From the day he was introduced as the Rutgers head coach, Greg Schiano was emphatic in his message to the fans. He wanted everyone to buy in from Day 1.

Schiano is midway through his second season since returning to Piscataway, and he’s not wavering from that message. Even though the Scarlet Knights sit at 3-4 on the year after a few ugly losses, the head coach says the program is still heading in the right direction.

Monday afternoon, with the final minute of his weekly press conference, Schiano closed out with a message to the fans. He said the program needs to continue to see support.

“We have the pen in our hand. We get to write the story. It’s up to us to do it,” Schiano said. “I ask that our fans stick with us. It’s coming. I know it can get frustrating, for no one more than us. … The arrow on this program is up. We need our fans to stick with us. It’ll turn.”

Though Rutgers is currently riding a 4-game losing streak, the Scarlet Knights are already through one of the most brutal stretches of the season. They have games against Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Penn State and Maryland still ahead.

Rutgers can certainly win a few of those games.

The rebuilding process for any program can often be lengthy and frustrating. But Schiano still vows that major strides are being made.