Steve Pikiell paused the film session to inform his team it had a new captain.
Jake Dadika had no idea it would be him.
"It never entered my head. I never even thought about it. I just kept doing what i was doing," Dadika, a Spotswood native and senior guard for Rutgers, said before practice on Friday. "It's nice to hear. it sounded good, and it feels awesome."
Dadika's teammates clapped. Then they started watching film again. It was a fitting transition back to work for a guy who earned his captaincy, awarded by Pikiell earlier this week, by grinding.
"I love Jake. He's been great from Day 1," Pikiell said. "Since the first day I met with him, he was all-in on Rutgers. I love those people that are all-in. He loves the university, it wasn't just about the coach or anything like that. He was a guy who loves Rutgers.
"He's a kid I can always count on. A lot of coaching is trusting guys when you call on them, and he's been great in practice. He's good in the locker room. He made the dean's list, he's a great student. Just a great kid."
Dadika starred at Spotswood High, earning First-Team All-Middlesex County honors, before walking on at Rutgers under former coach Eddie Jordan. Dadika's father, Rick, scored 1,023 points for the Scarlet Knights from 1985-90 and helped lead them to an NCAA Tournament berth. Jake has only appeared in five of Rutgers' 18 games so far this season. But he believes he's bested his old man in one area now.
"He said he doesn't remember (being captain), which means he probably wasn't," Dadika said with a grin. "So it's cool to have a little something over him for once."
Pikiell said he wanted to make Dadika his third captain, joining fellow seniors Deshawn Freeman and Mike Williams, because, "I thought he earned this, and I wanted to reward him for that."
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"I'm very glad that I did, and he's been very appreciative," Pikiell said. "He's even played better, he's practiced better, he's been more vocal since I've named him captain. I'm excited to have him, he deserves that role and he earned it. I'm about earning things, and he's earned that title. He'll do a great job with it.
"I wanted to tell the team how much I respected what he does every day. He's on the scout team some days, and some days he's on the red team as our point guard. He's accepted every role. He's just been a great member of this team. He's all the things that embodies what I want Rutgers to be: Tough, resilient, hard-working, all those things."
Dadika is a "shy, quiet guy," Pikiell said, but his teammates listen to him when he speaks. They also now bust on him, asking if he can get practice canceled with his new authority.
"He may not be the most talented guy in the program, but they know every day he comes to practice prepared, he does a lot of different things for us on the scout team. and they also know I'll put him in the game at any time," Pikiell said.
"I trust him and I think he has the respect of his teammates. I don't think they were shocked when i decided to do that. I also think it's good for guys to know that, if a guy wants to earn a starting position, you can earn it here. If you want to be a captain, you can earn that. If you want to be a guy who leads the league in blocked shots, I'll let you earn that. I'll let you earn some of those rewards."
Dadika is taking this one in stride.
"I had no idea it was coming. No hints. It's a great honor," he said. "It's awesome to be the captain here. When I was a little kid, coming to these games and watching, you never dreamed you'd be playing on the team, and now I'm a captain, helping to try to lead the guys."
James Kratch may be reached at jkratch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JamesKratch. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.