Eagle26

Bo is amazing but he doesn’t belong in the conversation with these other three. Those 3 have beaten very accomplished senior level guys like we have not seen in a very long time. I do think Bo will have an amazing career, I just think like others mentioned, there are other wrestlers close to his level. Blaze, Duke, and Forrest are on a tier of their own. One thing I find interesting is that we did not get to see Blaze vs Jax during this last world team qualifying process. I’m not sure Jax wins that match if it happens. I do think he is more dynamic while Blaze’s specialty is his defense and reattacks. So to answer the question, I’ll guess Jax, Duke, Blaze in that order for best combined career. But you can’t go wrong with any of those three, they are all just incredible

I am not sure what injury Vito has or had, but I am sure this was an intentional strategy. Jax hits his dump and his slide by when his opponent reaches with his left hand. Don’t think he hit either one so good coaching and good strategy. Jax isn’t one dimensional though, so he still found a way to get the job done.

A lot of people naming some great wrestlers who were pretty good in high school too. The question the OP raises is, who is the worst wrestler to become a D1 AA? There’s got to be somebody we probably don’t remember that placed 7th or 8th or something that never even qualified for the state championships in HS.

Best single season 1-2 punch, would likely be Zain and Nolf 2017. Both undefeated and bonused through the NCAA tournament. Not sure their whole season bonus percentage, but I am almost positive no one would beat it.

I guess it can come down to the age old debate of how you define best - best at peak or best career. Best career, I don’t think there is anyone else that can beat Starocci and Brooks. For 3 years in a row, they were back to back NCAA champs. Then the 4th year there was a weight between them, so I suppose you can’t count that. 9 titles between them for a career is of course impossible to beat, but if you are just counting back to back years it is 6. Don’t think there is any duo with 7, so you have to give them the nod due to the best overall career.

A lot of great names being thrown around… not to be a Debbie downer, but is this a job that any of them would want? Perhaps Borshaff is stepping down in part due to lack of support? I certainly hope the admin rallies behind a great new hire, but I’m a bit skeptical that it will happen

This guy has got to be legit

In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” You are free to interpret that as you choose, but most Christians believe that means Jesus is the only way to get to heaven. The Great Commission (see Matthew 28:18-20) commands follows of Christ to share their faith. So Brooks is doing what he believes his religion is telling him to do. Now, I personally don’t believe he went about it in the right way. Generally, argumentative statements and simply telling others they are wrong doesn’t make people change their mind. But a 23 year old speaking their mind without being the most tactful is something I can excuse. I believe most Muslims would understand this as well. Regarding his use of a banned substance, it seems consistent with this behavior… doing/saying things without thinking it through. That’s not an excuse for him and he absolutely should face the consequences. Just makes me believe he is not trying to cheat and hide it/lie about it. I believe he made a very bad thoughtless and careless mistake (again).

Even though I’m not a PSU fan, I do not hope Cael loses his job (unless he truly deserves it). I’m hoping that he didn’t know much and can continue coaching. I do hope that it removes the idea that he “walks on water”. I’m from PA, so it seems everyone else here believes he can do no wrong. He does coach a lot of good character traits and mindset principles, BUT he is a win at all costs guy just as much as Brands (and about every other D1 coach). He will take whoever he thinks can get him a national title and he puts his team’s success above what it best for the sport (can’t blame him). I just hope it takes a bit of the aura off and maybe levels the recruiting field a bit.

Wow. Not good. The thing that surprises me the most is that they brought him back for a 5th year when they didn’t have to. The coaches had to know there was stuff going on (not sure to what extent), and they could’ve made the rest of the team a lot happier if they just let Carter move on after last year. I’m hoping they didn’t know the full extent of it or this is going to be really bad. After the football situation, I assume PSU would have to clean house IF there was some sort of cover up. I’m not convinced that’s the case though, so we will have to wait and see.

It could be interesting but I doubt it. IF (big if) they are in shape enough, it would be cool to see those guys compete again. I picked Darrion Caldwell as the best 149 of the last 25 years, but I just don’t see how he can compete with the current world team member. I mean if he was close to that level, why not make a run at the world team?

This is not a silly topic. He could easily salvage it by becoming university president, hiring himself as AD, firing the Brands bros, and then hiring himself as Head Coach. All while winning a world championship. Problem solved.

My opinion without any data to back it up is that the 3 point takedown has only done two things one good, one bad): 1. Made the match better proportionally between takedown and escape to determine the “better” wrestler. Ex. Of a 2pt TD match I do not like: Wrestle A has 2 takedowns and one escape. Wrestler B has one takedown and 3 escapes. Match is tied 5-5. 2. In a one takedown match, with 4-2 score, the 3pt TD allows the winning wrestler to take an extra stall call. I don’t think it has encouraged or discouraged anyone from going for more takedowns.

@Wrestleknownothing I’d be curious what you would get if you run the data for the two point takedowns based only on 2022-2023. 1993 was a looong time ago and so much has changed (including much better defense and more stingy wrestling). That could skew the data IMO.

This pretty much ends the debate. You don’t make the Olympic finals if you aren’t good at scrambling.

Not gonna lie it does bother me a little bit that he made such a big deal about his “commitment”, but then changed it anyway.

I have to agree with this. It’s hard for me to imagine that many people did not say or anything. Not trying to victim blame at all. I can’t imagine how that would affect someone and I can understand that some may have not known what to do. But if the number posted below by TN are even close to true, I would think the sheer number would dictate that there would be some who would respond by either beating the crap out of him or reporting him to the police.

Maybe we will see a Tennessee Mudflap or a DF jr.

I’m not sure what you are getting at here? Why would that not be a possibility?

Do you think Duke would want to take an ORS in 27/28 then? I don’t think he would want to have two redshirts in a row, and he definitely want to focus on an Olympic run. Maybe he would go the Snyder route and do a modified schedule?

I think it can work. Add in some cool storylines and maybe a little smack talk like WWE. Incentivize action and fun for the wrestlers. You are paying them to put on a show, not to win. Instead of giving them a bonus for winning, give them a bonus for winning over fans. Have some people play the villain too and reward them for that. I think there’s a good team behind it and I’m excited to see what happens. My biggest concern would be how to get the event have the prestige that comes with Olympic or world championship events? I think that may be the challenge… maybe you don’t need it if it’s entertaining enough though

I wouldn’t say those are excuses. I think Yianni looked like the better wrestler but he made some sloppy mistakes. Duke capitalized so he was the better wrestler today. I think we all just see the potential in Yianni and it’s frustrating to see him lose matches that it appears he could’ve won. Doesn’t take away from Duke at all! What he did was amazing! He’s the future here and I’m excited to see what he can do.

All good thoughts. I agree I’d like to see Dake at 79. Im sure he could easily make it and most likely win a World gold there. However, in his defense, I don’t think it’s laziness that he doesn’t want to cut weight. I think he doesn’t really care too much about another world gold… he is just 100% focused on that elusive Olympic gold. Going up now gives him more time to grow into the weight and increases his chances of getting that Olympic gold, so I can’t disagree with his thought process there. Kinda sucks as a fan though knowing we are probably missing out on another world medal.

Fair on Caldwell… I wanted to pick at least one spicy one! I will add that Metcalf is pretty similar to Zane IMO, and Sophomore Dake was nowhere near jr. And sr. Dake. He lost to Donnie Vinson and Kevin LeValley that year. No way that Dake is better than Caldwell at his peak. Zane probably is the best pick, but 149 was a tougher weight in Caldwells day and he dominated a guy who would’ve been known as an all time great if it wasn’t for that match. Brooks lost to Marcus Coleman his last year at 184. Starocci probably does beat Askren if you consider the advancement in wrestling techniques. He knows how to stop funk now. Askren was just innovative and ahead of his time. So I still think peak Askren was “better” if that makes sense.

Regarding JB, I think Caldwell’s whole strategy was to just stall and keep it as close as possible and hope to steal it at the end (can’t blame him… it was his best chance). If that’s your goal it’s easier to keep it close, but hard to pull out the W. JB was clutch in those close matches through the first several years of his world titles. He was 3-0 vs Caldwell that year including a major in the NCAA finals. I don’t think that close win takes anything away from JB. In fact it may add that he was diverse enough to pull out a win against a very defensive opponent. Regarding Ruth, I think you have a fair point. I think he often looked like he lacked interest (don’t know if that was the case - just eye test). If he is locked in and at his best, yeah you might be right that he is the best 174 in the last 25 years.