BruceyB

Penn State has 17 different athletes that have stepped on top of the podium during Cael's tenure,, and the majority of them have won multiple titles. Oklahoma State and Iowa have 6 individuals each during that same timeframe. Both Iowa and Oklahoma State have had the luxury of bringing in top tier recruits, but haven't been able to match PSU's insane development. Obviously the athlete's drive is a factor, but to act like anyone on Iowa or Oklahoma State doesn't have the same determination to become a national champion is naive. Penn State has been head and shoulders above their rivals in development for a while now.

He just turned 26. Going through a college season as you're turning 27 would be an absolute grind on the body.

It's pretty true. Plott is unfortunately the Tyler Caldwell of this weight. I am curious to see where McEnelly is against the three big dogs though. Interestingly, the only two matches where he didn't score bonus went to OT.

You're going to be the first wrestling pirate!

To be fair, at this point in time, look at the 2024-2026 draft classes of OKST and PSU. They are loaded with super talented prospects. Iowa is currently more likely to be looking for a 165/174 in Miller and potential 125/133/141 in Keegan depending on how much he grows. I started the post a little while back about the most notable brothers to commit to different schools, and the list of brothers that were similarly touted recruits (especially while being in college at the same time) is very, very small. I think it would be a pretty big shock if Melvin and Keegan ended up anywhere else.

I think, while a great indicator of potential, too much stock is being put into Blaze's freestyle run last spring. You can score in free without finishing takedowns, a significant portion of scrambling is eliminated which allows for easier finishing of takedowns, you have criteria, etc. etc. I think between the three, Jax and Bo have styles that can be better rewarded in folkstyle than freestyle. Marcus is more traditional in great positioning, stinginess, and clean finishing. I think it could very well be similar to a Dake vs DT kind of thing where Jax and Bo are more likely to put up bonus against everyone, but Blaze may be more effective at winning against the very elite. If I had to guess (for the sake of equal comparison let's say all wrestle in year one) I'd guess highest average podium finish will be.. 1. Jax 2. Blaze 3. Bassett Of the three, I think Jax probably is the least "polished" and seemingly least physically mature of the three. For those two reasons, I think between now and the end of his freshman year of college, he could make bigger jumps than Blaze or Bassett. But of course, we're splitting hairs among three amazing young wrestlers.

I think it would be even more miserable being out there for less than 7.

I agree. I would rather have a legitimate criteria win. First takedown, RT during regulation, I don't care what, but have someone leading going into OT so someone has to actually push for a takedown during the neutral 2 minutes.

I thought he should have been hit. I didn't count but Vombaur was in probably 5 or 6 times to once or twice for Jesse?

It's not the only reason, but if you think that a junior high kid who isn't familiar with the sport isn't offput by wearing a singlet in front of his classmates, you are mistaken. It has always been, and will continue to be a barrier to bringing fringe kids into the sport.

At the end of the day, there are only 10 roster spots.

I would love it.

Amen.

I agree 90% that the presentation details don't matter, but it was a little anticlimactic that there wasn't a "reveal." Congrats on your team landing the big fish though! I've obviously expressed some questions about the future of TnT's regime at Iowa, but this is a big deal. I was hoping he was going to be a cowboy, but as I have said before, Iowa in contention is good for the sport. I am much happier to see him at Iowa than PSU. Forrest to OSU is the next thing we need to really hype up the three horse race.

It was so obvious that I was waiting for him to pull it off to reveal a PSU sweatshirt.

I'm curious to see the sources on that. Arch Manning's NIL estimations is 6.6 million..

From everything I've ever heard Tom Ryan say, it also appears that he is very deliberate about who he brings into his program, and cares about the culture and integrity of the team as much as the talent. I wonder how much this effects his willingness to recruit over guys and bring in outsiders that may improve the line-up but negatively effect the culture they have built. I think a large part of the reason recruits choose Ohio State is because of how genuine Tom Ryan is, and how much he truly cares about his relationships with his athletes. Who has transferred out of tOSU? Traub and Tessari are the only two I can think of. I'm not including Kerk because he didn't even spend his RS year there.

I am curious how it works behind the scenes with a collective. If I'm a wealthy alumnus and I want to donate to the NIL, can I donate to just fund the wrestling program? How much does the pull of the massive revenue gained for the school by having a national champion football team pull from money that could be spent elsewhere? Iowa and Oklahoma State have very rich wrestling traditions and are part of their states culture. I am curious why it doesn't seem to be an issue for Penn State as they also were not near the program they are now before Cael and company. I don't know if they truly have deeper pockets or if the allure of their success allows them to secure athletes for less money. It is hard to believe that in such a wrestling rich state you would have issues to compete financially when they have so much NIL money over all, as you said.

It was a bad ass moment, yes. But I would have been more impressed if he scored the takedown.

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I think Ohio State has equipped themselves very well as a program that hasn't been able to land any major transfers in this current landscape. They are still in recruiting and development mode at the moment, and have a very respectable line-up which will only be improved next year. Show me Iowa or Oklahoma State's line-ups this year if they didn't bring in reinforcements over the off season? Unfortunately, it doesn't appear Ohio State is competitive when it comes to bringing in transfers. It also doesn't help that Tom Ryan has expressed disapproval of the current system where you give up on a guy if he isn't producing right away and bring in a transfer to replace him. It's become a cutthroat game between development and replacement.

I genuinely don't know enough about recruiting prior the 10ish or so years ago to know the answer to this question, but it seems like the trend has changed. I can't imagine PSU and OKST would have had (prior to the portal) the types of recruiting classes they are currently getting where so many top high school recruits will be battling it out just to be the starter. In the past it seemed more like guys went where they "fit a need" during their span of eligibility. Do you think the option to transfer is making it more appealing to throw your hat in the ring at these schools that already have someone highly talented in your weight, where before you were more likely to commit elsewhere?

He would be an absolute legend if he went to VT. If he goes to PSU then this will be the most anticlimactic build up since LeBron's "The Decision."

Probably goes with Mendez all the time.

Nothing is more infuriating than a wrestler who hasn't done anything all match puts a sprint together in the last 30 seconds and the aggressor for the first 6:30 gets hit with stalling for defending. You can nearly guarantee that if a guy has a warning and the lead, the ref is going to hit him again in the final 30 seconds, regardless of what happened the rest of the match.