How good can Rutgers football's offense be? Here's what the unit looks like with camp starting

LAS VEGAS – One of the big questions facing Rutgers football with the Scarlet Knights set to kick off training camp is just how good its offense can be.

Rutgers has continuity at quarterback with Athan Kaliakmanis returning. It has an offensive line that’s continued to make progress, though it’ll be missing a major piece. It has solid wide receivers, and added another via the transfer portal. And it has high-quality running backs, though it has to replace one of the most prolific backs in program history.

Coach Greg Schiano is optimistic about the unit’s potential, but he’s also not glossing over the loss of talent it needs to account for.

“This could be a good offense,” Schiano said in a meeting with local reporters at Big Ten Media Days. “But everything’s got to go just right to be really good. We’ve got to stay healthy, guys have got to develop at the rate we expect them to.”

The Scarlet Knights made substantial progress last season in Kirk Ciarrocca’s second year as offensive coordinator. Rutgers averaged 28.9 points per game, the most since 2008.

Kaliakmanis was at the middle of that, throwing for 2,696 yards and 18 touchdowns. But so was Kyle Monangai, who rushed for 1,279 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Rutgers will undoubtedly miss the standard and example that Monangai, a seventh-round draft pick by the Chicago Bears, on and off the field.

“We lost one of the best players to have played here in Kyle Monangai,” Schiano said. “Not just his on-field performance – I spoke to some people out in Chicago and they’re saying, ‘This guy is unbelievable. His preparation, his professionalism.’ So we lost a very important player there.”

The Scarlet Knights return Antwan Raymond, Ja’shon Benjamin and Sam Brown. They also brought in FAU transfer CJ Campbell Jr.

"I feel like we haven't missed a beat," Kaliakmanis said. "We're good. They're working really hard. We have a great running back coach in Coach (Damiere) Shaw. He gets their best out of them every single day. That's all you can ask for."

Rutgers at wide receiver needs to replace Dymere Miller and Christian Dremel, but has a talented group returning including Ian Strong, KJ Duff and Ben Black. The Scarlet Knights also added North Texas transfer DT Sheffield.

It’s also going to help to have Kenny Fletcher back healthy at tight end – the Delran product showed promise at the position after moving over from defensive end, but he suffered a season-ending injury in the sixth game. He caught 20 passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns until the injury.

“We lost a couple (of players), but I think we have a lot of returning players,” Schiano said. “Kenny’s on schedule. We thought Kenny started very well. We added some players that I think can help. We’ll see. The O-line has a chance. But I think replacing Hollin is not a little thing.”

There’s no doubt about that. Pierce, who signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent, started 50 consecutive games with the Scarlet Knights. He was an anchor for the line at left tackle.

“Every week you take him for granted – I didn’t take him for granted, but a lot of people did,” Schiano said. “He got better and better and better.”

Tyler Needham is likely the leading candidate to take over at left tackle with training camp set to begin, but nothing is guaranteed.

If everything does go right, Rutgers’ offense has a chance to be highly productive. It’s come a long way in the past couple seasons.

The Scarlet Knights also substantial talent, but they added some too.

How much better it can be will soon be determined.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Rutgers football: How good can offense be this season?