Giovanni Rescigno
Giovanni Rescigno returns to the Scarlet Knights for his redshirt senior season as the most-tenured quarterback on the roster.
He made starts at quarterback in parts of both the 2016 and 2017 seasons, but last year, he saw the most game action of his career. In 2017, he started the most games out of all the quarterbacks utilized at the position (seven) and in total, he made nine appearances.
Even though he was the most called upon passer, he wasn’t exactly spectacular–quite the opposite actually. He threw for just two touchdown passes and 517 yards while completing a below average 47 percent of his passes. He did show he could use his legs a bit: 53 rushing attempts good for 153 yards and one touchdown.
Rescigno does fit the build of a pro-style and a college-size quarterback. He stands at 6-foot-3 and is listed at just under 230 pounds. However, the kind of second-rate production that he had last season won’t pass (literally) if he wants to win the starting job. In his nine appearances, he only threw for 100+ yards twice.
To cut Rescigno some slack, he did have to learn five different offenses. Next season will be his fifth season in Piscataway and in his time, Rutgers has cycled through five different offensive coordinators. That isn’t exactly the most ideal situation to be in, especially when playing the pivotal role of quarterback.
Rescigno’s veteran experience will likely give him a leg up on his competition, and for the time being, he seems like the most logical option to turn to from that perspective. That isn’t to say he won’t have to compete–he will most certainly have to prove his worth to deserve the starting job in 2018.