Eric LeGrand on Rutgers football in 2023, relationship with Greg Schiano

Eric LeGrand spoke to FanSided on behalf of Eric LeGrand Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, the first spirits brand to have a partnership with Rutgers Athletics. Eric LeGrand Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey will be available at select hospitality areas at SHI Stadium and Jersey Mike’s Arena.

The college football season is almost upon us, and attention will be on the Big Ten Conference. While the Michigan Wolverines and Ohio State Buckeyes are the teams that will have the most attention on them, this is a tough conference. 9 of the 14 teams made it to the bowl game. One of the five teams that missed out on a bowl game were the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, who had one of the top defenses in the country at one point last season. Rutgers is entering it’s 10th season in the conference, hoping to make it to bowl season for the third time in that span.

FanSided spoke with former Rutgers player Eric LeGrand, whose Eric LeGrand Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey is an official spirits brand partner with Rutgers Athletics. When asked about the outlook for the Scarlet Knights football team, LeGrand says the goal is simple — make it to a bowl game.

"“I think the goal is to get to a bowl game, you want to get into that postseason, where you get those extra practices, which you guys get them to experience that bowl trip, being able to go play another team from from a different conference, and just back to that tradition, where you’re going bowling every year,” said LeGrand. “I think that’s definitely the goal of the season. Obviously, you got to get to those six wins to get there. So that’s the goal right there in my mind.”"

Eric LeGrand on Rutgers’ outlook for 2023 season, his relationship with coach Greg Schiano

The Scarlet Knights made it to a bowl game in their first season in the Big Ten, where they defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels 40-21 in the Quick Lane Bowl. Their next appearance in a bowl game was in the 2021 season, where they replaced the Texas A&M Aggies in the Gator Bowl due to a COVID-19 outbreak on the team. Rutgers lost 38-10 to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

This season, the Scarlet Knights enter the 2023 season with the 57th-ranked recruiting class by 247 Sports. With the incoming class of recruits, there’s also the current roster. LeGrand brings up a few who could make an impact now and in the future, specifically QB Gavin Wimsatt.

"“There’s quite a few. Obviously, everyone looks at the quarterback position, and Gavin Wimsatt. And then you’ve got Samuel Brown coming back off an injury who was a beast of a running back. And then you got Max Melton on the defensive side whose played a lot of football for Rutgers, who was supposed to be taking that next step to elite level where you can see him getting drafted next year and playing on Sundays. So there’s quite a few guys, but you know, obviously, Gavin Wimsatt, how he goes is how Rutgers is gonna go on offense,” said LeGrand."

Wimsatt is a four-star recruit in the 2021 recruiting class, and received extended playing time this past season. Through eight games, Wimsatt threw for 757 yards, five touchdowns, and seven interceptions while completing 44.8 percent of his passes.

Last season, Brown made an impact as a freshman. His 101 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown on 28 carries helped lead the Scarlet Knights to a 24-17 win over the Indiana Hoosiers. However, he missed the remainder of the season due to a foot injury.

Melton is in his junior season, and as LeGrand mentions, could be a high draft pick in 2024 in that year’s cornerback class. Through 12 games last season, Melton recorded 33 total tackles (23 solo, 10 assisted), 10 passes defended, and two interceptions. In his three years at Rutgers, Melton recorded 79 total tackles (60 solo, 19 assisted), 16 passes defended, and four interceptions.

How Rutgers’ season will be determined not just by the play of their athletes, but also how head coach Greg Schiano is able to get the most out of his team and have a winning game plan on a weekly basis. This is going to be Schiano’s fourth season in his second stint at Rutgers, after he departed for the NFL to coach the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2012.

Rutgers fans see what Schiano does on the sidelines during game day, coaching his players. But what about what they don’t see behind the scenes? LeGrand touches on what Schiano does to help players not only prepare for game day, but also for life.

"“A lot of people don’t see how he demands your excellence in the classroom, in a weight room and a film room and just everything that you do,” said LeGrand. “So he’s taking these young boys at 18 years old, and turning them into great men for society when they leave at 21-22 years old, and making them just pillars in the community because of all the leadership skills that he teaches you, those hard times that we go through, and you’re asking yourself, ‘What am I doing,’ but not realizing that he’s setting you off for the game of life.”"

LeGrand knows Schiano, as he was his head coach dating back to when he first arrived at Rutgers in 2008. Schiano was also there when LeGrand suffered his spinal cord injury during the team’s Oct. 16, 2010 game against Army at MetLife Stadium that left him paralyzed from the neck down. Even past their time together at Rutgers, LeGrand can call Schiano a friend.

"“Amazing, seeing him as a coach and like almost like a father figure to us, someone who’s very tough on us to now calling him a friend. Now I’m an adult living my adult life and it’s like I can call upon him, and the way that he supported me throughout the years with not just , being there for me throughout those those dark times but drafted me to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, continuing to donate to my foundation, having a room named after me at JFK Hackensack Meridian Hospital and having a spinal cord injury room named after me that him and his wife put up a $250,000 donation for for spinal cord injury patients to come there and do inpatient rehab. So like, the discontinuous support that he gives me is just honestly just a blessing. And to see him back at Rutgers, I couldn’t be more thrilled to for those kids to get the opportunity to be coached by him.”"

In the year’s since the injury, Schiano signed LeGrand to a contract when he was the coach of the Buccaneers. And recently, as LeGrand mentions, donated $250,000 to JFK University Medical Center in Edison, N.J, which in turn honored LeGrand with the “Eric LeGrand Spinal Cord Injury Patient Care Room.”

Below is additional information on Erick LeGrand Bourbon, via the official press release:

Eric LeGrand Bourbon is a Kentucky Straight Bourbon, distilled in Owensboro, Kentucky, and bottled in Bardstown, Kentucky. The liquid is created with quality heartland grown corn, limestone purified water, the freshest rye and barley available. Aged no less than two years in perfectly charred oak barrels, this premier whiskey boasts a warm nose and a smooth crisp finish. Eric LeGrand Bourbon is now available for purchase (750ML bottles) in the state of New Jersey (distributed by Allied Beverage Group) and Kentucky, with additional states to follow. Bottles can also be purchased via https://www.ericlegrandwhiskey.com/.

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