The 2022 season for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights has been full of ups and downs. Rutgers has gone through three quarterbacks but declared sophomore Gavin Wimsatt their starter. Wimsatt is in his second year for the Scarlet Knights after being red-shirted in 2021. After a subpar game against the Penn State Nittany Lions, is Gavin Wimsatt the best decision for Rutgers next year?
Gavin Wimsatt vs Penn State
The Penn State Nittany Lions have a strong defense, and they should take the credit. Unfortunately, Gavin Wimsatt did not play well against the Nittany Lions either. He missed a number of wide-open receivers which could have been potentially big plays. According to ESPN, Wimsatt completed ten passes out of 29 for 122 yards, averaging 4.2 yards per completion. He also threw one touchdown and one interception. After being down by too many points with no hope, head coach Greg Schiano pulled Gavin Wimsatt out of the game.
Many of the pass attempts were poorly thrown balls. The Scarlet Knights have not had a strong offense all season, but how they played against Penn State needs to be assessed. After Wimsatt was pulled, a fellow sophomore, Evan Simon entered the game. Simon completed all five of his passes for 13 yards.
Gavin Wimsatt or Noah Vedral
It is curious that Wimsatt was not pulled earlier when it was seen he could not get any momentum going. The first quarter of the game was very back and forth, so there was a potential hope at one point. That was until the Rutgers offense began to make too many mistakes. While there are three quarterbacks on the roster, one has demonstrated they can get wins. Senior quarterback Noah Vedral may not be a top draft pick, but he has shown to be a better starter for Rutgers.
This season, Vedral has completed 21 out of 46 passes for a total of 464 yards and averaging 5.7 yards per pass according to Sports Reference. These are not outstanding statistics, but Vedral put the team in a position to win, as well as the Scarlet Knights’ defense. Vedral has also thrown one interception, one touchdown, and rushed for a touchdown as well.
While I understand wanting to build on the future, it was curious that they chose to keep Gavin Wimsatt in the game against Penn State over Noah Vedral, or even Evan Simon. There is only one more regular season game, against Maryland. It is too late to change quarterbacks at this point, but questions should be raised about this position.
Gavin Wimsatt Next Year
It may be too late to change anything this year, but next year there needs to be more aggression on offense. Wimsatt should not be handed the starting role right away. There should be competition between Wimsatt and Simon at the least. Simon’s biggest issue this season has been turnovers. If he can fix that, he should at least have a chance for the starting position.
The team will also need to work harder with recruiting. Rutgers will most likely not acquire a top prospect, but they need someone they know can complete the pass. They can even look into the transfer portal as well. That was how they got Vedral, who transferred from Nebraska. The Scarlet Knights’ defense can only do so much and hopefully at the least, Gavin Wimsatt will improve heading into his third year at Rutgers in 2023.
Next weekend, the Scarlet Knights will head to Maryland for their last regular season game. Watch for Gavin Wimsatt as he hopefully is able to clean up his passes.
For more NFL and NCAA content:
Check out my article on Rutgers Top Five NFL Draft Prospects. Also, check out my most recent article on the 49ers before they play in Mexico for Monday Night Football.
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