The Monday Morning Kickoff
A new week begins in the scarlet nation which means it is time for The Monday Morning Kickoff to provide the latest in the world of Rutgers athletics.
A view from the gridiron (Rutgers football)
Recruiting continues for the Scarlet Knights as the class of 2018 is now very near capacity. Friday night, the staff welcomed in a commitment from junior college safety Malik Dixon of Eastern Arizona.
Dixon was a former player at South Florida and will have two more years of eligibility as a Scarlet Knight.
“Rutgers just seemed like a good fit for me,” Dixon said. “I love what they are trying to do over there as a team and as a coaching staff and the connection I built with coach [Bill] Busch.”
Recruiting also continues in the class of 2019, with new offers continuing to go out. This past week, one went out to NJ defensive back Donovan Bunch of Winslow Township.
“I just like the way that Rutgers recruits athletes that are close to them,” Bunch said. “They connect with the athletes that they’re recruiting. I should be visiting in the next couple weeks or so.”
The latest Rutgers offensive coordinator coaching search is winding down and, as it appeared on The Round Table over the weekend, it looks as though New Hampshire’s Ryan Carty and Louisiana Tech’s Todd Fitch are the two finalists.
The take from center court (Rutgers basketball)
The Scarlet Knights moved back into the win column on Friday night inside The RAC with a 64-60 win over Wisconsin to move to 11-6 on the season. The game was highlighted by RU junior guard Corey Sanders, who made some big shots down the stretch to secure the win.
Sanders finished with 23 points and helped RU to its first Big Ten win of the season.
“We're a program in progress that's plugging away,” head coach Steve Pikiell said after the win. “We have good things going on. We had seven guys with 3.0's and four guys on the Dean's list. We're building a new practice facility. This program is going to be good and they have to stay the course. Today was a good win.”
Next up for Rutgers is a road contest at No.1-ranked Michigan State on Wednesday night with a start time of 7 p.m.
On the mat (Rutgers wrestling)
The RU grapplers hosted No.2 Ohio State on Sunday and came out on the short end of a 29-11 loss. However, there was plenty of excitement in the three matches that Rutgers won on the day as Nick Suriano, Elezear DeLuca and Richie Lewis all notched individual wins in their respective weight classes.
“Nick does what he needs to do, we pick off two nationally raked guys at 149 and 165. That’s big, that is important for us,” head coach Scott Goodale said. “There are little battles in those matches that you have to win. You just have to keep that momentum going.”
Rutgers will return to The RAC on Friday night for a home matchup against North Carolina, which will begin at 7 p.m.