'We got a big challenge ahead of us': Greg Schiano, Mohamed Toure address media before Iowa
Head coach Greg Schiano and senior linebacker Mohamed Toure spoke to the media ahead of the Rutgers football team's matchup against Iowa on Saturday. The Scarlet Knights (6-3, 3-3) will look to earn their first road win against the Hawkeyes (7-2, 4-2) in program history.
Schiano went into detail on No. 22 Iowa's evolution and training within its program, speaking highly of the developmental system that the Hawkeyes have endured over the recent seasons.
"They train their people in their program. They're a developmental program as well," Schiano said of Iowa.
Schiano credited the success of the Hawkeyes' program to Kirk Ferentz, who has been the head coach of Iowa since 1999.
Schiano also praised the Hawkeyes' defense, which will pose a challenge to Rutgers' offense.
"They have a philosophy on how to play defense, and they stick to it," Schiano said. "It's not that they don't tweak anything from time to time, but they know how they want to play."
Toure is 1 of 6 team captains for the Knights. Schiano talked about the impact the captains have made and the initiative that they take to guide their teammates and help on the leadership council.
"When I need quick decisions, I gather the six, and we kind of make a move," Schiano said. "One of the things that has really gotten better here is the leadership, but that's all understanding the culture and the willingness to live out the culture because the culture is really hard to live."
Toure spoke about his experience as a team captain and mentioned that the motivation within Rutgers comes from the team as a whole, not just the leaders.
"We just keep each other up and continue to talk to each other," Toure said. "Through practice, after practice, we just stay on top of each other. I feel like that's the most important thing. I feel like that's what we're best at, honestly — being on top of each other and holding each other accountable."
The Knights' weekly objective is always the same, Toure said, which is finishing the weekend off with a win.
"We attack every game with the same mentality," Toure said. "We're going into this week with the same vision, mentality and goal, coming out 1-0."
The contest between Rutgers and Iowa will kick off at 3:30 p.m. in Iowa City, Iowa, on Saturday. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network and 88.7 WRSU FM.
"Going into one of the toughest places to play in America against a team that's leading the Big Ten West 7-2, we got a big challenge ahead of us," Schiano said.
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