The Monday Morning Kickoff
A new week has dawned in the scarlet nation and it is once again time for The Monday Morning Kickoff to get you updated on all the latest in Rutgers athletics.
A view from the Gridiron (Rutgers football)
The Rutgers coaching staff brought in a new assistant last week as former Nevada running backs coach Letsr Erb has taken over for Zak Kuhr. The move was not an unexpected one and was the second coaching change of the offseason in which head coach Chris Ash swapped out a younger coach for a more proven veteran.
“I am excited to welcome Lester and his family to Rutgers,” Ash said in a statement last week. “Lester is a great football coach and recruiter with proven success in the Big Ten. His experience coaching in this league will be a major asset to the young men in our running backs room.”
The move comes on the heels of Ash's hiring of former Minnesota head coach Jerry Kill as the new offensive coordinator.
Meanwhile, on the recruiting front, the dead period continues for another few days, although recruiting remains very busy for Rutgers. A new tight end target emerged last week in Missouri's Travis Vokolek of Kickapoo High School.
“Coach [Vince] Okruch gave me a call and said that he would like to extend an offer from Rutgers,” Vokolek said. “It feels awesome to get this, I am extremely excited about the offer. Coach Okruch is going to come down to Missouri and watch me play basketball here pretty soon and meet with the family. He just said the basics; that he looks forward to seeing me in a week and that he can't wait to talk more about Rutgers football with me.”
The next official visit weekend at Rutgers will take place on Jan 20th as a host of visitors will be on campus, including some potential commits. For the latest on all that and more, go inside Scarlet Nation’s The Round Table, your top source for RU recruiting information.
On the Mat (Rutgers Wrestling)
The Scarlet Knights moved to 7-1 on Friday night with a thrilling come-from-behind win over No.12-ranked Illinois. Former football player Razohnn Gross sealed the 19-17 when he scored a 3-2 decision in his heavyweight bout.
“What a story. His first time at the The RAC and it all comes down to him,” head coach Scott Goodale said of Gross. “Everything he has been through and then all the years with [former RU heavyweights] DJ Russo and Billy Smith, here comes Razohnn in a big spot. Good for him. It is a gutty win and he doesn’t have a whole lot of Big Ten experience.”
The Scarlet Knights were scheduled to take on No.4 Ohio State yesterday on the road, but the dual was postponed because of inclement weather. The makeup date for that dual has been set for Feb 6th.
Rutgers enters this week with a No.11 national ranking but could see a boost after Friday’s victory over Illinois. Next up for RU is a Friday night road dual against No.2 Penn State with a start time of 7 p.m.
The take from center court (Rutgers Basketball)
The RU men’s hoops team hung tough with Iowa yesterday, but fell short of its first Big Ten victory by a final of 68-62. The loss dropped Rutgers to 11-6 on the season and winless in four conference games.
“We're getting better," Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell said post-game per RU communications. “It's not easy and we've played three out of our first four (Big Ten) games on the road against really good teams. We've strung together some good halves. Today, we probably played 34 minutes of really good basketball, but you have to play 40 good minutes.”
In the loss, forward Deshawn Freeman scored 19 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Next in line for Rutgers is a Thursday night home affair against a 13-4 Northwestern squad, with tip-off scheduled for 9 p.m.
Rutgers also landed a commitment last week from JuCo point guard Soufiane Mensah of Marshalltown Community College in Iowa,
"I see myself at Rutgers, it’s a great place to be,” Mensah told Scarlet Nation. “I loved it during my visit, especially the vision [Head] Coach [Steve] Pikiell has and how he wants to play. Coach Pikiell recruited me hard and came to watch me play out in the middle of nowhere in Iowa. I love our conversations and he was a point guard too. He knows a ton about the game and I trust him. I also love Coach Shoes [Vetrone] who is like family to me. I was also roommates at CBA (Canarias Basketball Academy) with current Rutgers player Issa Thiam.”