Rutgers Scarlet Knights Leaders Weigh in on Greg Schiano's Culture

The Scarlet Knights reps at Big Ten Media Days spoke on their head coach's standard.

Jul 22, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano speaks to the media during the Big Ten NCAA college football media days at Mandalay Bay Resort. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images | Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

Greg Schiano has built a culture with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

Schiano returned to Rutgers for his second tenure in 2020. Since then, the Scarlet Knights have become a competitive in the Big Ten and it has a lot to do with how Schiano approaches work.

During Big Ten Media Days in Las Vegas, the player representatives for Rutgers got the chance to speak on Schiano's culture.

"It’s the culture," quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis said. "When I transferred here, I completely bought into his culture, and it changed me not only as a football player but as a person."

If you have listened to a Schiano press conference over the last five years, you have heard the term C.H.O.P. It is a term that has surrounded Rutgers Football and players have bought into it.

"Chop is the focus and mental toughness to hit that spot over and over and over again," Kaliakmanis said. "It’s very hard to do, to go every day, and give it everything you’ve got and not let up. I learned that here. I learned the focus and the mental toughness to keep going, and going, and going."

Schiano took over a Rutgers' team that was non-competitive in the conference prior to 2020. Right away, the Scarlet Knights won three Big Ten games in his first season.

From there, is has been a steady climb. Rutgers has qualified for bowl season in each of the last two years and that is the goal once again.

"What I like about Coach Schiano is that he holds everybody accountable," linebacker Dariel Djabome said. "Whether you’re a coach, a player, it doesn’t matter. He’s going to hold the standard to what the standard is, and then he’s going to hold it up, and then he’s going to make sure that the whole program holds the standard."