Halfway Through The Season, What Are Everyone's Thoughts On Team?

[bigmatt718]

So we are approximately halfway or slightly less than halfway through the season. How is everyone feeling about which direction the team is going in as of now?

125: Aguilar has been very impressive, but still has some freshman moments. I think he can make noise in B1Gs and NCAAs, maybe as high as blood round, but is a year of S&C away from finding the podium as an AA.

133: Alvarez is a stud. Might very well be our first ever true freshman AA. Can't wait for B1Gs with a monster lineup (Gross, DeSanto, Sea Bass, RBY).

141: Aragona has a ton of talent but just needs time in the weight room and time to develop his bottom game. Really promising future. As of now, likely an NCAA wrestler.

149: Angelo kind of came back to Earth a bit in the Scuffle. Let's see how he does the 2nd half of the season.

157: MVB is a starter on most D1 teams and likely will end up in the NCAAs. Kanniard next year will really be fun to watch manning this weight for years to come.

165: No bueno. Turley could use a RS year to hit the weight room and open tourneys unattached. Donner is a serviceable backup. Not seeing an NCAA spot for RU here.

174: Grello can drive many a fan crazy with his lack of offense at times, sometimes leading to upset losses. He will be back in the Dance, but how far he goes I don't know.

184: I was really disappointed we didn't get to see Janzer at the Scuffle. He really could've scored some resume wins. I expect him in the NCAAs though unless he fades in the 2nd half.

197: First world problems. Correnti or Pagano? Both are good enough to make the NCAAs, I'm leaning towards Pagano in his 6th year with Correnti having one more year of eligibility.

HVY: Colucci should make NCAAs but like Janzer, wish he wrestled at the Scuffle.

As far as duals go, Idk what to read on this team. They could win every dual minus PSU, or they could lose some duals to inferior teams like Sparty or Rider. NCAAs are the same...the team could put 9 in the Dance, or only 4 or 5. Gonna be an interesting 2nd half of the season. Buckle up.

 

[Ole Cabbagehead]

Extremely concerned.

 

[RU23]

Better than expected, mainly due to Sammy, but still not good.

 

[R U Crazy]

Using NCAA as the barometer

I am concerned about these weights in this order
149: Will need 2 upsets in B10 to qualify
165: Will need 2 upsets in B10 to qualify
157: I think he is a Top 25 to top 33 wrestler...should qualify
184: I love Janzer;s attitude but i don't think he has a top 33 win.
He needs to qualify a spot for the B10 at that weight so he doesn't need an upset to make the NCAA's.
141: Same for Aragona,......showed his talent against Shoop but does he have a top 33 win?
285: Does he have the wins this year? Missed some time. B10 schedule coming up,



Not concerned about qualifying these weights:
197:
125:
174: Needs some wins, missed a lot of time
133


I would put the number of qualifiers at 7 (I think i had this number at 6.5 at the beginning of the season)

Overall, I am happy with the the freshman.
Nic has made some serious progress from last year.
Sammy has been more than i expected (thought he would need a year to contend)
Aragona is about what i expected for a true freshman (injuries scare me)
Angelo is conundrum (I didn't think he performed very well last year when i watched him in various open tournaments)
Janzer needs to stay healthy, but i love his attitude
Kanniard is good but needs the time in the Division 1 Room
Turley has performed below my expectations....(Injuries scare me)

Our upperclassmen have not improved enough to make a difference on the national race (They should qualify for the NCAA). I knew this was a rebuilding year but i enjoy watching our team. Nothing has happened this year to dampen my enthusiasm.

Donny P got a shout out during Sammy's match for being one of the top technicians in the game...always nice to hear. We should edit that mention and put it on a loop for recruits to hear.

 

[koleszar]

About as expected. The classes before these last two have absolutely flamed out. Going forward I'm expecting some loses we didn't think we'd have. Transfers were the only way to overcome that lack of seniority but alas we only got one in freshman Angelo. No I don't consider Alvarez a transfer.

 

[SCNJ]

On a scale of 1-5 with 5 exceeding expectations, 3 meeting expectations and 1 being a disappointment:

Aguilar: 4
Alvarez: 5
JoJo: 3
Angelo: 3
MVB: 3
Donner: 3
Grello: 3
Janzer: 4
Pagano: 4
Collucci: 4
Correnti: 2
Firestone: 2
Robinson: 2
Glasgow: 1
Turley: 2
Esposito: 3
Kanniard: 4
Scott: 4

For the most part, the team is what I thought they’d be. An exciting freshman class with some upperclassmen that are all fringe NQs.

I think when all is said and done we’re going to end the season ranked in the 20-25 range which I think is pretty exciting considering 5 of our 10 starters are freshmen, Glasgow took a suspension, and we haven’t even seen Vulakh. It’s still a program on the rise. When the current freshman class is seniors, this team is going to be serious.

 

[KidDagger]

My expectation from start of season vs how they r now:

Stock up-
Aguilar- was expecting him to be borderline ncaa qualifier but he’s looking like a def ncaa qualifier rn and was hoping for a better scuffle performance..

Alvarez- Amazing surprise and a legit AA contender... as a true freshman!!! I been looking for our next star(s) after our champs graduate(d)

Angelo- dont think many thought he should be starter but I saw his potential when he beat Ryan Anderson ... very disappointing scuffle showing though coming in as 2 seed

Stock down-

Aragona- With how highly ranked Jojo was coming out of hs this was def not the start I was expecting.. I was dreaming of a Ashnault/Suriano type of freshman season but starting to look more like Winston(ncaa qualifier plagued wit injuries)..

Grello- Coming off a strong Ncaa where Grello got 2 wins I was hoping he would come into this year and make the jump to the next level.. bad scuffle

Neutral-

MVB, Donner, Janzer, Pagano, Colucci- all roughly having the season we were expecting

Overall our team gets a stock up.. this was supposed to be a rebuilding year but we got an exciting young core of wrestlers

 

[Racpack]

On a scale of 1-5 with 5 exceeding expectations, 3 meeting expectations and 1 being a disappointment:

Aguilar: 4 needs to gain strength and weight
Alvarez: 5 great so far & is learning when to and not to take risks
JoJo: 2 hasn't live up to the hype - could have benefited from redshirt
Angelo: 4 didn't expect much from him and so far getting more than expected
MVB: 3 hard worker - needs confidence
Donner: 4 better than expected considering out a year
Grello: 2 come on Joe - get it together
Janzer: 3 - ok I guess
Pagano: 4 - keep it up Jordan
Collucci: 3 - has opportunity to exceed expectations - sorry he miss the Scuffle
Correnti: 4 much better than last year
Firestone: 3 - up a weight class - would like to see performance at 133
Robinson: 2 - needs confidence - is 125 too big cut & is he small for 133
Glasgow: 1 - does he really want to wrestle
Turley: 2 - would have benefitted from redshirt - is he cutting too much weight
Esposito: 3 - good considering limited high school experience - is he in shape
Kanniard: 3 - needs lots of mat work - can't survive on takedowns
Scott: 4 - a real gamer - needs confidence - is he scared by big names

Hope Vulakh and Santos are healthy to compete in 2nd half of year. If healthy, most excited for Vulakh's future


With all the freshman & redshirt freshman team is where I expected it to be: a 3

 

[RU Diesel07110]

Expected more from jo jo with all the hype
Better than expected- Nic has some nice wins I thought he would need more S&C to compete. The Bull has a ton of potential and beside e few f ups has been one of our best wrestlers. Angelo also has some nice wins for a kid who wasn’t expected to be in the lineup. Had a rough tournament but he will bounce back. MVB had a good tournament hope he can keep it going.

 

[RutgersAlum]

So we are approximately halfway or slightly less than halfway through the season. How is everyone feeling about which direction the team is going in as of now?

125: Aguilar has been very impressive, but still has some freshman moments. I think he can make noise in B1Gs and NCAAs, maybe as high as blood round, but is a year of S&C away from finding the podium as an AA.

133: Alvarez is a stud. Might very well be our first ever true freshman AA. Can't wait for B1Gs with a monster lineup (Gross, DeSanto, Sea Bass, RBY).

141: Aragona has a ton of talent but just needs time in the weight room and time to develop his bottom game. Really promising future. As of now, likely an NCAA wrestler.

149: Angelo kind of came back to Earth a bit in the Scuffle. Let's see how he does the 2nd half of the season.

157: MVB is a starter on most D1 teams and likely will end up in the NCAAs. Kanniard next year will really be fun to watch manning this weight for years to come.

165: No bueno. Turley could use a RS year to hit the weight room and open tourneys unattached. Donner is a serviceable backup. Not seeing an NCAA spot for RU here.

174: Grello can drive many a fan crazy with his lack of offense at times, sometimes leading to upset losses. He will be back in the Dance, but how far he goes I don't know.

184: I was really disappointed we didn't get to see Janzer at the Scuffle. He really could've scored some resume wins. I expect him in the NCAAs though unless he fades in the 2nd half.

197: First world problems. Correnti or Pagano? Both are good enough to make the NCAAs, I'm leaning towards Pagano in his 6th year with Correnti having one more year of eligibility.

HVY: Colucci should make NCAAs but like Janzer, wish he wrestled at the Scuffle.

As far as duals go, Idk what to read on this team. They could win every dual minus PSU, or they could lose some duals to inferior teams like Sparty or Rider. NCAAs are the same...the team could put 9 in the Dance, or only 4 or 5. Gonna be an interesting 2nd half of the season. Buckle up.

Sparty & Rider are not inferior teams - Take a look at their records as they have knocked off a ranked team.It is going to come down to us winning the match ups.Not just minus PSU - Can we beat Ohio state?

 

[SCNJ]

Aragona is 12-3 with two of his losses coming against a returning AA in Shoop and a likely AA this season in Red. Both matches he lost by a combined 4 points. It feels like some of you guys expected him to pin and tech his way through the season.

 

[KidDagger]

Aragona is 12-3 with two of his losses coming against a returning AA in Shoop and a likely AA this season in Red. Both matches he lost by a combined 4 points. It feels like some of you guys expected him to pin and tech his way through the season.

Jojo isn’t a regular recruit.... he’s a top 10 class recruit... do a quick search and u will c most recruits of this level go on to become multiple time AA..especially with how college ready these freshman r these days.. so of course there will be some expectations..

 

[obrats]

Aragona is 12-3 with two of his losses coming against a returning AA in Shoop and a likely AA this season in Red. Both matches he lost by a combined 4 points. It feels like some of you guys expected him to pin and tech his way through the season.

Not arguing either way just like to see correct numbers in arguments. He is 8-3 on the season and 6-3 vs D1 wrestlers.

 

[SCNJ]

Not arguing either way just like to see correct numbers in arguments. He is 8-3 on the season and 6-3 vs D1 wrestlers.

wrestle stat had him at 12-4 and the only thing that jumped out that I noticed was a MFF that registered as a loss. My bad

 

[obrats]

wrestle stat had him at 12-4 and the only thing that jumped out that I noticed was a MFF that registered as a loss. My bad

AHHH I see what happened, the matches he wrestled last year while in HS in an open tournament are in his career record. All good.

 

[RU Diesel07110]

I was wondering where those wins came from lol

 

[Jersey Boys]

This season was a rebuild/re-load to begin with. Expectations needed to be in check as there was a real possibility going into December that we would be shut out from the podium this season. I also saw us losing our dual to Princeton which is still my expectation today. I just don't want us losing to Rider. That would piss me off. With that said, the team is pretty much where I expected us to be.

I will make some general observations.

Jo Jo: Kid can flat out wrestle, but as the 6th pound for pound recruit, you would have hoped to have some more dominant performances. He has been dinged up and obviously having trouble on bottom (expected) and getting bonus points. NONE of this should be a surprise as he is a true frosh competing in a weight class that historically has some good upperclassman with several years in a collegiate S&C program. We won't debate the if or why of his red-shirt status, but looking at it today, perhaps his best move would have been to go the Ashnault route and redshirt. Done deal at this point. Still, he looked solid at the Scuffle and could catch up steam in the next month and based off what we saw out of Lipari, he probably is the better option THIS season at RU even though his career record might have benefited from a redshirt. My gut tells me you have not seen the best of him yet this year.

Sammy: Kid has the potential to be a 4-time AA at this rate. It's not just the upset wins at the scuffle but the way he approached each match individually and stayed composed. There was no let down in that tournament. Kid is already 2 years ahead of schedule. This will turn out to be a tremendous late game recruiting pickup for us ala Scott Delvecchio with bigger upside. Still, I expect some regression back to the mean here as we are not even in the heart of the B1G season yet. Need to keep him fresh.

Aguilar: Inconsistent at the scuffle, but in general there is a lot to like here. Needs to pick up the offense and possibly another year of S&C before he truly makes an AA run. He's answering a lot of questions as his redshirt season was a mixed bag.

Janzer: Hard to say since he's banged up and hasn't fully opened it up. Hoping there is more offense there because he can be exciting if he starts to score. Need to see him tick it up from that regard.

Turley: Don't know at this point. Quite frankly, I was surprised he didn't redshirt but I trust Scott and Donny.

As for the rest of the lineup, I think we know what we have in MVB, Grello, Correnti, Pagano and Collucci. Nothing more needs to be said at this point, but if you were looking for those guys to step up and be dark horse AA candidates you might be disappointed. Guys like Perrotti, Delveccio, Theobold and JVB to a certain extent had some flash and moxie to them and an offensive game that could catch fire. I don't see that here. Good serviceable national qualifiers, but don't see an AA in this group at this point. Of course, it's early and I could be proven wrong. All great kids and happy to have them out there competing for us.

My last comments center around Suriano. First off, he gave us two memorable runs in a Scarlet singlet and he will forever be the guy to get us over the edge. Ashnault will go down as the GOAT, face and heart of the program, but you can never discount what Nick has meant to Rutgers wrestling. He has always said the right things and never disrespected RU publicly, but as many of us already know, he dances to the beat of his own drum and will continue to be his own guy. Fact is, he has always been a bit of a loner in his own right and the kind of guy that leads by performance.

With that all being said, I like what I see out of Aguilar and Sammy and for the health of the program I want to see them continue to progress. I don't want Suriano back this season. Sammy has made too much progress that it would be an absolute sin to A. Blow his RS and B. Create any unnecessary friction in the lineup. Sammy at this point is our best wrestler and I like the energy he brings. He's the leader of the young guns. Give him the keys and let him drive. IF Suriano were to come back next season, we all know he is a AA lock and favorite to compete for a title. I just think as a program it's time to move on and start building around the young guns. In any event, I just don't see Suriano returning at this point but will always be thankful for what he did on the banks. If he does come back, Sammy gets his RS trains with Nick and makes a serious run in two years.

 

[KidDagger]

Id love to have Suriano back.. he’s done so much for us and yeah doesn’t hurt he’s a instant title contender...

Just having him in the room makes everyone better.. if he comes back this year hopefully it’s true he can make 125.. best case is Suriano returns next season and we can RS Sammy.

 

[Leonard23]

This season was a rebuild/re-load to begin with. Expectations needed to be in check as there was a real possibility going into December that we would be shut out from the podium this season. I also saw us losing our dual to Princeton which is still my expectation today. I just don't want us losing to Rider. That would piss me off. With that said, the team is pretty much where I expected us to be.

I will make some general observations.

Jo Jo: Kid can flat out wrestle, but as the 6th pound for pound recruit, you would have hoped to have some more dominant performances. He has been dinged up and obviously having trouble on bottom (expected) and getting bonus points. NONE of this should be a surprise as he is a true frosh competing in a weight class that historically has some good upperclassman with several years in a collegiate S&C program. We won't debate the if or why of his red-shirt status, but looking at it today, perhaps his best move would have been to go the Ashnault route and redshirt. Done deal at this point. Still, he looked solid at the Scuffle and could catch up steam in the next month and based off what we saw out of Lipari, he probably is the better option THIS season at RU even though his career record might have benefited from a redshirt. My gut tells me you have not seen the best of him yet this year.

Sammy: Kid has the potential to be a 4-time AA at this rate. It's not just the upset wins at the scuffle but the way he approached each match individually and stayed composed. There was no let down in that tournament. Kid is already 2 years ahead of schedule. This will turn out to be a tremendous late game recruiting pickup for us ala Scott Delvecchio with bigger upside. Still, I expect some regression back to the mean here as we are not even in the heart of the B1G season yet. Need to keep him fresh.

Aguilar: Inconsistent at the scuffle, but in general there is a lot to like here. Needs to pick up the offense and possibly another year of S&C before he truly makes an AA run. He's answering a lot of questions as his redshirt season was a mixed bag.

Janzer: Hard to say since he's banged up and hasn't fully opened it up. Hoping there is more offense there because he can be exciting if he starts to score. Need to see him tick it up from that regard.

Turley: Don't know at this point. Quite frankly, I was surprised he didn't redshirt but I trust Scott and Donny.

As for the rest of the lineup, I think we know what we have in MVB, Grello, Correnti, Pagano and Collucci. Nothing more needs to be said at this point, but if you were looking for those guys to step up and be dark horse AA candidates you might be disappointed. Guys like Perrotti, Delveccio, Theobold and JVB to a certain extent had some flash and moxie to them and an offensive game that could catch fire. I don't see that here. Good serviceable national qualifiers, but don't see an AA in this group at this point. Of course, it's early and I could be proven wrong. All great kids and happy to have them out there competing for us.

My last comments center around Suriano. First off, he gave us two memorable runs in a Scarlet singlet and he will forever be the guy to get us over the edge. Ashnault will go down as the GOAT, face and heart of the program, but you can never discount what Nick has meant to Rutgers wrestling. He has always said the right things and never disrespected RU publicly, but as many of us already know, he dances to the beat of his own drum and will continue to be his own guy. Fact is, he has always been a bit of a loner in his own right and the kind of guy that leads by performance.

With that all being said, I like what I see out of Aguilar and Sammy and for the health of the program I want to see them continue to progress. I don't want Suriano back this season. Sammy has made too much progress that it would be an absolute sin to A. Blow his RS and B. Create any unnecessary friction in the lineup. Sammy at this point is our best wrestler and I like the energy he brings. He's the leader of the young guns. Give him the keys and let him drive. IF Suriano were to come back next season, we all know he is a AA lock and favorite to compete for a title. I just think as a program it's time to move on and start building around the young guns. In any event, I just don't see Suriano returning at this point but will always be thankful for what he did on the banks. If he does come back, Sammy gets his RS trains with Nick and makes a serious run in two years.

Agree with everything except not wanting Suriano back this year. To keep the momentum as strong as possible, we really needed him to come back 2nd semester, even if it was at 133, but all indications had him at 125. Nonetheless, I'm starting to think he may not at all.

 

[Jersey Boys]

Agree with everything except not wanting Suriano back this year. To keep the momentum as strong as possible, we really needed him to come back 2nd semester, even if it was at 133, but all indications had him at 125. Nonetheless, I'm starting to think he may not at all.

He wrestles 126, I guess you have to welcome him back with open arms. Aguilar probably needs another year of S&C anyway. But no way I'm removing Sammy from this lineup (blowing his RS) and stripping him the opportunity of being a 4 year AA. I think it's a mute point anyway.

 

[SCNJ]

Would be cool if Suriano came back at 125 and got revenge against Lee

 

[FUMBLE-ROOSKY]

When do classes start. Any idea when we will know for sure if Suriano is wrestling collegiately this year?

 

[wngarbarini]

I doubt he wrestles this year but concentrated on freestyle training which he has not done a great deal of in the past

 

[west2east]

When do classes start. Any idea when we will know for sure if Suriano is wrestling collegiately this year?

Classes start next Tuesday

 

[brad1218]

I doubt he wrestles this year but concentrated on freestyle training which he has not done a great deal of in the past

Wng do you think he comes back next year?

 

[wngarbarini]

I am not sure he comes back next year. I just don’t think he comes back this semester.

 

[Jersey Boys]

Aguilar and Sammy are just fine at 125/133. Let Suriano work on his leg lace at the NYAC and come see me in September.

 

[KidDagger]

I know we ain’t on Iowa’s level yet but I find it interesting if Eirman comes back at 141 then Iowa gotta sit soph #3 Murin.. and they have two AA candidate in Brands and 5th year senior, Wilcke, at 184.. yet they pull the rs of true freshman Abe Assad..

 

[Jersey Boys]

WrestleStat has him at 4 (which is crazy). Meanwhile Ashnault still at 2 behind Micah Jordan. (I kid)

Jokes aside, his early losses are killers at this point. Unfortunately, I agree with our PA boy here. The fall vs Chance was a muff... always a possibility with his style of wrestling but still a real bad loss. Throw in a bad early loss to Warner and you get an 11 ranking which I think is fair.

He is a completely different wrestler today than he was in November which is why I said he's wrestling like a Junior vs. a true freshman now. He's able to adjust his approach and stay within himself now while being true to his strengths. THAT is how you win a tournament by beating multiple ranked guys. Early on the season he was relying on natural talent and his funk style which will cover up flaws in High School but not college. Keep winning and the ranking goes up. Either way he's still only the 5th ranked wrestler in the B1G which is insane. However, these wins vs top 20 guys outside of the B1G 4 really help his seating at the National tournament.

 

[west2east]

I know we ain’t on Iowa’s level yet but I find it interesting if Eirman comes back at 141 then Iowa gotta sit soph #3 Murin.. and they have two AA candidate in Brands and 5th year senior, Wilcke, at 184.. yet they pull the rs of true freshman Abe Assad..

Brands was asked yesterday about Eierman and said next year

 

[SCNJ]

Eirman next year might be the only thing standing between Yianni and 4 national titles

 

[MS-RU]

Eirman next year might be the only thing standing between Yianni and 4 national titles

I don't think anyone is stopping Yianni

 

[KidDagger]

I don't think anyone is stopping Yianni

U never really know man.. a freshman phenom might come out to stop him...

Think about it.. we all thought Isiah Martinez mighta been 4xer after he won his first two then Vincenzo Joseph comes outa no where and gets him..

Then Joseph goes on to win two in a row(could he win 4?). And ironically a new freshman, Mekhi Lewis, stops him...

 

[Jersey Boys]

I don't think anyone is stopping Yianni

I like Yianni... A LOT. I feel he's great for the sport in both his style of wrestling and personality. A true spark plug. In general, just looking at the potential names next year, you are most likely right. However, he's become mythical in some regards. One could argue he lost in the finals last year and he's also had multiple losses domestically in freestyle after the prognosticators declared him unbeatable after World's last year and a potential top 3 finisher at 65KG. Then the Zain Train came and he lost earlier this winter.

He going to get even better over the years, but I wouldn't declare him unbeatable at this point just yet. Especially if you find that guy who can neutralize his scrambling style like Zain.

 

[mattiek]

I really liked Glasgow coming out of HS and I was pretty excited to have him on board. With all of the circumstances surrounding his career this far what will the expectations for him be moving forward? Can anyone chime in on his potential?

 

[wngarbarini]

Potential is as high as the sky but he has to stay healthy which has not been the case.

 

[koleszar]

I really liked Glasgow coming out of HS and I was pretty excited to have him on board. With all of the circumstances surrounding his career this far what will the expectations for him be moving forward? Can anyone chime in on his potential?

My boys in Bound Brook and season ticket seatmates said, if he could stay healthy, multiple time AA with a heavy emphasis on healthy which he rarely is. Now I'd take their observations to heart as they had Mekhi Lewis as an eventual Natty champ. They said, no doubt about it he'll get one possibly two. Now as a freshman, even they were shocked.

 

[KidDagger]

My boys in Bound Brook and season ticket seatmates said, if he could stay healthy, multiple time AA with a heavy emphasis on healthy which he rarely is. Now I'd take their observations to heart as they had Mekhi Lewis as an eventual Natty champ. They said, no doubt about it he'll get one possibly two. Now as a freshman, even they were shocked.

So does this mean they think that a healthy Glasgow is a AA threat .... we need Glasgow healed ASAP!

 

[Leonard23]

So far, I don't see Suriano or Glasgow registered for 2nd semester...

 

[Jersey Boys]

So far, I don't see Suriano or Glasgow registered for 2nd semester...

The latter is a slight surprise.