From now through September 3rd, I am posting a daily reason why it is great to be a fan of Rutgers football. There are a lot more than thirty, but I picked my thirty reasons, and hope you like them. If not, be sure to let me know.
For the seventh year running, we get to be introduced to a new offensive coordinator. We are certainly tired of the revolving door, and I’m hoping that Drew Mehringer is tired of it too, as this is his third stop in as many years, too.
In 2014, Drew was the co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach for James Madison in the FCS. The Dukes went 9-4 under his offensive leadership, losing in the first round of the playoffs to #20 Liberty University.
Following that season, Mehringer was recruited by Tom Herman to join him at the University of Houston. He was installed as the wide receivers coach/recruiting coordinator. As you probably know, UH had a dream season, going 12-1 for the season, capped by a win against Florida State in the Peach Bowl at the Georgia Dome.
However, Drew was tapped by Chris Ash prior to that last bowl game to take over the offensive coordinator’s position at Rutgers for 2016 and beyond. At least we hope it is beyond. This new offensive coordinator every year is getting ridiculous!
What is he like? Well, Dan Duggan (before he left the Rutgers beat to cover some pro team called the NY Giants) had a nice profile of Mehringer last December. More importantly, is who he is for our offense, and that is a driver.
Yes, he has been pushing our offense, and it is not looking bad. When BTN came through last week, Gerry DiNardo had a couple of comments about the offense.
BTN Camp Tour #Rutgers Offensvie line impressive and the option scheme gives them help with double teams and other O line blocking concepts
— Gerry DiNardo (@gerrydinardo) August 12, 2016
BTN Camp Tour #Rutgers Both Laviano and Allen look pretty comfortable in the new scheme - my guess is they will need and use both
— Gerry DiNardo (@gerrydinardo) August 12, 2016
It has been good to see Drew working with the players. It is obvious from those he is comfortable with the team, and they with him.
He has also been good working with the press, which is shown both in the clip above, and this one as well.
Finally, a clip of him on BTN with the QBs talking about what he is seeing for the fall
So, Rutgers fans should be happy with what Drew Mehringer has been doing with the offense. The change from the pro set to the spread is a daunting one, but the players seems to have adapted well so far. Of course, until they face game conditions, it is all up in the air. But Drew Mehringer so far seems to be a positive addition to the program, and he is today’s reason why it is great to be a fan of Rutgers football.