Scott Goodale details improvements for Rutgers wrestling in 2023-24
Rutgers wrestling head coach Scott Goodale knew his team had to improve going into 2023-24 and it seems like the Scarlet Knights did just that.
While getting hot on the recruiting trail for the 2023 cycle and the impending and loaded 2024 class, Rutgers and Goodale hit the transfer portal as well. Mitch Moore, Jacob Butler and Yaraslau Slavikouski all came in as grad transfers. Moore and Butler were Oklahoma wrestlers while Slavikouski came in from Harvard.
Goodale joined On3 for an exclusive conversation to discuss what needed to be done to boost the lineup.
“I’m sure we’ll get into this transfer portal, it’s the way of NCAA athletics right now,” Goodale told On3. “It is what it is, you know, either get with it or you fall behind and we just felt like we needed to improve our program. My job is to continue to elevate this program, improve this program so we can compete at a national level come March and like you said, we fell short of what we wanted to do.
“Our fan base understands it, our administration understands it, it’s important to them so basically, that’s my job and we went in and found guys that have big time goals and wanted to make changes in their wrestling.”
For Scott Goodale’s full conversation with On3, click HERE
Goodale and Rutgers failed to put an All-American on the podium for the first time since 2013 this past March. 125 pounder Dean Peterson lost in the Round of 12 (Blood Round), coming one win shy.
But with a young lineup a year older, plus some homegrown and added veterans, Rutgers looks like an upper tier Big Ten team this coming season.
“Both Moore and Butler will drop weight classes (to 141 and 149) to do this and to help us out and allows us to hopefully, if all things work out, you never want to put a label somebody’s going to redshirt but if all things work out with Joey Olivieri, we’ll be able to redshirt him and let Mitch wrestle his sixth year,” Goodale said.
“And (he’ll) compete with Joe Fongaro who’s gotten a lot better. So I believe we’ve made the important gains. We’ve improved our team, if from anything else in a depth perspective, and obviously we got one of the best big guys in the country who has done it at a national level and we’re excited about him.”
Slavikouski has yet to be an All-American but previously made it to the Blood Round. He was regularly a top 12 heavyweight in the country while at Harvard.
“Just having him around and his style of wrestling and being from Belarus has been a lot of fun and I just think we’ve gotten better and that’s the important part,” Goodale said. “And then of course we had guys like (Dylan) Shawver and John Poznanski who have done a lot of wrestling in the offseason, so I think our team is a lot better.”
Shawver ultimately took a backseat after a competitive roster battle spot with Peterson, but is expected to bump up to 133. Poznanski took a redshirt year and will bump up to 197 to keep last year’s breakout freshman Brian Soldano at 184 pounds.
“I think we’re improved and if everything falls into place, we could, you know, obviously it gives us room or gives us the thought process of being really, really excited and I’m not trying to get this fan base all fired up again,” Goodale said. “I know how that could be, but I just like where this team is at right now.”