State of Rutgers
By ironmonkey, December 20, 2012 in College Wrestling
ironmonkey 139
Latest rankings:
Updated @Intermat rankings for #RUWR: 141-Melde, 20th; 157-Winston, 18th; 174-Zannetti, 10th; 184-Rinaldi, 14th.
- Does Rutgers get over the hump and get an AA this year, and if not, what does that mean for the program?
- Who has the best chance to do it?
ScarletKnight 77
Winston has to beat Napoli and get his ranking up. They could meet twice this year. He can't go into another NCAA finals unranked and end up in the wrestlebacks early.
Mason is as talented as anyone (one of only a handful of guys who have beaten Molinaro) but it doesn't look good for him right now.
The program just had a great recruiting class, so they get a 2nd chance even if this class underperforms.
They need a new coach. As a HS coach, he just had the kids competing all over the place to get better. He never had the college success that other coaches have had, so he's stil trying to figure it all out
vaisforlovers 3
Rutgers is a sleeping giant. Just needs the right coach and it should become a top 10 power perennially imo. With them moving to the Big 10, it'll probably become a high profile and coveted job. Maybe Perry goes back East?
LemonPie 1,368
They will be horrible next year. Perfect time to can Goodale
AnklePicker 628
Mark Perry to the Big 10 via Rutgers makes perfect sense to me.
As to the question their best chance is Zanetti. It would actually be better for Goodale if it is Zanetti. He will prove he can take a guy who wasn't headline news at any point in HS really and make an AA out of him. I for one hope he/ they can do it.
RPKD 0
Surprised no one is mentioning Pritzlaff as a possible replacement, as he is from New Jersey.
scribe 1,778
Perry is a terrible idea for Rutgers. He'll be able to recruit both wrestlers and coaches, but does he really have a track record of putting a product on the mat?
If that isn't risk enough, the primary risk is that he'll take flight within a two years.
I'm not sure if you're being serious. Perry has done excellent everywhere he's gone. Unless you just give Heff all the credit for last year? Delgado, Futrell, Polz, Blanton all getting on the podium. Dallago, Walker, Gonzalez all are much improved. Daryl Thomas has looked like a stud so far this year.
Did great at Cal Poly before that and was well regarded for his work at PSU as well.
Not sure what sort of product you're looking for from a 28 year old coach but Perry's got a pretty good one.
Yes, I am being serious. What are some examples of the success?
I think he has this thing going on that helps with recruiting and attracting talented young coaches in tow. The flight risk seems like a problem. Am I stepping out of bounds with that?
I know it reads badly, but I'd point out I was hollering for Cornell to hire him as assistant straight out of college, when Cornell needed an assistant at that time. So I deserve a little credit on his abilities.
NJWC 305
They have a nice class coming in, but they need a guy who can really run a top 10 type of program. I think SG does a decent job, but come on. They have a number of guys in that lineup that could/should have AA'd by now.
Put a top level guy in there (I like the idea of Pritzlaff, and hopefully Molinaro would stay), and the program takes off.
Mat_Mopper 0
Perry has certainly been able to develop wrestlers at PSU Cal Poly Illinois etc. Hopefully he doesn't ever stop, as the whole Flowrestling crew would crash right into his backside.
At Illinois however, I think there should also be some recognition for the job Jeremy Hunter has done with a lot of these lightweights in recent years. Delgado Futrell Jimmy Kennedy etc.
Hunter is about a humble and hardworking a guy there is, so since he won't ever prop himself, I will.
As for Rutgers, Pritzlaff is the choice. Double down on your program's rise to the B1G, by bringing in Hahn as a Assistant Head. Those two guys and Molinaro could develop a program that would perform "out of the red and into the black" for the athletic department. Goodale deserves a ton of credit in NJ, but the time for RU to leverage is now.
Pritz, Hahn, Molinaro together at RU would turn them into an elite program in a short period of time.
NJwrestlingguy 106
Coach Goodale isn't going anywhere, nor should he...He just signed a 5 year deal last season and what he has done in his 5 years has been amazing for The State University of New Jersey...Not an All-American yet but that will be coming soon...When he took over the program it was just awful...Nobody talked about them and they had zero media coverage...They were half funded and the year before Goodale started they had zero National qualifiers and Lost to Navy 40-0...Goodale worked his tail off to get the team fully funded within 3 years,and has been sending around 6 qualifiers to NCAA Tournament yearly...His dual meet record is 91-31 to start his career and yes again No All-Americans...He puts out a pretty good wrestler at all 10 weights and they are a good dual meet team..There is a building Fan base that has been growing since he started and drive down the NJ Turnpike (most traveled road in America) and you'll see a Rutgers Wrestling billboard...The team has drawn 4,000-5,000 fans to a match a couple of times under Goodale and when Penn State comes to town this season expect 9,000 to fill the Rutgers Athletic Center...Rutgers is also breaking ground on a new wrestling complex that will be one of the best in America...The program just signed a great class (from numerous states) and the future is bright..I truly believe Goodale will start to pump out All-Americans yearly pretty soon...The guy is a Winner and will get it done!
belushijo 9
State of Rutgers is stagnation, maybe even a slight regression since Goodale's 4th season, IMO.
He has done enough good things to buy him some more time, that and the fact Pernetti gave him an extension, means he is going to get another shot at developing a top recruiting class.
If he fails this time, it would be a no brainer to get rid of him and bring someone else in who can use the foundation SG built to turn Rutgers into what Goodale initially envisioned when he was hired; a perennial power competing for a national title on a consistent basis.
He has made enormous strides since taking over the program. Now he has to prove he can continue making those strides and elevate his team to the next level. The next couple seasons should provide an answer as to if he is capable of turning Rutgers into the power he said he could.
wrestle4now 0
No offense to Pritzlaff but why would Hahn take a job as his assistant. IMO it's either Damien or Donnie for the head job as they are both ready to take that step. I couldn't see Hahn leaving Cornell to be as assistant somewhere else.
vsnej 197
Yes, I would agree... with Hahn maybe the better choice
I still think Goodale has done a great job and is not done... yet
Fastwilly 0
Wasn't it just a few/3 years ago where Rutgers was supposedly the next big thing in wrestling and the current coach and his protege were going to lead them to the promised land.
My oh my, how quickly things change, or I should say, stay the same at Rutgers.
OlderFan 0
Another Great Choice would be Brian Snyder from Neb, Easton, Pa Native & it would bring Him close to Home {Just a Though}
I can't imagine why Hahn would make a lateral move at this point in his career. Nor can I see why Pritzlaff would share head coach with someone else.
bob_meadows_167 0
Individually wrestlers have stagnated more or less but as a whole Rutgers is in FAR better shape than ever...At some point, I could see Goodale moving to a different role @ RU and handing the program off to a newer yet solid head coach. Pritz and Hahn both would probably stay put...they seem to be making livings in places far easier to live than New Brunswick area NJ.
From a recruit standpoint, RU is definitely on the map regardless now...RU is a solid academic school with diverse majors and great industry contacts and is well located. A train ride to NYC, Philly, or drive to the pharmaceutical hotbed of central/north NJ and there are plenty of real world experiences waiting.
So, firing Goodale has no merit and honestly, the AD probably enjoys not having to think about wrestling now that they win duals and send individuals to the big dance. Lets not give him a reason to fire the whole dam program.
Seriously Rutgers fans, you all said all of these same things when Goodale was hired. What has changed? You are repeating the same old tired song and dance of why they are average.
No doubt they are a lot better than what they were before Goodale, but it's the same crap one year ago, 5 years ago and I guess 10, 15, 20 years ago. Rutgers is what it is, a decent DI wrestling it will never be anything more.
I also think that the super-stud AA/NCAA champ is generated at random and all it will take is that rare kid who doesn't care where he is and just KNOWS he's going to win a title.
Goodale has done a decent job setting the plate, but I don't think he has the answers on how to clear it now. In other words, he got the program to where it can attract some talent, but it doesn't seem like he can get over the next hurdle. Obviously, as pointed out above, Z is the only exception. He has improved a lot under SG's watch. However, Winston and Mason seem to have gotten worse, while Langel, Melde and RInaldi seem to be wrestling at the same level they have been for the past few years (RInaldi is wrestling well in my opinion, he is just getting more recognition now and deserved the same recognition in the past. Has he improved much though from last year or the year before?).
This is supposed to be the year for Rutgers to make a mark with so many redshirt seniors from that highly ranked recruiting class. However, they got beat up by Nebraska (one dual means little - could be just bad matchups, but still....), and when their guys have a chance to wrestle a top 10 guy, they come up short. They should still be a decent dual team this year, but I think expectations have to be tempered a bit after what Nebraska did to them. Which brings up the obvious: Is this the best Goodale can do, and if so, is it acceptable?
I don't think Mason or Winston place... I think Zanetti and Rinaldi still have a chance though. They are tough enough to make a run. Smith, Langel and Melde could win a couple of matches. If this happens, it will be an improvement over last year, but is it enough? It will be a few years just to get back to where they are now, and now is not exactly where they hoped to be.
acadia 0
Goodale is time to step aside,he brought the program out of th wood works,but fact is he is not an elite level coach nor has he had elite level success himself. Rutgers should thank him and let him go, they need a guy like pritzlaff, Hahn, Burroughs etc someone truly elite level wrestlers will respect and wish to wrestle for , especially now that ru is in the big.
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