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RU Wrestling: Where we are now.

PhilaPhans

PhilaPhans

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Apr 23, 2005
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Gibbstown, NJ
Where we are today:

125 McCabe/Ottaviano/Patrick ... Good depth, but no real competitor in the B1G.
133 Delvecchio/Giraldo/Ramos ... Strong weight class for us
141 Ashnault/Dippery ... Incredibly strong weight class.
149 Theobold/Hunt/VanBrill/Underwood/ ... Strong weight class for us
157 Perrotti/Painton ... Strong weight class for us
165 Visicaro/Gravina/Orr/Simmons ... Good depth, but no real competitor in the B1G.
174 Backukas/Pafumi/Shaut ... We're almost there, but Back hasn't turned the corner yet.
184 Hrymack/Messner/Jackson ... Yeah, we need some improvement in the upper weights.
197 Normandia/Camp ... What could have been with Camp, but expecting him to be able to keep the weight and come back after such a long time off and injuries may have upped his expectations way too high. Needs improvement.
285 Smith/Bernard/Knapp/LaShell ... Strong starter, depth needs work

Next year we have Ronnie Gentile at 133 (coming off surgery), Pete Lipari at 125, William Povalac at 149, and Kyle Kremiller at 197 coming in. I'd love to pull a guy like Suriano, but we really have some gaps at other weights that need filling.

We're good from 133-157 and 285. We're in trouble the rest of the way. I'm not expecting miracles or anything any time soon, but we need guys that can at least be competitive. We just gave up 4 tech falls against Ohio State? And neither Steiber wrestled. Even with Perrotti and DelVecchio pulling off great matches, we still really had no chance. I don't think I'm being unfair being that we're wrestling in the B1G now and not the old conference. I'll continue to cheer for this team, and I'll never question the work in the room, but Scott and Donnie need to bring in some massive talent to fill in some gaps in the lineup.
 
Our next couple recruiting classes should focus heavily on 184, 197 and to a somewhat smaller extent HVY, (in anticipation of Smith being a senior next year), 125 (Lipari is good, just not sure how successful he will be in the B1G) and 165.

Personally, I like Gravina if he can get bigger, but those shoulder injuries have a tendency to never fully heal for wrestlers.
 
fair assessment i'd say. competeing in the B1G means competing for a national title, and to do that you need top 10 recruiting classes consistently. Iowa, PSU, Minn, tOSU, Wisc, Illinois, NW, they reload every year.
 
Originally posted by PhilaPhans:
Where we are today:

125 McCabe/Ottaviano/Patrick ... Good depth, but no real competitor in the B1G.
133 Delvecchio/Giraldo/Ramos ... Strong weight class for us
141 Ashnault/Dippery ... Incredibly strong weight class.
149 Theobold/Hunt/VanBrill/Underwood/ ... Strong weight class for us
157 Perrotti/Painton ... Strong weight class for us
165 Visicaro/Gravina/Orr/Simmons ... Good depth, but no real competitor in the B1G.
174 Backukas/Pafumi/Shaut ... We're almost there, but Back hasn't turned the corner yet.
184 Hrymack/Messner/Jackson ... Yeah, we need some improvement in the upper weights.
197 Normandia/Camp ... What could have been with Camp, but expecting him to be able to keep the weight and come back after such a long time off and injuries may have upped his expectations way too high. Needs improvement.
285 Smith/Bernard/Knapp/LaShell ... Strong starter, depth needs work

Next year we have Ronnie Gentile at 133 (coming off surgery), Pete Lipari at 125, William Povalac at 149, and Kyle Kremiller at 197 coming in. I'd love to pull a guy like Suriano, but we really have some gaps at other weights that need filling.

We're good from 133-157 and 285. We're in trouble the rest of the way. I'm not expecting miracles or anything any time soon, but we need guys that can at least be competitive. We just gave up 4 tech falls against Ohio State? And neither Steiber wrestled. Even with Perrotti and DelVecchio pulling off great matches, we still really had no chance. I don't think I'm being unfair being that we're wrestling in the B1G now and not the old conference. I'll continue to cheer for this team, and I'll never question the work in the room, but Scott and Donnie need to bring in some massive talent to fill in some gaps in the lineup.
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Overall, Really happy with how the team wrestled today.. Can't help but feel helpless at 125,65,84,97 wrestling in the big 10. The current starters at those weights were not top recruits coming out of high school (besides Vis ~50th overall recruit). Blake Ryple (upper weight from Bernard's hs) shown interest in us and is a top 50 prospect in his class. We need to recruit as many top upper weights from our area next year as much as possible. We really need help in these weights and may even need starters as true freshmans.

Gentile was ranked at 145 pound high school rankings before being pulled out of rankings for season injury. I'd imagine him to be a 141 or 149 pounder with a chance to be 57er eventually in college then a 133. I liked him in hs and think he can be something special.
 
Originally posted by belushijo:
Our next couple recruiting classes should focus heavily on 184, 197 and to a somewhat smaller extent HVY, (in anticipation of Smith being a senior next year), 125 (Lipari is good, just not sure how successful he will be in the B1G) and 165.

Personally, I like Gravina if he can get bigger, but those shoulder injuries have a tendency to never fully heal for wrestlers.
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Agreed. 184 and 197 are biggest needs. I'm Really high on Paetzell at 125 when he comes to Rutgers. This kid has talent and just loves wrestling and that counts for something.

Gravina is developing nicely and is surprisingly competitive. Hope he heals fast. I don't believe he finished higher then 5th place in NJ states.
 
So what is Goodale's programmed response for such poor recruiting at the upper weights? And what is the real problem?
 
More important then good depth is we need a competitive starter at every weight imo. Big 10 teams like Northwestern and Illinois, If I recall, were forfeiting weights when there starters were out and had no backup to even fill in or made weight that day.
 
is there any good juco or possible transfers for those upper weights? we need some help there to really compete, b/c we got some strong kids at the lower weights up to 157, which i think our coaching staff did a tremendous job on.
 
Well , we were hoping Camp would have worked out at 197, unfortunately it's appearing not to be the case. Camp WAS at the match today, sitting with the team, also saying hi to his former teammates before the match, so at least he is still with the program until he makes a decision or makes weight or whatever the issues are.
 
Originally posted by Abro1975:
Well , we were hoping Camp would have worked out at 197, unfortunately it's appearing not to be the case. Camp WAS at the match today, sitting with the team, also saying hi to his former teammates before the match, so at least he is still with the program until he makes a decision or makes weight or whatever the issues are.
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Getting a competitive and driven Camp for his last 2 years of eligibility would have been huge for us. He should have been working on his weight and working in the room ever since he got his Rutgers eligibility. Maybe even since he left Ohio state and just being prepared to be back on the mat whenever his 2nd chance came. This means he should have been working and focusing ever since summer started and it just feels like he only recently started working on his weight seriously or whatever the case may be and now he's paying the price. Wrestling is a year round sport.
 
We're competitive at 133, 141, 149, 157 & HWT. No other weights are competitive. Upper weights recruiting seems tougher, like DT in FB.
Posted from Rivals Mobile
 
Just saying what I am hearing, not sure if true or not but I am being told by several people Gravina's career is over due to the shoulder issues.
 
Camp had surgery over the summer and it took time to recover. Please consider the facts before stating what he should have been doing over the summer
 
Originally posted by Racpack:
Camp had surgery over the summer and it took time to recover. Please consider the facts before stating what he should have been doing over the summer
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Yes, You are factually correct; thank you.
 
Originally posted by 78CollegeAve:
So what is Goodale's programmed response for such poor recruiting at the upper weights? And what is the real problem?
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I don't know that there is a problem. As someone who speaks with Goodale somewhat regularly, I can tell you that if you asked him why and when it will improve all he would say is that its going to take time, and that we are doing everything we can to get there. And I believe that, think its fair, and believe we will in fact get to where we all want to be.

We've moved from being a highly competitive eastern team to the best conference in all of college sports. You need to be there before you can recruit the level of wrestler we need to win in the Big Ten. In the EIWA, we could not recruit the level of wrestler we need now to be say .500 in a Big Ten schedule. Those kids simply wouldn't come to RU 9 times out of 10.

Goodale's plan is clear, and I think it is sound. We are focusing our resources to support our best wrestlers. We were incredibly fortunate to land Ash, and have brought in Pritzlaff to work with him and Perotti and the other middle weights. The improvement has been clear. Our middle guys are tough outs for anyone, and Theo is having a great year. That is going to lead to more AA's, which will build credibility and hopefully lead to improved recruiting across the board. The kids we are after need to believe that they can become AA's and national champions at Rutgers. If they don't believe that, we don't have credilbity and recruiting will be difficult. You can't do it all at once. You need to build up to it.

Once we start having real success at certain weights, we will find guys to round out a competitive line up. We are starting to see this already, and it will get better. We've got a good one coming in at 125, which was a position of need. I think soon enough we will start to see better recruits at the heavier weights now that Goodale is selling a starting job in the Big Ten on a competitive team.
 
Originally posted by 78CollegeAve:
So what is Goodale's programmed response for such poor recruiting at the upper weights? And what is the real problem?
Click to expand...
The thing is we just got to recruit top 100 prospects in our upper weight. I believe, we can develop them but we need guys that come in with state titles, and are sought after recruits.

Come to think of it we developed some pretty good upper weights that didn't have great credentials coming out of high school. I'm not sure if DJ Russo was ever a state champion and don't recall him being a top 100 prospect. Zannetti's highest finish was 2nd in hs. Rinaldi's best state finish was 3rd, I believe. And they all had fine college careers.

Of our current upper weights, Smith was #33 prospect in his class. Taylor Jackson was borderline top 100. Hrymack's highest state finish was 5th place and Bak's best finish was 2nd his senior year.. I'd say Bak is exceeding expectations so far from when he was recruited.

My point is we can develop our upper weights but of the current crop none(besides Smith) was a top recruit coming out of hs. If we can round up some high caliber kids, top 50 recruits, among upper weights we will be a force to be reckoned with real soon.

This post was edited on 2/1 8:41 PM by KidDagger
 
Gravina's career is not over. Spoke to him today. Trying to get the shoulder better
 
Like others have said we have some pretty good depth heading into next season from 133 - 165, I am assuming Perrotti is going to bump up a weight and that could open up a spot. Also at 125 we are adding Billy Ward, he wrestled 133 at Cumberland University in 2013-2014 but left the program and is now at RU. I hear he is going to be able to make 125 and should battle the guys we have there now. Cumberland wrestles in the NAIA but last season Billy beat 3X NCAA qualifier Nick Soto 4-3. Soto is currently ranked 12th at 133 and a Senior. If Billy can get to 125 and not have any issues holding that weight he should be a welcome addition to the team. Don't think he will be eligible until January 2016. Obviously that doesn't help with our problems in the upper weights.

I have my opinions as to what needs to happen but I don't think it does any good voicing them now during the season. I think most know what needs to happen.
 
We are recruiting a kid that was a top NJ wrestler and now at a Juco or CC and he is a middle weight that we should be able to get.
 
Can I ask for a status of a few guys?


Hunt - I heard he may have had surgery?

Orr -

Knapp - Has been on the roster for years but doesn't wrestle in open tournaments.
 
Originally posted by wngarbarini:
We are recruiting a kid that was a top NJ wrestler and now at a Juco or CC and he is a middle weight that we should be able to get.
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I hope that kid is currently wrestling out in the mid-west. He would be a welcome addition.
 
Originally posted by obrats:
Originally posted by wngarbarini:
We are recruiting a kid that was a top NJ wrestler and now at a Juco or CC and he is a middle weight that we should be able to get.
Click to expand...
I hope that kid is currently wrestling out in the mid-west. He would be a welcome addition.
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Yes he would. Could fill 165 hopefully.
 
Can anyone atleast give the initials of this Midwest 165 lber. I don't follow junior college wrestler all that closely. Thanks
 
Originally posted by Lips Manus:
Can anyone atleast give the initials of this Midwest 165 lber. I don't follow junior college wrestler all that closely. Thanks
Click to expand...
157, RL.
 
Originally posted by IsItLuck:

Originally posted by Lips Manus:
Can anyone atleast give the initials of this Midwest 165 lber. I don't follow junior college wrestler all that closely. Thanks
Click to expand...
157, RL.
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If its Richie Lewis, he's currently wrestling at 157.

Not sure if he'll be big enough for 165.
 
Originally posted by belushijo:

Originally posted by IsItLuck:

Originally posted by Lips Manus:
Can anyone atleast give the initials of this Midwest 165 lber. I don't follow junior college wrestler all that closely. Thanks
Click to expand...
157, RL.
Click to expand...
If its Richie Lewis, he's currently wrestling at 157.

Not sure if he'll be big enough for 165.
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What were Richie Lewis's high school credentials?? I see on d1collegewrestling he was the 198th overall recruit in 2013 class.
 
What were Richie Lewis's high school credentials?? I see on d1collegewrestling he was the 198th overall recruit in 2013 class.
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We have no confirmation that it is Richie Lewis, but to answer your question I will give you his Sr. year stats.

35-1
finished 3rd in the state
his 1 loss was in the semi finals to Ashnault score was 3-1.
 
Placed 7th, 5th & 3rd @ NJ states as a soph, junior and senior, respectively. 4th at NHSCA Senior Nationals in 2013 @ 138.

IIR, Ash beat him 3-1 in the semis or quarters at states when Lewis was a senior.

Edit: Didn't see Obrats post until after I submitted mine.
This post was edited on 2/2 4:02 PM by belushijo
 
Richie Lewis lost 8-5 to Iowa's 157 Mike Kelly @ the Iowa Duals. Kelly beat Perrotti 4-0. We should also stay on Louis Hernandez who is at Nassau CC. He originally committed to Maryland but didn't make it there.
Posted from Rivals Mobile
 
Hernandez was one of the last top 50 kids to commit last year. I mentioned his name a few time last year and was lead to believe he couldn't get into RU. So if he is done at Maryland already I am guessing it might have to do with grades. Kid has a lot of talent, hope he can turn it around at Nassau.
 
obrats

He committed to Maryland but didn't have the grades to get in so he went to Nassau CC. We should stay on him as he could be 165 in a year or 2.
Posted from Rivals Mobile
 
OK gotcha Leonard, that's much better than leaving Maryland already after one semester. Hope he does well and gets the grades to continue.
 
Hernandez didn't really strike me as someone who could be a 165lber. He had the perfect build for 149 last time I saw him wrestle.

More importantly, without trying to insult the young man, while he was/is a very talented wrestler, I'm not entirely convinced he would have a meaningful impact for Rutgers, if he were to come here.

And, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think he has wrestled this year......at all.
 
Frustrating at times when these arw the names of guys we have to look forward to. Goodale is saying all the right things about recruiting and almost seems a little frustrated with the progress. Dont blame him. Ash may be a senior by the time we can field a solid DUAL meet team.
 
Originally posted by Passe24:
Frustrating at times when these arw the names of guys we have to look forward to. Goodale is saying all the right things about recruiting and almost seems a little frustrated with the progress. Dont blame him. Ash may be a senior by the time we can field a solid DUAL meet team.
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IF it's Richie Lewis I don't see him making a big impact on our roster either.. probably fit a Orr type of role.. a good depth wrestler. Unless he's shown significant improvement.

If we can get some top 50 recruits for 165 and up we can field a solid dual team relatively fast. 125-157 will be really solid before Ash is a Sr. Here are some guys we should target for next year's class based on Intermat draft class rankings that are around our area:


#17 Dallavia NJ 170
#33 Donner NJ 170
#38 Rypel IN 182
Mulligan NJ 182



This post was edited on 2/2 11:36 PM by KidDagger

This post was edited on 2/2 11:38 PM by KidDagger
 
I believe RU gets 5 guys into tournament. I hope that's the number. I would consider that a great year.
 
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