew did a great job. Our first-year philosophy was to give them the first chapter of our playbook. You give them the chapters first, and you grow as they go throw in your offense.”

The biggest question at Rutgers is: Who will be the quarterback?

Returning starter Chris Laviano is deceptively mobile and promising backup Hayden Rettig ran a traditional spread as a four-star recruit in high school, but neither seems to be an ideal fit for a power spread. Rising redshirt sophomore Giovanni Rescigno and redshirt freshman Mike Dare are yet to play.

“Drew has a very, very quarterback-friendly temperament," Withers said. "He gets very close to those guys in a working professional and personal relationship. I think those kids will absolutely love him.

"Our quarterback here continued to have a relationship with Coach Mehringer while he was at Houston. They remain very close. Not only will he be a good football mentor for the quarterbacks at Rutgers, he’ll be a good personal growth mentor for the quarterbacks at Rutgers.”

JMU brought in Georgia Tech transfer Vad Lee to play quarterback, fueling speculation that maybe Rutgers will look for a transfer or a recruit not yet on the roster.

“They are going to try to figure out what they have personnel-wise and do what the kids can do best," Withers said. "As you go, you try to recruit to what you want to be. You try to be what you are initially, and try to add pieces to your philosophy and the offense as you go.”

Mehringer will be Rutgers' seventh offensive coordinator in as many seasons. He will be tasked with fixing an offense that ranked No. 79 in scoring offense, No. 85 in total offense, No. 66 in rushing offense and No. 87 in passing offense nationally during a 4-8 finish last season.

“When I go the job here, he was a no-brainer for me," Withers said. "Drew did an unbelievable job here getting our offense to be one of the best in the FCS. When Tom took him to Houston, I knew he would have success there and make an immediate impact. I’m not surprised that he is going to be the OC at Rutgers.”

Staff Writer Ryan Dunleavy: rdunleavy@gannettnj.com