It's time to start off another week in the scarlet nation and The Monday Morning Kickoff gets you going with the latest in Rutgers athletics.
A view from the gridiron (Rutgers Football)
Things were quiet on the gridiron this past weekend as Rutgers enjoyed a bye week. However, things remained busy on the recruiting front as the staff hit the road to do some recruiting. Some new offers went out, one of which was received by senior athlete Christian Izien of Erasmus Hall in Brooklyn, N.Y.
“I have had several Rutgers visits so I am ecstatic, it is so amazing to have a Rutgers offer,” said Izien, who plays safety and wide receiver. “I have been wanting a Rutgers offer for a long time and I have been working really hard for it.”
A new offer also went out to Pennsylvania class of 2019 tight end Hayden Rucci of Warwick High School.
“It feels pretty good to get the offer,” Rucci told Scarlet Nation. “I like the direction they are headed in with Coach Ash. I think they have big things ahead of them.”
Next up for the Scarlet Knights is a Saturday road contest at Illinois, who was thumped by Iowa this past weekend by a score of 45-16. Illinois is now 2-3 and have been installed as 3-point favorites over Rutgers in next weekend
This morning, Head coach Chris Ash will hold his weekly press conference and Scarlet Nation will be on the scene with LIVE updates.
The take from center court (Rutgers Basketball)
It was an eventful weekend in the world of Rutgers basketball as a Friday decommitment from senior point guard Mac McClung led to a Sunday commitment from JuCo power forward Shaq Carter.
“I have a real good relationship with head coach Steve Pikiell. We are so close because he showed to me that he really needs me as a part of the program,” Carter said. “He’s the one who did most of the recruiting throughout this process. He’s also just a player’s coach, he’s just a guy who really gets along with all of his players. I’m also close with some of the other members of the staff, but I’m the closest with Coach Pikiell.”
Carter is the third commitment in the class of 2018, along with Montez Mathis and Ron Harper Jr.
On the mat (Rutgers Wrestling)
There are still some time before Rutgers’ first meet of the season, although some of its grapplers were in action over the weekend. Senior Richie Lewis was among them and won the 70kg title at the U23 World Team Trials last night in Rochester, Minn.
To earn that distinction, Lewis beat 2017 All-American Tyler Berger of Nebraska by a score of 2-0, in a best-of-three series. That earned him a spot on the U23 World roster. The U23 World team will take part in competition in Bydgoszcz, Poland from Nov 21st through the 26th.
