BruceyB

I hope to see Zain embark on his own coaching path once he decides to hang 'em up. Hopefully as the former PSU athletes age out of competition we the nits embark on their coaching paths and can inject some excitement into some other programs.

I can't believe how massive these brackets are. U20s is going to be such a show. I can't wait.

I don't know. Welsh is obviously getting paid for his services, and if you're Iowa, or Missouri, why pay a guy to come fill a weight where you have a high caliber wrestler? It would make more sense to bring in a guy at a weight of need. PSU is the only team with such an embarrassment of riches that they would bring in a Rocco when they have a Ryder at home.

My point is that, to the best of my knowledge, no one on this message board knows what happened between Rocco and the PSU staff. I also don't actually care what happened between the two parties. I don't actually care if coaches are actively poaching athletes in the current landscape of college wrestling. Whether a wrestler is in the portal or not, we are living in an era of no contracts and everyone is a free agent. I understand that "technically" a student has to be in the portal to be talked to, but at this point, there might as well just be an open recruiting process every year.. athletes in the portal or not. My issue is people white-knighting for PSU when they don't know any more than the rest of us, but want to act as if lack of evidence is the same as lack of misconduct. I don't know if there was anything below board with the whole ordeal, and I'm not going to argue that there was anything below board.. because I don't know what happened. I'm also not going to argue that they did nothing wrong, because just like you, I don't know if they did anything wrong or not. Just because they haven't been caught doesn't mean they aren't doing anything wrong. How many basketball/football programs were caught years after their misconduct for paying athletes illegally in the last 30 years? Again, I don't care if they did contact Welsh "illegally." It's just obnoxious when people white-knight for PSU when they have no idea what actually went on behind the scenes. I do hope that @VakAttack enjoys watching PSU homers squirm to defend their program now that they are the evil empire of wrestling after having to fight the battle for Iowa all these years.

Got me.

My opinion has been made clear on this topic under different threads. In one sentence, there are no enforced rules in todays transfer/NIL era.. the only dummies are those that pretend that their team is engaging in the activity in a more "morally upright" way than the rest of the programs. Exhibit.. you. None of us know the finer details going on behind the scenes. It's dumb to attack PSU over their transfers, but it's even dumber to blindly protect them based on the "lack of evidence" for them doing anything wrong. Justify it however you'd like, but PSU has been much more cutthroat than any other program when it comes to bringing in outsiders over their own current athletes. Only the most woefully naive can convince themselves to believe the sentiment "These wrestler's are begging to come to PSU, what is Cael supposed to do? Say no?"

You love PSU more than Lucas Byrd loves his 6'3" girlfriend.

This is a clown take. I'm sure Welsh was begging to be let on the PSU team for little to no money while David Taylor was at his door step offering him a huge bag to change his mind.

I'm not going to sugar coat this. I think @JimmySpeaks is a complete imbecile. But I do agree that what students are earning directly from Universities (once the monet is no longer being laundered through collectives/boosters etc) should be public knowlege. College is now professional sports and just like in the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, etc. where contracts are disclosed publicly, so too should the money college athletes are making so that there is a more fair market value. I don't know if you or Wkn agree or disagree with that sentiment. In the current landscape, there is no reason to disclose NIL deals, but once money is coming directly from the institutions, IMO, that changes everything.

They both had incredible seasons, but at the end of the day, the Hodge is a subjective award and shouldn't change how you view a wrestlers career. Winning it says something, but not winning it doesn't say much. I don't look at Nolf, Zain, or Ruth any differently than Nickal because they aren't Hodge winners. Tbh, some weights are just easier to separate yourself from the field. Curious to see a chart of which weights have produced the most Hodge winners. I would certainly think it's 165 or higher.

I regret entertaining your opinion on the other thread. I wasn't familiar with the fact that you have no idea what you're talking about. I hope the you find yourself at a beach where everyone has matching towels, however. Do you believe that Antrell Taylor/Joey Blaze are more likely to win NCAAs in 2026 than Shapiro or Kasak? Certainly the predictive rankings support that claim.. I'm happy to set a bet here and now.. but you have to give me odds since the predictive rankings have Shapiro and Kasak as the prohibitive underdogs.

What is the difference between a pin and a knockout punch? In either scenario, you could be getting dominated, but in one exchange you change the tide and are declared the definitive winner. I'm agreeing with you that there are fluke pins and likewise fluke knockouts in boxing.. however.. the best of the best don't lose due to a fluke exchange. Again I understand your argument, but you are ignoring the fact that a pin is the most rewarded result in wrestling. Ask two-time Hodge winner Ben Askren which is a bigger sign of dominance.. in his junior and senior year of college.. being tech'd rather than pinned would have been a credit to the loser because he couldn't do what he was trying to do. Ben would have been upset to tech someone rather than pin them.. he must not understand what it means to dominate.

Don't get it twisted, this isn't a question about what would have allowed you to reach greater success, but which skillset would be the most fun to have had during your competitive/swimming ( @Wrestleknownothing ) career. I have a number included in the poll, but I'd love to hear other suggestions. I limited it to wrestlers post 2010 because the qualities most predecessors had that made them special have been carried on by more current wrestlers. (IE: no John Smith, Cael Sanderson, etc.)

This is just objectively wrong. What does the sport incentivize? If I'm looking to score points for my team, do I go for a tech or do I go for a pin? If I want to save energy, do I go for a tech or a pin? If I want to show that I can flip my opponent over and glue his shoulders to the mat, what do I do? Some techs are more dominant than some pins. You're basically arguing that a unanimous decision in boxing is more dominant than a knockout because all it takes is one "lucky" punch for a knockout, while it requires sustained superiority to earn a unanimous decision. Turning a man over, pinning both shoulders blades down and having the ref slap the mat is the most dominant win in wrestling. If pinning is a scapegoat for a lesser wrestler, then let's just give additional points for a fall and put the wrestlers back in neutral to finish the match. I understand the argument, but I'd argue that guys like Steveson, Mesenbrink, and Starocci actually lack the complete skillset to pin their opponents. If Mesenbrink had as many pins as he does techs, he might have actually won the Hodge, but unfortunately, he is a dynamo on his feet without the ability to consistently turn even lesser opponents.

What does being a 4xer have to do with the Hodge? Has anyone every won the Hodge with a less than 65% bonus rate?