Big Ten Roundup (August 1): Rutgers Names Starting Quarterback, Nebraska TE Coach Resigns
While most coaches refused to name a starting quarterback at Big Ten Media Days last week in Indianapolis, Greg Schiano doesn't have time to wait.
The Rutgers football coach named Gavin Wimsatt the team's starting quarterback prior to speaking at Media Days, according to NJ.com. The junior started in six games last season for the Scarlet Knights and beat out Evan Simon and Ajani Sheppard for the job.
Moving to the West division, Nebraska coach Matt Rhule unfortunately already had to make a change to his staff prior to his inaugural fall camp. Newly hired tight ends coach Bob Wager resigned on Friday following a DUI citation.
Here's everything you need to know in today's Big Ten Roundup:
Wimsatt Named Rutgers' Starting Quarterback
Every coach's least favorite question at Media Days is, "Who will be your starting quarterback?"
Ohio State coach Ryan Day said the Buckeyes were waiting on a quarterback to separate themselves from the rest of the room. Indiana coach Tom Allen said he won't reveal the starting quarterback till the season opener itself. Even at Penn State, where almost everyone under the sun has agreed that Drew Allar will be the starter, coach James Franklin would not divulge that information to the media.
Well apparently Schiano doesn't operate with the same need for secrecy as his counterparts, as the Rutgers head coach revealed last Wednesday that Wimsatt would be his team's starter.
“I could see it in spring practice,” Schiano said when explaining his choice to roll with Wimsatt as the starter. “I think a lot of it has to do with how [offensive coordinator] Kirk [Ciarrocca] has developed the whole room. Gavin is very comfortable with the way he’s being developed. I just saw him getting better and better and better. Until the game’s live, it’s not, but you have to do that first. I’m excited to see his progress when we get into a game. We’ve got a lot of time between now and then, which is great.”
Wimsatt's 2022 stats do not jump off the page in a positive light at first glance. The Owensboro, Ky., native completed just 65 of 145 pass attempts for 757 yards last season, and his touchdown-to-interception ratio of 5-to-7 is less than ideal.
However, Rutgers as a whole struggled en route to a dismal 4-8 season in 2022, as the Scarlet Knights' 24-17 victory over Indiana was their only conference win. Wimsatt gets his first opportunity to prove that Schiano made the right choice on Sept. 3, when Rutgers hosts Northwestern in a special Sunday afternoon showdown.
Wager Resigns Following DUI
Wager's tenure as Nebraska tight ends coach only lasted but a few months, as he was pulled over on Wednesday night and cited with a blood alcohol content of nearly twice the legal limit, according to the Omaha World-Herald.
Wager resigned in a statement sent to Rhule and Athletic Director Trev Alberts, and said that he regrets his offense "immensely." He also said that he was grateful for the opportunity originally given to him by Rhule, and that he was sorry for any negativity his decision might have brought to his family and other people at Nebraska.
For more on the resignation of Wager, check out the full story on our sister site All Huskers.
Related Stories
- DERIK QUEEN FILM STUDY: Indiana is in the mix for the five-star center from Montverde, so we wrote a scouting report on what makes the 6-foot-9 center such a unique and desirable prospect. CLICK HERE
- IU BUILDING FOOTBALL-ONLY WEIGHT ROOM: Thanks to a "major gift" from alumnus Jay Wilkinson, IU plans to build a new weight facility in Memorial Stadium in 2024. CLICK HERE
- THREE QUESTION FOR IU HEADING INTO FALL CAMP: With Tom Allen and the Indiana football team starting fall camp this week, here are three questions the team needs to answer in this next month. CLICK HERE
