Doug McKenzie
Monmouth program has real home-grown feel to it
Doug McKenzie
When Greg Schiano, the highly touted offensive guru from the University of Miami Hurricanes, took over the reins of the struggling Rutgers University football program last year, it was viewed as some kind of rebirth for a team that was struggling to keep its head above water in the Big East Conference.
Schiano came in, and with him came an excitement that Rutgers football fans had never experienced before. A young coach who was being billed as one of the top offensive minds in the nation had finally agreed to come to New Jersey to build the national power the Rutgers community always felt it deserved.
And from his introductory press conference, Schiano made it clear what his primary goal would be during his first few seasons at the helm.
He wanted to establish a program that could keep its own. No longer would the top high school players in New Jersey be traveling outside state lines to launch their college careers.
He would establish the type of program that would instill state pride in the blue-chippers who have routinely sought scholarships from Division I schools in other parts of the nation while rarely even considering staying home and playing for New Jersey’s state school.
And while he has had some success attracting quality home-grown talent (i.e., Long Branch’s Berkeley Hutchinson), we are yet to see the type of transformation people expected, or hoped for. To be fair, these things take time, and Schiano should not be judged on his success after only one season.
But the news coming out of the Rutgers camp has not been promising over the last few weeks, with a number of top recruits (including Hutchinson) being declared academically ineligible and four other players being suspended for breaking team rules — all this while the Scarlet Knights are preparing for a regular season which includes games against top-ranked Miami, Virginia Tech and Tennessee, three teams with national title aspirations.
It looks to be another long season for Rutgers football, but again, it’s still too early to dismiss Schiano’s enthusiasm as a mirage.
He didn’t get to where he is today by fooling people, and he deserves a fair chance to deliver on his lofty promises.
Meanwhile, down by the Shore, another football program is trying to establish the same type of drawing power as Rutgers but is enjoying tremendous success.
The Monmouth University Hawks enter this season ranked No. 8 in the nation in the 1-AA Mid-Major Top 10 poll. They return 17 starters from a 7-3 team last year and are expected to challenge for a Northeast Conference title.
But the story at Monmouth this year is the recruiting class. Kevin Callahan, the only head coach in the history of Monmouth University football, has brought in what most people feel is the team’s finest recruiting class ever. And a glimpse at the list of new players reveals some of the top high school players from the Shore Conference and its surrounding areas choosing to stay close to home to play for a team that is ready to win now.
Guys like Nick Castellano, the Jackson linebacker with a nose for the football, who brings his tenacious style of play to a team that already had a solid defense. Or Brendan Kennedy, the lanky quarterback from Middletown South, who led his team to a state title last year with his brilliant running and accurate passing, becoming the first Shore player to both rush and pass for over 1,000 yards in the same season since 1993.
Throw in South’s Mike McClelland, a talented wide receiver who caught 46 passes last season for the Eagles, or Josh James, a bruising All-State tailback from Freehold Borough, and you begin to realize that Callahan is developing a trend here.
Some of the top players the Shore Conference has to offer are deciding to stay in the area to play at Monmouth, giving the team a home-grown flavor that will not only help the team improve on the field, but add to the Hawks’ expanding fan base.
Interest in the Monmouth football team is being piqued, and with quality local talent flooding the program, Callahan is successfully building a smaller version of the type of system Schiano promised at Rutgers.
Building a winning tradition at Rutgers will not be easy. But keeping some of the state’s top football players close to home can be done. After all, they’re doing it in West Long Branch.