Rutgers wrestling has made steady improvements over the last decade. Now, after bringing home two of the nation's ten NCAA titles, the next step is upon them. 

In addition to the on-the-mat success, Rutgers has a great deal going for them in tangential areas, too.

The Scarlet Knights boast one of the highest home attendance figures, and perhaps the fastest growing. The staff brought in this year's #4 recruiting class in the country - one that featured #1 JoJo Aragona and five of the Top 100 overall recruits. Their vision brought Final X to campus.

With the combination of two of the state's favorite sons proving the pinnacle can be achieved in New Brunswick and the perennial performance of former NJ preps (including 10 AA's and 4 champs this year), you have to think more Garden Staters stay home.

And soon they'll move to a state-of-the-art facility.

The Rutgers program, the flagship program in one of the nation's high school talent hotbeds, certainly has reason for optimism. Let's look at what they have on the roster and what they have coming in.

New Faces In 2019-2020

Freshmen Recruits with their final 2019 Top 100 Ranking

#6-JoJo Aragona, PA (141/149)

#26-Ryan Vulakh, PA (149/157)

#43-Jackson Turley, VA (174/184)

#64-Rob Kanniard, NJ (165/174)

#81-Devon Britton, PA (141)

Others: Zach Delvecchio, NJ (285)

Graduate Departures

Anthony Ashnault, 149

John Van Brill, 157

Nick Gravina, 184

Ralph Normandia, 285

2020 Commitments

Dylan Shawver, OH (133)

Bryce Hepner, OH (149)

Connor O'Neill, NJ (165/174)

John Poznaski, NJ (184)

Current Depth Chart

125 & 133

Recent History: Nick Suriano has been a national force, as an NCAA Runner-Up at 125 in '18 followed a National Title at 133 this year. Scott Delvecchio AA'd at 133 in 2018 as well.

This Year: Suriano will close out his career as a sure fire AA and title threat. At 125 the Knights will have two options: go with Metzler, who went 10-18 last year, or redshirt him and go with Cali state champ Nico Aguilar. I suspect the latter.

Recruiting Needs: Dylan Shawver (OH) is committed for 2020, but the Knights could use more reinforcements down low. Thankfully, the Garden State is full of very solid lightweights. 

Potential Targets: Anthony Clark (NJ); Nick Babin (NJ), Nico Provo (CT), Cooper Flynn (TN); Vince Santaniello (NJ); Dean Peterson (NJ), Nico Nardone (NJ); Joey Olivieri (NJ)

Middleweights

Recent History: Anthony Ashnault became a rare 4x AA and also won a title. 

This Year: The story in the middle is the bright future for RU. Veterans Peter Lipari - who was so close to knocking off big guns last year, and Mike Van Brill might start this year, but waiting in the wings are Devon Britton, one of my favorite under-the-radar pickups, #1-Jo Jo Aragona, and #3-Ryan Vulakh.

Sources indicate that, depending on the readiness of the freshmen and the potential for Stephen Glasgow to get down to 157, nothing is carved in stone just yet.

Recruiting Needs: Rutgers recent got a verbal from 3x Ohio state finalist Bryce Hepner who will be a 149ish guy. What that means is that there are no pressing, immediate needs for RU here. The following is a list of targets they will undoubtedly pursue, but that would be luxuries.

Potential Targets: Jagger Condomitti (PA); Joey Zargo (NJ); Andrew Cerniglia (PA); Dylan Weaver (NJ); AJ Kovacs (CT); Shayne Van Ness (NJ)

165 & 174

Recent History: Anthony Perrotti AA'd in '15 and '16 at 165. And though Scott Winston suffered an injury-plagued career, he had a fine ledger with over 100 career wins.

This Year: Stephan Glasgow was one of the state's best prospects a couple years ago. A 2x champ and 3x finalist, Glasgow greyshirted a year and went 7-9 at 165 in 2019-2020. As stated above, there is a chance he goes 157 this year, but I think that's a 1-season move only and regardless which weight he goes, I think there's a good chance he jumps a notch. 

If Glasgow does in fact go 157, you're looking at either Brett Donner or one of the freshmen - Kanniard or Turley. Sources state that Turley, who wrestled his entire SR season at 182, is a possibility at 165.

Grello has 174 on lock at this time. He was 18-11 and 2-2 at NCAA's. 

Recruiting Needs: In Kanniard and Turley, Rutgers has good talent to work with. They also have #8-Conor O'Neil committed. Add in Glasgow and there are real quality options. While 65 & 74 isn't exactly a priority, there are obvious targets they will pursue in this range. 

Potential Targets: Brandon Green (NJ); Paddy Gallagher (OH); Jake Null (NY); Brian Soldano (NJ)

Upperweights

Recent History: Nick Gravina was in the hunt for AA honors, qualifying for the Big Dance all four years. But Rutgers upperweight improvement and consistency might be the key in uplifting their entire program. They haven't had an upperweight AA since Tom Tanis in 2002. The good news is, they have some young talent on the roster now and are in the conversation for some of the heavy hitters in high school.

This Year: Continuing the story of young talent on RU's roster - Billy Janzer and Kyle Lightner have serious impact potential. Both redshirted last year and were highly regarded coming out of high school. Janzer was a 2xer in NJ and went 15-4 last year. Lightner, a 197/285 tweener went 7-5 at heavyweight but is committed to 197. He had good results this summer, taking 5th at Juniors in Vegas at 97kg and then at 92kg, 8th at U23's. Christian Colucci should man HWT again. He was 15-13 last year.

Recruiting Needs: This year will tell us a great deal about Rutgers' big guy needs. They most certainly need a HWT of the future. The progress and performance of Janzer and Lightner will tell us if they need to get moving on one weight or three.

Lightner offers the flexibility of moving between weights. And Poznanski, ranked 8th at 182, could be an 84/97.

It's no secret that the Knights are one of the final players in the AJ Ferrari sweepstakes. What's more up in the air is if AJ is a 197 or HWT. 

Potential Targets: AJ Ferrari (TX); Lenny Pinto (PA); Angel Garcia (PA); Kyle Epperly (NJ); PJ Casale (NJ); TJ Stewart (VA); Jordan Greer (OH); Kyonte Hamilton (DC); Peyton Craft (OH); Martin Cosgrove (NJ); Kyle Jacob (NJ); Nate Schon (PA)

Projected 2019-2020 Line-Up

Season Outlook

The '19-'20 Knights will be heavily reliant on their youngsters. They'll start a minimum of four freshmen and perhaps as many as six starters will be either FR or SO. They should be a solid, not spectacular dual meet team, with their most promising potential coming at NCAA where Suriano will serve as a baseline with 20+ points which alone gets them in the Top 20 range. I think there are too many potential bullets in this line-up to expect just that. One of the youngsters in the middle will make an AA run, or perhaps Lightner, and I'd project Rutgers to be in the 12-15 range.