ADVERTISEMENT

Enough about coaches...What 10 Grapplers will represent The State University of New Jersey next season

My apologies. As I stated I saw a tweet. And then came on to ask a question as I hadn’t seen any stories released yet. Health and family are two of the most important things and no one should ever fault a person for making those a priority
Understood. It's quite possible I tipped back a few that night when I responded and didn't realize the "?" in your response. Either way, no harm and no hard feelings.
 
  • Like
Reactions: UnderHooks
I hope we break through with 4-5 AAs, so we can stop hearing the noise. Peterson, Shawver, Poz, Yara, and 1 more.
Hmm looking at Flo’s preseason rankings(they didn’t rank fr but Lilledhal apparently will be a factor). Peterson is ranked 12th.. but scrolling through the top 20 anyone can beat anyone it seems…fun weight.

Poz was r12 but some reason is ranked 16th preseason(no fr ranked also). Top guys will be Cstar, Buchanan, Cardenas, Elam, Salazar, Little, Alredd, Beard.. won’t be ez to AA this weight..

I guess next likely guy to AA would be Turley and he’s ranked 14th.. top guys would be Otoole, Haines, Welsh, Hamiti, Devos , Arnold…this weight is top heavy n a bad seed draw would be night night probably..

Idk 4-5 AA I don’t see it.. we would need guys to make Shawver like lvl jumps..
 
Hmm looking at Flo’s preseason rankings(they didn’t rank fr but Lilledhal apparently will be a factor). Peterson is ranked 12th.. but scrolling through the top 20 anyone can beat anyone it seems…fun weight.

Poz was r12 but some reason is ranked 16th preseason(no fr ranked also). Top guys will be Cstar, Buchanan, Cardenas, Elam, Salazar, Little, Alredd, Beard.. won’t be ez to AA this weight..

I guess next likely guy to AA would be Turley and he’s ranked 14th.. top guys would be Otoole, Haines, Welsh, Hamiti, Devos , Arnold…this weight is top heavy n a bad seed draw would be night night probably..

Idk 4-5 AA I don’t see it.. we would need guys to make Shawver like lvl jumps..
I would put the over/under for Rutgers AAs this season at 1.5.
 
Last edited:
Sounds about right, i'd say 2.
I was about to say I don’t think both Shawver and Yara repeat AA is a lock.. maybe individually each is a fav to AA but for both again it might be closer to 50/50..

Think about it the years after Poz and Turley got their first AA every RU fan is penciling them next year to be a “gtd” AA or maybe even a NC but you never know what can happen.. inj, mental, regression, burnout, incoming fresh, weight issues etc.. it’s not just RU but any wrestler not contending for NC or a top podium spot, barring inj, isn’t a lock to AA again.. 4x AA is still a really good accomplishment imo..

Mb if I come off pessimistic but I like to view both side of the coin and am more of a realist preferring to focus on facts and data points.. we also had surprise AA like Turley, Perrotti, and Theobold so I can see the optimism. Maybe this will be our best squad ever and we can get 3-5AA but yeah we’ll see 🤞🤞
 
I was about to say I don’t think both Shawver and Yara repeat AA is a lock.. maybe individually each is a fav to AA but for both again it might be closer to 50/50..

Think about it the years after Poz and Turley got their first AA every RU fan is penciling them next year to be a “gtd” AA or maybe even a NC but you never know what can happen.. inj, mental, regression, burnout, incoming fresh, weight issues etc.. it’s not just RU but any wrestler not contending for NC or a top podium spot, barring inj, isn’t a lock to AA again.. 4x AA is still a really good accomplishment imo..

Mb if I come off pessimistic but I like to view both side of the coin and am more of a realist preferring to focus on facts and data points.. we also had surprise AA like Turley, Perrotti, and Theobold so I can see the optimism. Maybe this will be our best squad ever and we can get 3-5AA but yeah we’ll see 🤞🤞
Poz and Turley both AA’d in a year where no Ivy League athletes participated and a number of studs were on Olympic redshirt. Combine that with the fact that it was a free year and nobody in the country had to leave the field because of eligibility requirements and you’re left with a much deeper field the following year. It was always going to be harder repeat the AA status from that season

Not that it will be easy for both Shawver and Yara but they’re not going to be fighting the same uphill battle that Poz and Turley did.
 
Poz and Turley both AA’d in a year where no Ivy League athletes participated and a number of studs were on Olympic redshirt. Combine that with the fact that it was a free year and nobody in the country had to leave the field because of eligibility requirements and you’re left with a much deeper field the following year. It was always going to be harder repeat the AA status from that season

Not that it will be easy for both Shawver and Yara but they’re not going to be fighting the same uphill battle that Poz and Turley did.
Good point about Poz covid/ivy year.. I thought Turley AA in a normal year but wit a insane backside run.. I remember him being around ranked 6 or 7 in the preseason polls the following year…. Point still remains the same as in RU fans penciled them both in as locks to AA the following year.. some even calling Poz a NC contender..
 
Good point about Poz covid/ivy year.. I thought Turley AA in a normal year but wit a insane backside run.. I remember him being around ranked 6 or 7 in the preseason polls the following year…. Point still remains the same as in RU fans penciled them both in as locks to AA the following year.. some even calling Poz a NC contender..
I don’t think anyone penciled Turley in. Every acknowledged the talent he has but it was always going to be tough for a guy who’s been consistently ranked in the 20-25 range most of his career and simply caught fire for one weekend.

Poz was a NC contender at the time. He took 4th as a true freshman and wrestled Keckeisen, who just won a title, extremely tight. Circumstances have changed including some burnout, mental fatigue and a bump up in weights but he’s still good enough to be an AA candidate.
 
I don’t think anyone penciled Turley in. Every acknowledged the talent he has but it was always going to be tough for a guy who’s been consistently ranked in the 20-25 range most of his career and simply caught fire for one weekend.

Poz was a NC contender at the time. He took 4th as a true freshman and wrestled Keckeisen, who just won a title, extremely tight. Circumstances have changed including some burnout, mental fatigue and a bump up in weights but he’s still good enough to be an AA candidate.
Turley was ranked 6 or 7th preseason following the year he AA..
 
Turley was ranked 6 or 7th preseason following the year he AA..
Preseason rankings are usually just a recollection of the previous years AA’s. Personally I thought a repeat performance was possible but I would hardly call that penciling it in.
 
  • Like
Reactions: obrats
Refs came in today. This years class looked great.
Some wrestled 1 match some wrestled 2.
Barbosa Dec Desantis 10-3 165
Harer tech condomitti 15-0 in 2 mins 157
Oliveri utb Hermes 141
Harer tech weaver 20-4 second period 157
Shawver Dec dean 4-1 133 and 125
Ford Dec Blanchette 3-2 165

Can you assign weight classes to those?
Guys certified earlier and they are not are not down to their weights...will be down week 1. Bolded weights should be their competition weights
 
  • Like
Reactions: mikemessner
Guys certified earlier and they are not are not down to their weights...will be down week 1. Bolded weights should be their competition weights
It looks like Olivieri and Hermes are close enough that either could prevail in wrestle-offs. Is A. Nini not challenging at 141?

Once their weights settle in, it will be interesting to see which of Barbosa, Ford, and Blanchette prevails at 165. Or White?

Thanks, Bethemanandlegen, for sharing.
 
It looks like Olivieri and Hermes are close enough that either could prevail in wrestle-offs. Is A. Nini not challenging at 141?

Once their weights settle in, it will be interesting to see which of Barbosa, Ford, and Blanchette prevails at 165. Or White?

Thanks, Bethemanandlegen, for sharing.
I would say Olivieri will be the guy. Olivieri wins close matches-Hermes loses close matches, he does not have any big wins, just close losses. Olivieri is the better option. Nini will redshirt in my opinion, not sure he is ready.
165-White, but do not count out any of the true Frosh. I would not be surprised if Barbosa takes over the spot.
 
I would say Olivieri will be the guy. Olivieri wins close matches-Hermes loses close matches, he does not have any big wins, just close losses. Olivieri is the better option. Nini will redshirt in my opinion, not sure he is ready.
165-White, but do not count out any of the true Frosh. I would not be surprised if Barbosa takes over the spot.
White probably has a Connor Oneill type of leash where it’s either now or never. I get he’s a great kid and a workhorse in practice but his development has been stagnant at best since his redshirt year. If he’s not the guy it’s time to try to see if anyone else can be. Personally I like DeSantis the best of all those middleweights if the weight checks out. I don’t think he’ll win many big 10 matches but I think he’s got the most fight in him.
 
White probably has a Connor Oneill type of leash where it’s either now or never. I get he’s a great kid and a workhorse in practice but his development has been stagnant at best since his redshirt year. If he’s not the guy it’s time to try to see if anyone else can be. Personally I like DeSantis the best of all those middleweights if the weight checks out. I don’t think he’ll win many big 10 matches but I think he’s got the most fight in him.
DeSantis has improved a lot since entering RU, but Barbosa just beat him 10-3 the other day....DeSantis is a depth guy
 
  • Like
Reactions: KidDagger
Thanks again for posting this. Harer appears to be the real deal if his lopsided matches are any indication. I hope he is the starter at 157 and doesn't get pushed to 165. Barbosa may have just answered the doubts about White. Oliveri is just barely winning in tiebreakers. I hope Hermes is given some time at 141. And the big surprise is Walsh over Soldano. Goodale has been praising Walsh as one of the best in the room. I've never thought saying "one of" was very definitive, but maybe he has improved that much over last year? Or is Soldano fading? He's yet another to have his best year straight out of high school. Better to use those new guys now while they're at their best.
 
How about Nini at 141?
Haven't seen anything with him competing in these indicator matches.
 
I do not see any world where Walsh is a better wrestler than Soldano. One indicator match isn’t an end all be all but it is concerning that these head scratching losses are happening for him quite often.
 
Soldano should redshirt and come down to 174 next year when Turley leaves. If Walsh is better let him take over 184 this year.
While I agree Soldano always seems to look small at 184, he weighed over 197 at certifications. Not sure how easy of a cut 174 would be for him.
 
I do not see any world where Walsh is a better wrestler than Soldano. One indicator match isn’t an end all be all but it is concerning that these head scratching losses are happening for him quite often.
Why can’t he be? Walsh has been improving and Soldano has been regressing sadly.. if Walsh is beating him then Soldano should RS.. this isn’t the same Soldano a few matches in to his career where he was bonusing everyone and some people were already announcing him as the next big thing…
 
  • Like
Reactions: elvis7 and obrats
I thought Oliveri would be a stronger candidate for 141 coming off redshirt. Seems that year did nothing to progress his skills and we're still seeing the same just squeaking by. Not expecting much from him, maybe make Nationals. Defensive guys on a whole, don't get very far.
 
I thought Oliveri would be a stronger candidate for 141 coming off redshirt. Seems that year did nothing to progress his skills and we're still seeing the same just squeaking by. Not expecting much from him, maybe make Nationals. Defensive guys on a whole, don't get very far.
I expected him to be weaker. He did very little last year and we learned at the end of the season that he had been injured. Redshirt was more like time off. Besides, I have seen very few come back demonstrably better from redshirting. I'd like to see Hermes and Nini competing for that spot.
 
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest posts

ADVERTISEMENT