Five Takeaways from Rutgers Wrestling's season opener quad

[Lex Knapp]

Rutgers wrestling kicked off their 2021-22 season in dominating fashion yesterday, as the Scarlet Knights hosted NJCU, Binghamton, and Cleveland state for a quad meet.

Rutgers defeated all three teams handily, only dropping three individual bouts on the entire day.

There was some clear improvements in this lineup from last season, as this appeared to be a very balance and talented lineup from top to bottom. Thanks to new starters such as Dylan Shawver, Boone McDermott, and transfer Greg Bulsak, Coach Goodale has a lineup that features a tough out at almost every weight.

With so much action throughout the day, there were many things that stood out about this team. But as always, some things jumped out more than others. Click the link below to see what TKR thinks were the 5 biggest takeaways from Rutgers wrestling’s season opener!

TheKnightReport - Five Takeaways from Rutgers Wrestling's season opener quad

Rutgers Wrestling kicked off their 2021-22 campaign this weekend and TKR has five takeaways from the event.

rutgers.rivals.com

 

[AreYouNUTS]

27 of 30...that's nice. Very nice. Well done!

 

[Tango Two]

 

[koleszar]

If it comes to fruition I don't like the idea of moving Kanniard up to 165 for dual meet purposes. You failed to recruit or get a transfer for the weight, just live with the consequences. No reason to stunt a promising young kids growth just so you can win some dual meets. Let Angelo and Clark be the canon fodder.

 

[bigmatt718]

If it comes to fruition I don't like the idea of moving Kanniard up to 165 for dual meet purposes. You failed to recruit or get a transfer for the weight, just live with the consequences. No reason to stunt a promising young kids growth just so you can win some dual meets. Let Angelo and Clark be the canon fodder.

Exactly. At the end of the day, no one will remember what happened in January during dual season. It's all about those 3 days in March in the NCAA Tourney.

 

[bigmatt718]

If it comes to fruition I don't like the idea of moving Kanniard up to 165 for dual meet purposes. You failed to recruit or get a transfer for the weight, just live with the consequences. No reason to stunt a promising young kids growth just so you can win some dual meets. Let Angelo and Clark be the canon fodder.

I'm fully convinced we were trying to go all out for Griffith and didn't have a Plan B when Stanford decided to reinstate their program.

 

[wngarbarini]

Kanniard will stay at 157

 

[FoxRU]

I'm fully convinced we were trying to go all out for Griffith and didn't have a Plan B when Stanford decided to reinstate their program.

I think it’s just a bit of bad luck. Cut too much for Grello and Turley, Glasgow didn’t pan out/grow into 165, O’Neill a bit too big as well. McFadden picking VT really hurt as well.

 

[Peteras9144]

I think it’s just a bit of bad luck. Cut too much for Grello and Turley, Glasgow didn’t pan out/grow into 165, O’Neill a bit too big as well. McFadden picking VT really hurt as well.

Were we in the running for McFadden?

 

[koleszar]

Were we in the running for McFadden?

From my understanding yes, we simply couldn't offer him as much money as Virginia Tech. But he wanted to come here. We had our money locked up in Mulligan and Grello instead.

 

[Peteras9144]

From my understanding yes, we simply couldn't offer him as much money as Virginia Tech. But he wanted to come here. We had our money locked up in Mulligan and Grello.

Wow, that's a killer in hindsight but I figured he was the type you throw whatever you can at and keep him home! Very surprising to think we couldn't come up with more for him.

 

[bigmatt718]

From my understanding yes, we simply couldn't offer him as much money as Virginia Tech. But he wanted to come here. We had our money locked up in Mulligan and Grello instead.

Brutal when you considered both ended up busting here (Mulligan moreso than Grello).

 

[koleszar]

Wow, that's a killer in hindsight but I figured he was the type you throw whatever you can at and keep him home! Very surprising to think we couldn't come up with more for him.

When you look back it's yea how'd we fvck that up. But coming in no one knew Mulligan would become a pot head and Joe actually looked good as a freshman. But he never progressed past that point. I think the staff has been much better at not taking defensive wrestlers in high school. Sure they may win a few State Championships but it always seems the offensive guys translate better to college.

 

[Peteras9144]

I'm not commenting on grello or mulligan career wise, just more surprised that we couldnt/didn't do more to keep McFadden in state if he wanted to be here.

 

[bigmatt718]

When you look back it's yea how'd we fvck that up. But coming in no one knew Mulligan would become a pot head and Joe actually looked good as a freshman. But he never progressed past that point. I think the staff has been much better at not taking defensive wrestlers in high school. Sure they may win a few State Championships but it always seems the offensive guys translate better to college.

Yeah you don't see many guys who win most of their matches 2-1 or 3-1 ending up on the podium at the college level. Defense first wrestlers don't win big at this level.

 

[SCNJ]

Yeah you don't see many guys who win most of their matches 2-1 or 3-1 ending up on the podium at the college level. Defense first wrestlers don't win big at this level.

Agree to an extent. Nick Suriano, Daton Fix, Stevan Micic are all defensive wrestlers and those 3 have had the 133 division on lockdown the last few years. You can be defensive and win, though I would agree that you needed an offensive skill set.

Joey Olivieri is an ultra defensive wrestler and we’ll see how he pans out.

 

[LETSGORU91]

Agree to an extent. Nick Suriano, Daton Fix, Stevan Micic are all defensive wrestlers and those 3 have had the 133 division on lockdown the last few years. You can be defensive and win, though I would agree that you needed an offensive skill set.

Joey Olivieri is an ultra defensive wrestler and we’ll see how he pans out.

Suriano, Fix and Micic tighten up when they wrestle those of their own, elite caliber, and with good cause. But I wouldn't call them defensive wrestlers. Last year at Rutgers, over 66% of Nick's wins were bonus ones, including 9 or 10 pins/tech falls. The only close matches were against those ranked within the top seven.

 

[LETSGORU91]

Here's the 6th takeaway from the quad meet: "Rutgers mandates mask use at indoor events but does not enforce the mandate, allowing a large percentage of those in the stands to be mask free or wear their mask as a chin strap".

 

[RUreallygoingtoeatthat]

Yeah you don't see many guys who win most of their matches 2-1 or 3-1 ending up on the podium at the college level. Defense first wrestlers don't win big at this level.

I remember Labe Black, multi-state NJ champ from Absegami who fit that description while in high school. Did not have much of a career at U Buffalo or Rider

 

[RUreallygoingtoeatthat]

Love Boone's personality on the team. From where I sit at RAC behind the bench, I could see how loose he is, even joking with Goodale. Think he will become a fan favorite. When I saw him launch the Cleveland State heavy, I started to hear in my head that old disco hit that Paul Shaffer wrote, "It's Raining Men" by The Weather Girls. Would be a hoot to have that as the Rutgers team entry song, with clips of Rutgers team throwing opponents incorporated into the video.

 

[JudgeSmails56]

Love Boone's personality on the team. From where I sit at RAC behind the bench, I could see how loose he is, even joking with Goodale. Think he will become a fan favorite. When I saw him launch the Cleveland State heavy, I started to hear in my head that old disco hit that Paul Shaffer wrote, "It's Raining Men" by The Weather Girls. Would be a hoot to have that as the Rutgers team entry song, with clips of Rutgers team throwing opponents incorporated into the video.

Sounds like a song for a gay bar not a wrestling match. Just my opinion.

 

[SCNJ]

Definitely not a song I’d associate with wrestling

 

[RUreallygoingtoeatthat]

I didn't realize the song had this gay subculture cache. Have been watching old Letterman clips on YouTube recently, and saw Shaffer talk about the song, with the Weather Girls performing.

And it's much more appropriate to play AC DC songs before the matches, like "You Shook Me All Night Long". Great song for the kids. Love the Pat Boone cover.

 

[njsportsphan]

Sounds like a song for a gay bar not a wrestling match. Just my opinion.

Agreed!

 

[Heartthrob MVB Fan]

...thinking "It's Raining Men" might give people the wrong idea...

Then again, considering I'm a middle aged, heterosexual male - coupled with my screenname - perhaps I should just stand down...

 

[koleszar]

"It's Raining Men" by The Weather Girls. Would be a hoot to have that as the Rutgers team entry song, with clips of Rutgers team throwing opponents incorporated into the video.

 

[rubigtimenow]

Lol Perfect!

 

[Lex Knapp]

Just got caught up on this thread. There has been some interesting conversations on these boards over the last couple of years, but this one might take the cake.

 

[Jersey Boys]

When I saw him launch the Cleveland State heavy, I started to hear in my head that old disco hit that Paul Shaffer wrote, "It's Raining Men" by The Weather Girls. Would be a hoot to have that as the Rutgers team entry song, with clips of Rutgers team throwing opponents incorporated into the video.