The Monday Morning Kickoff
It was a three for three weekend at Rutgers as football, hoops and wrestling all registered wins. The Monday Morning Kickoff has the latest to start you off a new week in the scarlet nation.
A view from the gridiron (Rutgers Football)
The Scarlet Knights notched their third Big Ten win of the season on Saturday in a 31-24 victory over Maryland. It was another tightly-contested game that saw Rutgers make a defensive stand deep in its own territory during the final minute of regulation.
“No matter what the record is or what the score is, we just love each other and that’s honestly what it comes down to,” said starting defensive back Isaiah Wharton. “We play really hard for each other, and it’s been showing.”
The defense also pitched in a touchdown from safety Kiy Hester who scored on his second pick six of the year.
“I got hurt earlier in the year and I was banged up a few weeks. But [on Friday], coach [Bill] Busch said I looked like myself out there, so that gave me more confidence,” Hester said after the win. “Once I got out there today, I was running around and I felt good. I knew it was going to be a great day.”
Many of the recruits who watched the game also remarked on how Rutgers is turning things around and showing promise for the future.
“They played to their potential,” said Rutgers commit Matthew Thomas of Midwood High in Brooklyn, N.Y. “They're on the come-up and I can't wait to do my part and help take this program to another level.”
The Maryland win came on the heels of a big recruiting victory as Rutgers secured a commitment from four-star quarterback Artur Sitkowski, who is Rivals.com’s 89th-ranked prospect in the class of 2018.
Later this morning, head coach Chris Ash will hold his weekly press conference inside the Hale Center. Stay logged onto The Round Table for LIVE updates from Piscataway.
On the mat (Rutgers Wrestling)
The No.12-ranked Scarlet Knights opened up the season with a 27-9 win over Maryland inside High Point Solutions Stadium on Saturday. One of the highlights of the day came when Nick Suriano made his Rutgers debut by manhandling Brandon Cray by a final of 24-7.
“It was a little different with the outside event. But it’s just another match,” Suriano said afterward. “I have been prepping all summer for this. A lot of training a lot of preparation. My coach is getting me ready. We have a hungry team that is performing well. We just have to keep going.”
Rutgers won seven of the 10 matches against the Terps to move to 1-0 on the season.
Next up for Rutgers is a trip to the Journeymen Duals in Clifton Park, N.Y. Rutgers will take on Virginia and No.19-ranked Oklahoma this coming Saturday.
The take from center court (Rutgers basketball)
The start of the season inches ever so closer and the Scarlet Knights gave fans a glimpse of the future yesterday inside The RAC. Rutgers took on St. John’s in an exhibition game and wound up winning 80-78 on a last second putback lay-up by Issa Thiam.
"I liked that we competed," head coach Steve Pikiell said. "We were down 11 and made stops when we had to. I liked the approach to the game. I liked that a lot of guys contributed in a lot of different ways."
Deshawn Freeman led the way for Rutgers with 28 points and 12 rebounds.
The games will start counting for real on Friday when the Scarlet Knights open up the 2017-18 season at home against CCNY. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be streamed on BTN Plus.