PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Rutgers football recruit Nick Parisi is piecing together a nice junior season. His play is backing up the hype as one of the top defensive players in Long Island this season.
Stats haven’t been kept for each Holy Trinity (Hicksville, N.Y.) game this season but Parisi has 18 total tackles in the five games where statistics have been registered. Holy Trinity is 8-1 on the season.
Parisi has visited Rutgers multiple times this season as well as visiting Syracuse. The class of 2024 linebacker says that he feels like his season has seen him improve as well as his offseason gains in the weight room as paying off.
“I’ve seen improvements in my game from last season to this season. I’m much bigger than last season at almost 6-foot-2 (and) 225 (pounds) which has helped tremendously,” Parisi told RutgersWire.
“This offseason, my main focus will be working on speed along with my normal strength training. My goal is to get into the 4.65-4.70 range at 235-240 (pounds).”
Parisi is waiting on his first offer, although he did receive one from the Western Illinois football over the summer. The Leathernecks compete in the FCS and are a member of the always-strong Missouri Valley Football Conference.
“My recruitment has been pretty consistent.I have direct contact with about 45-50 coaches and have received a lot of game invitations. With our regular season schedule, it’s tough to make all of the games.I’ve visited Syracuse for their game against Purdue and was invited back for their game against Florida State. I love Syracuse Coach White’s (Tony White, defensive coordinator) 3-3-5 defense,” Parisi said.
“I’ve been to Rutgers for three games this season (Iowa, Nebraska and Michigan).I also had an opportunity to visit Lafayette.Unfortunately, I was not able to visit Penn State, Maryland, Temple, Buffalo and Boston College. I would also like to get to West Point to check out an Army game.I recently had a family friend (Aidan Casuccio) commit there.I was also recently named Top 2024 Linebacker in NY State by Prep RedZone which gave a nice boost to my recruitment.”
Parisi is closely watching Rutgers football and the program’s direction under head coach Greg Schiano. The program is being rebuilt by utilizing local players from New Jersey as well as New York.
A lot of that New York talent is from Long Island.
“I think Rutgers has a really bright future. The game day experience is amazing. The night games are electric. You can see them getting better,” Parisi said.
“I love the way Coach Hetherman (Cory Hetherman) has the linebackers in attack mode all game. And Gavin Wimsatt is starting to really take control of the offense. You can see him getting more comfortable. He has a lot of upside and is an exciting quarterback. Also…Rutgers is getting a really dynamic playmaker in my Holy Trinity teammate, Dylan Braithwaite and also St Anthony’s Ian Strong. I feel both will contribute right away.”
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