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In one and a half weeks, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights host the UMass Minutemen at SHI Stadium for Week 1 of the regular season. Throughout the spring and summer, Rutgers has held an intense competition between two players to replace Athan Kaliakmanis, whom the Washington Commanders selected in the seventh round of the 2026 NFL Draft. Kaliakmanis served as the team’s starting quarterback over the past two seasons, finishing with a 20-22 record, including a 5-7 mark in 2025. The first competitor is redshirt junior transfer Dylan Lonergan. After spending his first two seasons at Alabama, Lonergan transferred to Boston College in 2025, during which he won the starting quarterback job. He completed 190 of 284 pass attempts for 2,025 yards, 12 touchdowns, and five interceptions, finishing with a 2-7 record across nine appearances. The second challenger is redshirt sophomore AJ Surace. After redshirting and not playing in 2024, Surace took over as Athan Kaliakmanis’s backup in 2025. He made three appearances during his redshirt freshman campaign, completing four of nine pass attempts for 58 yards and two touchdowns. The Rutgers Scarlet Knights reveal the starting QB for 2026 According to Pete Thamel of ESPN, the Scarlet Knights have announced Dylan Lonergan as the starting quarterback for Week 1, beating out AJ Surace in a close battle. Ultimately, Lonergan’s experience helped sway the competition in his favor. He has a golden opportunity for a revenge game against his former team in Week 2 when Rutgers faces off against Boston College on the road on September 11. Sources: Rutgers has named fourth-year quarterback Dylan Lonergan the school’s starting quarterback, and he’ll debut for Rutgers against UMass on Sept. 3. He beat out third-year quarterback AJ Surace in a close battle. pic.twitter.com/TFrtonTTPh — Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 24, 2026