Putting Iowa in its Place

[Ched64]

22 minutes ago, BAC said:

If I'm a wrestling dad, I'd take UNI ten times over before I'd take Iowa.

How many top 20 recruiting classes has UNI had in the last 5 years?  One, and they were something like 18th or 19th.  Yet how's UNI ranked?  Fourth, and very nearly knocked off OSU at Big 12s.  And they did that with how many Portal transfers?  None, to my recollection.  NIL funds?  Probably close to zero.  Loyal recruits forced to transfer because the coach brought in some grad student at his weight?  Zero.

Compare that to Iowa, which has top 5 recruiting classes year in and year out, plus who knows how many hundreds of thousands of Booster Bucks dropped on Portal transfers.  The two teams are very nearly equal.  Schwab and his staff coached up this ragtag group of misfits to a top 5 team, with virtually every starter ranked in the top 20, that routed Nebraska 24-9 -- the same Nebraska that torched Iowa at Big 10s.  Take away Iowa's Portal mercenaries, and UNI probably holds Iowa to single digits in a dual -- not that we'll ever know, since Brands refuses to schedule them.  Plus, you send your kid to Iowa, you know they'll recruit over him in a heartbeat, paying big money for someone who couldn't care less about Iowa to take his spot, shoving your kid off to one of the Dakotas.

True, UNI lacks the Iowa fan base and the prestige and patina of the Iowa name, so they can't compete in recruiting.  But qualitatively, the truth is that UNI is blowing the doors off of Iowa right now in talent development, and is infinitely more loyal. For recruits who do their homework, the choice is obvious.

Very well said indeed. In fact, before I jumped on this thread, I was looking at UNI's progression over the last decade.  I never paid much notice until Joe Colon grabbed my attention 10+ years ago.  Since then, they have done a fantastic job of quietly growing that program into a real contender.  Great observations here that got to the heart of the matter.

[Wrestleknownothing]

What I have learned so far this week is apparently Penn State, Iowa, and Ohio State are all in bad shape.

By the end of the week I expect Oklahoma State, Nebraska, and Minnesota to join them.

[BAC]

14 minutes ago, Ched64 said:

Very well said indeed. In fact, before I jumped on this thread, I was looking at UNI's progression over the last decade.  I never paid much notice until Joe Colon grabbed my attention 10+ years ago.  Since then, they have done a fantastic job of quietly growing that program into a real contender.  Great observations here that got to the heart of the matter.

Agreed.  I have huge respect for what Schwab has done. What holds them back, though, is they're more of a dual team than a tournament team. They can take a mid-tier recruit and make him into a top 15 type guy, and do that across the lineup, so that they crush almost everyone in duals.  But a top 15 type guy isn't going to score many points at nationals.  It's a shame they don't get more high-end recruits, since they've shown that when they land one -- such as Keckeisen -- they can turn him into an absolute monster.