Special teams coordinator brings rich experience to Rutgers

When Clemson and Alabama squared off in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game last Monday, Vince Okruch's eyes were glued to his TV screen.

As the Tide edged the Tigers, 45-40, to win their fourth title in seven years, special teams made all the difference. 

Alabama rode timely — and bold — special teams efforts on its way to regaining control of the game against Clemson, namely on an fourth quarter onside kick in the middle of a 24-24 tie before Kenyan Drake ripped off a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to completely shift the momentum.

Okruch, the new special teams coordinator for the Rutgers football team, saw it all. 

But the real turning point came on a series largely overlooked by the average viewer. 

"When Clemson punted in the third quarter at the 6-yard line, they couldn't down it. It rolled all the way into the end zone (for a touchback)," Okruch said. "(The punter) put the ball where it needed to be and they had six guys down there trying to reach for it. They're supposed to run down there, put their butt to the goal line and defend it like a hockey goalie. They didn't do that."

The Tide received the ball at the 20-yard line instead. Moments later, on a drive highlighted by a 53-yard touchdown pass, Alabama seized its first lead of the game. 

"The onside kick may have never been an issue had Clemson downed the punt at the 2- or 3-yard line," Okruch followed up. "I'll tell you this: They would not have have tried to throw the go-route from the 3-yard line. From the 23 is a whole lot different. From the minute (Clemson) didn't down that punt, I said, 'It's gonna bite them in the ass,' because they should have downed it."

Pushing close to 35 years in the coaching business all over the map in college football, Okruch brings seasoned experience to Piscataway. He has 15 years to his name in the Big Ten, most recently under Urban Meyer at Ohio State as the quality control coach of kicking and defense.

Now, on a relatively young staff at Rutgers under Chris Ash, Okruch finds himself in a familiar place with a handful of former Buckeyes following the first-year head coach over to New Jersey for a rebuilding process stunted after a messy 4-8 season in 2015.

“I am excited to welcome Vince to the Rutgers coaching staff,” Ash said in a release when Okruch was hired. “I have worked side by side with him the past two years and have been impressed with his professionalism, knowledge of the game and his connection with the players.”

Character, compatibility and competence were three key aspects Ash pointed to when he introduced his coaching staff last Tuesday at the Hale Center.

"Good guys to be around, intense people that are competitive, and are not here to just be excited at Rutgers, they came here to win," said offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer. "This is an exciting time."

But out of all the hires Ash has made to cement his full-time branch of assistants, the first might be the most overlooked — just as some of the aspects of the special teams unit he oversees are.

For instance, with blocked kicks, where the Scarlet Knights have racked up 43 since 2009, leading the nation.

"I don't think the people that aren't involved in this sport realize the impact that a blocked kick has on a game," Okruch said. "Whether it be a blocked field goal, blocked PAT, a blocked punt ... we will emphasize the block. But there's a give-and-take here now, too, where we've got the advantage."

With the likes of 6-foot-6 defensive end Kemoko Turay at his disposal, Okruch is chomping at the bit to experiment with his special teams unit when Rutgers hits the ground running this spring. 

But he has a message for the rest of the players on the roster.

"If you're gonna look at how we play, our starting point on offense and defense, the field position battle will be dictated by how we play special teams. And there is statistical analysis that'll tell you the farther they have to go and the shorter we have to go, the better the results will be," Okruch said. "It will also make it a requirement. You're gonna play on special teams or you won't play on offense or defense. And that's the way we grew it in Columbus."

It's all apart of the master plan Ash has mapped out on the blueprint as he looks to shift the culture of the program moving forward.

But to Okruch, much of that begins with the sequence of football that takes a backseat to offense and defense on the surface.

"The reality is it's a limited amount of repetitions in the game, but the impact on the outcome of the game is huge," he said. "It's a very, very unusual dynamic because it could be maybe 100 plays in the entire season where the offense and defense will play maybe 900-1,000 plays. So it's one-tenth of the amount of work, but it's almost three to four time more the impact on scoring. And that's the way I'll do it."

For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @GarrettStepien and @TargumSports on Twitter.