Beauharnais leads by example
PISCATAWAY — When Rutgers departed from Fayetteville, Ark., sometime Sunday morning, it had a victory that vaulted it into the rankings for the first time since 2009, its first 4-0 start since 2006 and a showcase event beating SEC opposition.
Yet when the Scarlet Knights arrived back on campus, they blended right in with a student body that did not react toward them any differently.
“It was a normal day really,” said senior linebacker Steve Beauharnais. “No one really came up to us and told us how well we were doing.”
The team is also downplaying the victory, citing coach Kyle Flood’s mantra to “do everything we can to be 1-0” at the end of each game.
Still, Beauharnais left Saturday’s 35-26 victory with a bit of a bitter taste in his mouth, as his defense was on the end of a highscoring affair.
“I hate shootouts,” he said. “I hate them because obviously there are a lot of things that are exposing us. There are a lot of things that we need to get cleaned up and think we’re not as sharp as we thought they were.”
Rutgers’ defense had its lapses against Arkansas, including allowing two consecutive touchdowns in the fourth quarter and allowing quarterback Tyler Wilson to spread the ball around for 419 passing yards.
Traditionally, an inside linebacker like Beauharnais would be more concerned about the running game and accumulating tackles in the short field.
The St. Joseph’s High School product did that better than he had all year by recording a season-high seven tackles after posting only 13 in the previous three games.
But Rutgers requires Beauharnais to be more than a traditional inside linebacker. He is the Mike linebacker in defensive coordinator Robb Smith’s system.
The Mike position requires linebackers to blitz frequently, so Beauharnais is responsible not only for stopping the running game, but putting pressure on the opposing quarterback.
“On third down, I put my head down and I’m a defensive end,” he said.
Beauharnais blitzes as frequently as he did last year when he recorded 16 tackles for a loss and five sacks. But the Saddle Brook native only has 2.5 tackles for a loss and 0.5 sacks thus far.
Senior linebacker Khaseem Greene does not see a problem.
“We’re not trying to make plays. We just try to stay disciplined playing our defense,” Greene said. “When you try to make a play and mess up, ultimately that’s not what we want.”
Greene said Beauharnais will make more plays behind the line of scrimmage as the season goes on, but his constant leadership is more important. Greene also said high-tackle performances like the one in Arkansas are bound to happen.
“He’s our vocal leader. He leads by example,” Greene said. “It showed in his play. He came down and he was really hitting guys and calling and directing.”
Beauharnais is more concerned with leading the defense as a whole, which has made it difficult for opponents to advance even short yards.
He sees a linebacker corps that has made plays behind the line — Greene and junior Jamal Merrell have four and five tackles for a loss this year, respectively.
He sees in front of him a defensive line that allowed only 3.8 yards per rush against one of the SEC’s most potent offenses.
He plays for a defense that allows 16 first downs per game, lower than anyone in the Big East.
With that around him, Beauharnais is assured of his own performances and can focus on the rest of the Rutgers defense.
“I already have my name,” Beauharnais said. “I’m the middle linebacker, the leader, blah blah blah, but other guys are making a name for themselves.”