Scott Goodale figured he’d have a 184-pound problem to solve this offseason. 

John Poznanski solved it for the Rutgers coach. 

Coming off a redshirt season, Poznanski is bigger, healthier and ready to move up to 197 pounds for the Scarlet Knights this fall, enabling Rutgers to slot both him and returning 184-pound NCAA qualifier Brian Soldano into the lineup. 

“If you had this interview with me last year, that’s something I’d be worried about — where are we at in the future with those two guys?” Goodale said earlier this month at the National Wrestling Coaches Association Convention. “But they were able to work it out and it’s good for both of them.

“I think they understand this could be a pretty special year for us and a really good team and they both want to be in that lineup.” 

Poznanski posted an 11-4 record as a true freshman in 2021 when he placed fourth at the NCAA Championships after a dropping a 2-1 tiebreaker decision in the 184-pound semifinals against North Carolina State’s Trent Hidlay. He battled through injuries during a 20-8 sophomore season, including a 2-2 mark at the national tournament. 

Poznanski opted for a redshirt last season — he went 8-1 in open competition at 184 — while Solando started and compiled a 23-12 record as a true freshman and won a pair of bouts at the NCAA Championships. 

What did Poznanski get out of his redshirt season?

“I’m hoping a lot,” Goodale said. “I think more importantly, he got really big and he got healthy. We always talk (with Poznanski about how) less sometimes is more and he’s kind of bought into that. He would train so hard and his body would always break down. He didn’t really wrestle a whole heck of a lot in that year because he got hurt, so he got healthier, he got bigger, he changed weight classes. 

“It was his idea to go up to prevent injuries and he truly believes the reason for being injured was his weight descent. I think that’s going to help him. He’s plenty big enough to wrestle 197 as far as his weight and strength, so I think it was a really productive offseason for him and redshirt year.”