Jimmy Cinnabon

And he chose Penn State...surprising to say the least.

delete

add in easy access to firearms...

With Truax on board already...if Penn State lands Messenbrink and Nagao is the team title effectively decided (barring multiple season ending injuries)? I say yes, except if there are multiple redshirts taken like Starocci and Brooks.

I believe they didn't offer anything close to $250k. Truax only has 1 year left and his best finish is 4th. He isn't some primo transfer who has 2-3 years left and is expected to be a title contender immediately like Real Woods. I would offer Nagao more than I would offer Truax for the same reason...3 years eligible over 1 year is worth a lot of money.

I know a lot of Iowa fans are stunned that a (purported) $250,000 NIL offer to Bernie Truax wasn't enough to land him in Black and Gold. It seemed to be a perfect fit with Jacob Warner finally graduating and Iowa having a need at 197. However, the Nittany Lion in the room is that for recent high school grads and up and coming prospects currently in middle school and high school, it's not really about NIL money. The reason the best kids want to wrestle for Cael is obvious: the recent dominance of Penn State over the past 12 years. Penn State won the team title in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, and 2023. This is 10 championships out of the 12 contested (no championship in 2020 due to COVID-19), which is crazy. In the same span they have crowned 34 individual champions! It also helps many of their champs are highly visible and well known athletes, even after college - David Taylor with his Olympic Gold and Bo Nickal with his blossoming UFC career. You also have high visibility in guys like Carter Starocci who are very outspoken to the point of brashness and arrogance. Now think about any wrestler who is currently aged 13-18 -- in his entire life, he's basically only seen one team win NCAAs - Penn State. And it's winning over and over and over again in dominant, flashy fashion. And kids actually know who Cael is, not necessarily because he's way younger than other top head coaches like the Brands, Tom Ryan and John Smith, but because of what he's been able to accomplish at Penn State. So while I think NIL is a good idea, the cream of the crop talent will more often than not choose to wrestle at Penn State simply because they feel it's their best chance to win individual and team championships. I think teams like Iowa, Ohio State and Cornell will continue to do very well but they may need to offer 2x the NIL money of Penn State to convince the top guys to join them.

I would usually favor the incumbent champ, Ferrari, but with all of his legal troubles (felony criminal trial) even if Iowa throws a huge bag of money at him he will be distracted, wrestling only a partial season, and may have some rust on the Ferrari. So given all that I favor Brooks, despite his comparatively puny deadlift max.

That has to be enough to get it done. If that happens I predict Teske transfers BACK to Penn State (again).

Messenbrink is much smaller. 157 or 165.

I think he stays too based on how much he talked about loving his coaches at NCAAs.

I think Penn State only gets Cannon.

With Truax joining Penn State it seems Iowa's only hope at a team title next year is to land ALL the Ferraris, including AJ. If Nagao joins Penn State it may not even matter... The Brands Bros better be kissing some tanned Italian butts these days...

Iowa must be shocked that $250,000 didn't get it done

Did I miss it or did nothing happen?

Truax couldn't say no to the big bag of $250,000 offered by the Brands Bros.

Better historical success with lightweights, best lightweight coaches in the Brands bros, Iowa is culturally more similar to Minnesota than Pennsylvania, no competing 133 transfer (e.g. Chris Cannon) interested...

https://twitter.com/MatScouts1/status/1646967856154791957?s=20

College and Olympic wrestling...I guess he's back to Minny?

That's way too much. If I'm Real Woods I'm asking for $500k minimum if that's true.

2 words for you. Real. Woods.

So it wasn't necessarily that he was too injured to continue...

Did he explain why he was too injured to wrestle again after losing to Ramos?

What about Cannon? I'd say yes for Nagao but no for Cannon.

Josh Demas - 2x Ohio State champ, Ohio State starter....big brother to Dom Demas https://thecinemaholic.com/where-is-josh-demas-from-love-is-blind-now/