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It's September: time to talk Rutgers Wrestling

Roy DeBoer with permission

The story could easily be the fact that Rutgers has three wrestlers ranked in the top 10 of their weight class, something that hasn't happened very often.

And yet there is so much more to talk about with the Rutgers wrestling team.

With with the addition of Nick Suriano at 125, Rutgers has one of its highest ranked wrestlers virtually ever. Along with Richie Lewis - returning from injury - and Anthony Ashnault, it gives Rutgers a very strong starting lineup. Add in Scott Del Vecchio at 133, and the light weights are as strong as you're going to find in the east. Or west or anywhere in between.

Flowrestling points to Oklahoma State, Ohio State, Minnesota, and Rutgers. Yeah, welcome hone, Nick.

Despite his number 5 ranking, Anthony Ashnault will not be in the lineup when Rutgers opens the season in November. Undergoing some relatively minor offseason surgeries, AA finds himself in a sling right now, but with the full confidence of head coach Scott Goodale.

"He had a surgery on his shoulder and he's doing great. Hopefully he is back sooner rather than later. He's ahead of the game with the surgery. In the meantime, he got a little stuff done on his knee, which has really been the problem. But he's fine. We want him wrestling in December, so that's the plan."

Okay, minor serback for the returning All American. Let's go to the new kids on the block.

Two-time state champion Stehpan Glascow will not be wrestling - or redshirting - for the Knights this year. Glasgow was listed on the roster at scarketknights.com just the other day. Taking a prep school year isn't tgat common with wrestlers, as Dunleavy noted, but it isn't necessarily a bad thing. We spoke with him exclusively back in May and he was very happy to be a Scarlet Knight. Assuming he returns to RU in 2018, he would still have five years to wrestle four. And with Richie Lewis back at 157, Glasgow might gave been redshirted anyway.

But back to the rankings. Flowrestling looks at 141 as one of the deepest weight classes. That's tough for Ashnault in his drive for an NCAA championship but it's just another challenge to face and overcome.

The addition of Suriano, number 3 at 125, as a Rutgers wrestler, was actually posted by Flowrestling the day before RU officially announced his enrollment with Rutgers. He would have been a favorite for a title last year had he not gotten hurt just before the Big Ten tournament.

It's still September but it's time to start talking wrestling.