What Greg Schiano said about Akron and the NJ connection at QB as Rutgers football preps for Zips

PISCATAWAY – Rutgers football opening up its season on Thursday allowed coach Greg Schiano the opportunity to watch more college football during the weekend than he’d normally be able to, but one game in particular had his attention.

Akron, who the Scarlet Knights will host on Saturday at SHI Stadium (noon, Big Ten Network), played at No. 2 Ohio State and played tough early on before the Buckeyes ran away with a 52-6 victory.

Still, the Zips impressed Schiano in several areas:

Tough defensively

Schiano said Akron’s defense can “present some issues” and that it reminds of him of the scheme former Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard ran with the Badgers. Current Zips defensive coordinator Tim Tibesar was the outside linebackers coach and run-game coordinator under Leonard at Wisconsin in 2017.

Rutgers moved the ball pretty effectively in its 44-7 win over Howard (especially with Kyle Monangai running for 165 yards) but the Zips present a different kind of challenge.

“They gave (Ohio State) some problems up front defensively,” Schiano said. “So we’re really going have to work hard to be able to move the ball.”

Schiano said defensive end CJ Nunnally IV was “active off the edge” and linebacker Bryan McCoy was “very active.”

In the secondary, “The kid I think is kind of a ballhawk is No. 24 (Darrian Lewis), the nickelback,” Schiano said.

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New Jersey native Tahj Bullock at quarterback for Akron

Akron went into the game deploying two quarterbacks: Ben Finley and Tahj Bullock, who played at Saint Peter’s Prep in Jersey City.

At times in the first half against Ohio State, both quarterbacks were on the field.

But after Finley got hurt, Bullock took over the offense. He went 9-of-13 passing for 68 yards and rushed for 42 yards on 14 carries.

Bullock’s mobility is something Rutgers is going to need to be ready for.

“I thought he did a good job,” Schiano said. “He’s a very athletic guy that presents problems both running and throwing so we’re going to have our hands full there.”

Schiano said Rutgers recruited Bullock when he was in high school but Bullock ultimately went to Virginia Tech before transferring to Akron.

“I have a lot of respect for him,” Schiano said. “He's a tough, hard worker. I got to see his dad when he was at the 7-on-7 (tournament) this summer, and we were talking a little bit. But I always had a lot of respect for Tajh, the way he carries himself and the way he approaches the game.”

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: What Greg Schiano said about Akron and the NJ connection at QB as Rutgers football preps for Zips