Huskers Sign Top-Ranked Grappler

Lincoln -- Head coach Mark Manning and the Nebraska wrestling program announced that Ryan Goodman has singed a national letter of intent to attend the University of Nebraska and join the Husker wrestling team in 2004-05.

"We are so excited," Manning said. "Ryan is a special athlete and a tremendous competitor. He is a guy who can definitely help us win a national championship."

Goodman, a two-time New Jersey state champ is ranked No. 1 nationally at 189 pounds and is projected to compete at the 197-pound weight class for the Huskers. As a senior, Goodman won the state title with a 39-0 record. He finished his high school career with a New Jersey state record 145 wins, against nine losses and ended his career winning 72 matches in a row.

Goodman will also walk on to the Nebraska football team as a quarterback. Goodman led Adsegami High School to the state semifinals, passing for 1,300 yards and rushing for 500. He chose the Huskers over Virginia, Penn State and Iowa.

Goodman joins an already stellar recruiting class that includes Paul Donahoe of Davison, Mich., the No. 1 ranked wrestler at 119 pounds, Mike Rodgers of Easton, Pa., who is ranked second nationally at 152 pounds and four-time Nebraska state champion Chris Oliver of Omaha, who is ranked sixth nationally at 152 pounds.

The Huskers return eight of 10 starters, including three All-Americans from a team that finished fifth in the nation.