Rutgers Officially Names Starting Quarterback For 2026 Season
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Rutgers fans, you now have an answer.
The long-awaited decision on who would be under center for the Scarlet Knights in 2026 has been made. On Monday morning, ESPN reported that Rutgers has named Boston College transfer Dylan Lonergan as its starting quarterback for the 2026 season.
Head coach Greg Schiano previously spoke about the quarterback battle following the second scrimmage of training camp, claiming that a response would be coming “soon.”
“The quarterback deal, I think they’re similar quarterbacks and that’s what’s made it challenging to make a decision,” Schiano said. “They both bring great skill sets to the position. Great mentality, maturity, leadership. They really are two really good college quarterbacks, so we just got make a decision.”
That decision has been made and it ends up being Lonergan. The 6-foot-2 quarterback spent two years at Alabama as a recruit of Nick Saban. He transferred to Boston College in 2025 where he played in 10 games for the Eagles. Lonergan completed 66.9% of his passes and totaled 2,025 yards with 12 touchdowns and five interceptions.
Lonergan beat out AJ Surace, who will be Rutgers backup quarterback once again this season.
Lonergan will replace Athan Kaliakmanis under center. After transferring in from Minnesota, Kaliakmanis brought the forward pass back to Piscataway after mediocre quarterback play for years. In two years, he threw for 5,820 yards with 48 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He made 25 starts. In 2025, Kaliakmanis became the third quarterback in program history to throw for 3,000 yards. Kaliakmanis was a seventh-round pick of the Washington Commanders in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Schiano has said throughout camp that he liked the way both quarterbacks were progressing, but he would “like to play one.” Now, the decision has been made and Rutgers can focus on the season-opener. The Scarlet Knights will begin the season on Thursday, Sept. 3 at SHI Stadium against UMass.
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