Smsu150

Gable retuned after Iowa lost to Oklahoma State that year.

I like this proposal with one exception, keep the redshirt rule as it currently stands. 5 years to complete 4 years of full-eligibility.

I see maybe 1 - 3 Missourians in Mizzou's starting line-up.

I agree that the sky is not falling, but although Mizzou struggled in the final year's of Wes Roper's tenure, they were a fairly consistent top 20 to top 25 team in the 80's and early 90's. They finished as high as 10th in 1984. So there was wrestling at Mizzou prior to Smith's arrival. Also, during that time mentioned, there were many more (100 plus) D1 programs (one within the state) and D2/D3 guys could compete at the D1 tournament.

It didn't help Jimmy Z that once all of the guys that had wrestled for Gable graduated they never won another title. I'd never heard of the extra scholarships before. Although, I'm pretty sure that is one of the reasons Okie State went on probation and had to sit out the NCAA tournament in 1993. During those years, the Hawks did have a lot of good to great wrestlers that were back-ups or at least willing to be a back-up for a year or more. The most notable example is Jesse Whitmer. who started one year and won the NCAA title.

Penn State looks like the team to beat for the foreseeable future, but I wouldn't say a "billions" years, albeit they will be tough to beat. Iowa did catch and briefly surpass PSU in 2020 and again in 2021. We're in agreement about the Gable years making Iowa a marquee program, although I'm not sure about wrestlers not going to Iowa to wrestle for Tom, who had one of the most dominate Olympic performances on record. His individual wrestling accomplishments and coaching accolades are second to only Cael.

The success of the Gable years is really the only issue. Iowa is a great program, second only to Penn State in the last 15 - 20 years. The Hawks have had a great deal of success under Brands, winning four titles (Covid probably robbed them of a 5th) while consistently having one of the top programs in the country. That being said, the Dan Gable years cast a long shadow.

Billy Kelly pinning Brad Penrith in the 1987 NCAA finals bringing Iowa's nine year run to an end.

Charlie Getty was an AA in wrestling in the 1970's. He had a long career in the NFL playing for the Chiefs and Packers. He spent some time as high school football and wrestling coach in Missouri in the late 1990's.

During the early part of his tenure at Mizzou, Coach Smith had a lot of success with mid-tier recruits or with guys that really weren't on anyone's radar outside of the the state or bordering states. He had several walk-ons that became AA's, most notably Mark Ellis, who he recruited off the football team. Ellis was a multiple time AA and national champ. As the program got better, Mizzou began to get more top tier recruits E.g.: Cox, O'Toole, Elam Coach Smith has also had a lot of success with home-grown talent over the years. Some of those, such as national champ Drake Houdershelt, had little fan fair outside of the state prior tot their arrival at Mizzou.

Based on your assessment, there is only one elite program. Or did I miss something?

ISU making room for Cael, only to have him leave had to sting.

Oklahoma was close in 1982. They had three individual champions and a runner-up. "Dr. Death" Steve Williams lost in the heavyweight title match to Bruce Baumgardner 4 - 2. The Schultz brothers and Andre Metzger claimed titles for the Sooners. However, the Sooners finished 3rd in the team standings that year behind Iowa and Iowa State.

Cody Brewer was seeded, but 13th. Not sure what year they started seeding more than 12. Brewer had only one loss and was a returning AA, but still seeded 13th. He went on to dominate the weight.

Just guessing, but I know the 84 Olympic team had 4 Hawkeyes, but I'm not sure if they were all in college at the same time. Maybe 1981. Maybe Iowa State 1970.