The Monday Morning Kickoff
A view from the gridiron (Rutgers Football)
Now that signing day has passed, Rutgers is still landing commitments, although these latest ones are of the preferred walk-on variety. This past week, some NJ products joined the Scarlet Knights as preferred walk-ons.
Offensive lineman Charles Zarzecki of Boonton High School pledged to spend his future as a Scarlet Knight along with a pair of long snappers in Billy Taylor of Parsippany Hills and Lenape’s Ryan Cassidy.
"I chose Rutgers for a couple reasons; one being the atmosphere around the football program is electric,” Cassidy said. "Having that kind of energy is pivotal to a successful football season which I think Rutgers is on the brink of now, and many seasons to come as well."
Moving onto the class of 2018, Rutgers is faring well with a D.C. defensive tackle as Cam Goode of St. John’s told Scarlet Nation that Rutgers is currently his leader.
"Rutgers is most definitely my top school, I receive a lot of love them,” said Goode. “I love the location, the education, the coaches, and especially what they are trying to do and where they are headed. I feel like the coaches are going to be good for me.”
Rutgers also began handing out some new offers, one of which went to a familiar place. Archbishop Wood (Warminster, Pa.) junior defensive back Nasir Peoples added a Rutgers offer on Friday.
“It feels great to get an offer from a Big Ten school like Rutgers," Peoples said shortly after he received the offer. “I talked to coach Jafar [Williams] on the phone and he just told me he liked my film, my size, and decided to offer me.”
Stay logged onto The Round Table for all the latest Rutgers recruiting news and notes.
The take from center court (Rutgers Basketball)
Rutgers couldn’t close out another tight game this weekend as the Scarlet Knights dropped another Big Ten conference game. This time around, Rutgers fell to Minnesota 73-64 at home on Saturday as missed opportunities marred the day.
“I like this team,” said Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell afterward. “We’re scrappy. We’re tough. We do the little things, usually. We just have to get them to do a few more of the little things. A couple of those free throws, a few of those blocks have to turn into charges. We have to make some plays down the stretch.”
In the loss, CJ Gettys and Mike Williams both led the way with 14 points. The loss dropped Rutgers to 13-13 on the season and the team will be back at it on Tuesday with a 7 p.m. road contest against No.16 Purdue.
On the mat (Rutgers Wrestling)
The No.12 Scarlet Knights wrapped up its dual season with a convincing 28-6 home win over Northwestern on Sunday to finish unbeaten at home in six tries. On the season, RU boasted an overall record of 12-4.
“It’s been great. They were really into it today too,” head coach Scott Goodale said of the home crowd support on Sunday. “We were scoring a lot of points early. When you wrestle with an exciting style, they get into it. That last match they got into it and I think that’s what puts Razohnn [Gross] over the top. It’s become a real home mat advantage.”
The Big Ten Championships are set for Saturday March 4th in Bloomington, Ind. Rutgers finished the season with a 6-3 record in the Big Ten.