Mohamed Toure: The Menace
Sep 28 | Football
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – After leading the Scarlet Knights in sacks in 2020 and 2021, Mohamed Toure looked forward to taking the next step in 2022. However, an injury in spring practice ended his season before it ever started.
The momentary setback did not derail Toure, as he persevered through a year of rehab in coming back stronger in 2023. That was realized in the season opener against Northwestern, as he picked up a sack on six tackles in the win.
"It was so exciting," Toure said of returning to the field. "I hadn't played football in over a year, so being suited up, feeling the energy from the fans and just going out there and playing with my brothers, that meant the world to me. The whole last season, the battle was more mental than it was physical, in all honesty. Not having that for a whole year was tough. But being able to come back and just enjoy the game I love again with my brothers, it's been amazing.
"Knowing that it can get taken away at any time, every time I'm out there now, I'm just trying to give it my all. It's just made me hungrier."
Toure enters week five with 22 tackles as a versatile member of a defense that ranks 20th nationally in scoring defense (15.2). Lining up at all different spots, he is someone that makes his presence felt.
"When he goes to tackle you, he tackles," head coach Greg Schiano simply stated recently.
Another area where Toure has made an impact is with leadership. Despite not seeing game action in over a year, the team voted Toure as one of the six captains, a responsibility he does not take lightly.
"That meant the world to me because I was out the whole last season, and I still tried to help as much as I could," Toure said. "Just for them, looking at me as a leader and then choosing me to be their leader, it meant a lot. And honestly, I wouldn't say the roles changed at all. I'm still the same person that I was before. I still do the same things. I still lead on and off the field. And they help me lead, they come to me when they need help."
And Toure is not hesitant himself to reach out to others when needed. He credits past teammates such as Olakunle Fatukasi, Tyshon Fogg, Tyreek Maddox-Williams and Julius Turner as previous leaders of the team that helped him along the way.
"Those are all guys that kind of like mentored me, helped groom me and teach me things throughout my journey," Toure said. "And other things too. You don't always just take somebody else's recipe and just keep it. I added my own little seasoning and flavors here, and I'm just trying to keep passing that along to the younger group."
Coming from a football family, his cousin Lancine Turay plays for Temple, younger brother Famah Toure is a freshman wide receiver for the Scarlet Knights and cousin Kemoko Turay was a second-round pick in the NFL Draft and is currently with the Atlanta Falcons. Rutgers fans remember Kemoko for his field goal block in the first Big Ten win over Michigan, the fumble recovery touchdown in the comeback win at Indiana and 15.5 career sacks, among other highlights.
"It's amazing being able to have people in my family that I can reach out to and talk to about football and get advice from," Toure said. "There are people that are in my position or have been in my position, so they have a lot of advice to give me. And then me at the same time, being able to give that back to the younger generation in my family, being able to fit in a call with me and say, 'hey, I'm having trouble with this, could you help me?' It helps a lot."
With the mentality of focusing on each week as a season, Toure and the Scarlet Knights look forward to playing in front of the home fans at SHI Stadium once again this weekend.
"We're four games in right now," Toure said. "Just enjoying the process, enjoying the journey with my guys. Feels good to be back, we still have a lot more football to play."
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The momentary setback did not derail Toure, as he persevered through a year of rehab in coming back stronger in 2023. That was realized in the season opener against Northwestern, as he picked up a sack on six tackles in the win.
"It was so exciting," Toure said of returning to the field. "I hadn't played football in over a year, so being suited up, feeling the energy from the fans and just going out there and playing with my brothers, that meant the world to me. The whole last season, the battle was more mental than it was physical, in all honesty. Not having that for a whole year was tough. But being able to come back and just enjoy the game I love again with my brothers, it's been amazing.
"Knowing that it can get taken away at any time, every time I'm out there now, I'm just trying to give it my all. It's just made me hungrier."
Toure enters week five with 22 tackles as a versatile member of a defense that ranks 20th nationally in scoring defense (15.2). Lining up at all different spots, he is someone that makes his presence felt.
"When he goes to tackle you, he tackles," head coach Greg Schiano simply stated recently.
Another area where Toure has made an impact is with leadership. Despite not seeing game action in over a year, the team voted Toure as one of the six captains, a responsibility he does not take lightly.
"That meant the world to me because I was out the whole last season, and I still tried to help as much as I could," Toure said. "Just for them, looking at me as a leader and then choosing me to be their leader, it meant a lot. And honestly, I wouldn't say the roles changed at all. I'm still the same person that I was before. I still do the same things. I still lead on and off the field. And they help me lead, they come to me when they need help."
And Toure is not hesitant himself to reach out to others when needed. He credits past teammates such as Olakunle Fatukasi, Tyshon Fogg, Tyreek Maddox-Williams and Julius Turner as previous leaders of the team that helped him along the way.
"Those are all guys that kind of like mentored me, helped groom me and teach me things throughout my journey," Toure said. "And other things too. You don't always just take somebody else's recipe and just keep it. I added my own little seasoning and flavors here, and I'm just trying to keep passing that along to the younger group."
Coming from a football family, his cousin Lancine Turay plays for Temple, younger brother Famah Toure is a freshman wide receiver for the Scarlet Knights and cousin Kemoko Turay was a second-round pick in the NFL Draft and is currently with the Atlanta Falcons. Rutgers fans remember Kemoko for his field goal block in the first Big Ten win over Michigan, the fumble recovery touchdown in the comeback win at Indiana and 15.5 career sacks, among other highlights.
"It's amazing being able to have people in my family that I can reach out to and talk to about football and get advice from," Toure said. "There are people that are in my position or have been in my position, so they have a lot of advice to give me. And then me at the same time, being able to give that back to the younger generation in my family, being able to fit in a call with me and say, 'hey, I'm having trouble with this, could you help me?' It helps a lot."
With the mentality of focusing on each week as a season, Toure and the Scarlet Knights look forward to playing in front of the home fans at SHI Stadium once again this weekend.
"We're four games in right now," Toure said. "Just enjoying the process, enjoying the journey with my guys. Feels good to be back, we still have a lot more football to play."
The Menace is Back 😈 pic.twitter.com/3RsWMJfNpu
— Rutgers Football (@RFootball) September 4, 2023
Follow Rutgers football on Twitter (@RFootball & @RutgersFBfans), Facebook (/RFootballShow) and Instagram (@rfootball) for the latest news and updates. Also subscribe to the YouTube channel.
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