Scott Walker enters his eighth season at Rutgers as the Director of Football Academic Support. In his role, Walker oversees the entire academic program for the Rutgers football team.

During his time at RU, Walker has helped the football program establish unprecedented success in the classroom, further upholding the high academic standards of Rutgers University. The team has stood as a pillar for great achievement both on the field and in the classroom.

In the most recent NCAA Academic Progress Report (APR), the Rutgers football squad received a No. 2 ranking nationally. The Scarlet Knights are the only team in the entire country to boast the prestigious distinction of being ranked in the top three each of the past four seasons. Rutgers has also had the best APR score of any state university during that span.

In 2010, Rutgers ranked first nationally in APR. During the last five years under Walker's guidance, the Rutgers football program has ranked in the top seven nationally and has achieved the top APR of any Football Bowl Subdivision state university in the nation.

Rutgers has had two National Football Foundation Scholar Athletes in Brian Leonard and Brandon Renkart during Walker's tenure. Leonard received the prestigious Draddy Trophy, recognized as the "Academic Heisman," in 2006. He and his staff – Jenna Beverly and Darrick Brown – works diligently at ensuring that every Rutgers football player maximizes their potential in the classroom. They have made academic success a foremost priority for each student-athlete.

Prior to his tenure at Rutgers, Walker spent three seasons as an assistant football coach at Cornell. He was named the running backs coach at Cornell in the spring of 2001. Before joining the Cornell staff, he served five seasons at Georgia Tech, including three as the director of academics for the football team. In 1997, he was the assistant director of football operations. Prior to Tech, Walker was a coach at the University of Maine for six years, including the final two as the running game coordinator. Walker also spent time coaching at Purdue, Iowa and Texas.

Walker graduated from Princeton in 1984 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in geology. During his time at Princeton, he worked as the freshman defensive ends coach from 1982-84. In addition to attending college in New Jersey, Walker spent 15 years recruiting the New Jersey metropolitan area for various universities during his coaching career.

Scott and his wife, Michelle, have a son, Kyle.

Shawn Tucker begins hissecond season as Assistant Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Development.

Tucker, a 2007 graduate of Rutgers University and a former standout at wide receiver on the football team, leads the Life Skills initiative for student-athletes. Through programming and counseling, the Life Skills initiative will help to fortify student-athletes at Rutgers with valuable information and tools to guide decision-making in critical life-shaping areas such as career choice, personal finance, leadership, civic involvement, and healthy lifestyle choices.

Tucker came to Rutgers to play for head coach Greg Schiano from Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. He was named team captain as a senior and helped lead Rutgers to its first of four consecutive football bowl championships in 2006. A four-year letterwinner for the Scarlet Knights, Tucker was a key member of two bowl squads during his career “On the Banks.”

As an undergraduate, Tucker served on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. He graduated with a double major in Geography and Labor Studies in May 2007 and began working for the Office of Continuing Professional Education at Rutgers as a program coordinator for their T.E.E.M. Gateway program. While there, Tucker was a member of a staff that received the 2010 Diversity Leadership Award.

T.E.E.M. Gateway serves all parolees in Essex County, providing education and employment to all youth transitioning back into their community. Tucker’s specific responsibilities included working with youth in the areas of academic, personal, career and community development. Tucker also participated in the implementation of the YE2S Center, a partnership among Rutgers, Newark Public Schools, the City of Newark and Communities in Schools of New Jersey focusing on providing education and employment services for youth in Essex County. Tucker has also mentored youth in Newark through the Rutgers Green Rangers Mural program, which focused on the beautification and revitalization of Newark through the Arts, while also serving as a key collaborator in the New Jersey High School Dropout Prevention Campaign.

Currently pursuing a master’s degree in city and regional planning, Tucker and his wife Maria, reside in New Brunswick, N.J.

Jenna Beverly arrived at Rutgers in September of 2004 bringing experience in academics and compliance from the University of Oregon and the University of Connecticut.

While at Oregon, Beverly served as a graduate assistant in compliance and then as an academic advisor, spending two years in each role.

In between the two positions at Oregon, Beverly came back east for a brief stint at the University of Connecticut as a compliance assistant handling various compliance duties, including initial eligibility. During her time at the University of Oregon, Beverly received her Masters Degree in Higher Education Administration.

Beverly’s responsibilities at Rutgers include serving as an academic advisor for the football program, while overseeing the Academic Support Services programs, including supplemental instruction, learning assistance, and tutoring. She is responsible for hiring, scheduling and monitoring Academic Services staff in accordance with NCAA regulations of these programs.

Beverly, a native of Northbridge, Mass., graduated from the University of Kansas in 2000 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. While at Kansas, she lettered her freshman year in softball and then worked with the women’s basketball program during her final three years.

Darrick Brown enters his fifth season as an Athletic Academic Advisor for the Rutgers football team after arriving “On the Banks” in November of 2006. In addition to his advising duties, Brown also oversees book purchasing for all scholarship student-athletes.  

Prior to Rutgers, he served as a Student Services Advisor for the Adult Learning Center at Essex County College where he coordinated the daily operations, including college enrollment, financial aid, tutoring, learning strategies, testing and job readiness.

He was also a Career Development Specialist with the Covenant House in charge of mapping out and tracking the educational and vocational goals of homeless youth.   

Brown, a native of Atlantic City, N.J., graduated from the University of Maine with a degree in Psychology in 2000. As a member of the Maine football team, Darrick was a four-year varsity letterwinner as a defensive back and return specialist. He was a two-time all-conference return man and still holds several return records for the program.