Andrejacobs

Indiana wrestling fan here: Moran and Washington weren’t top 100 recruits, and both blew past expectations. Look at their careers and who they beat. On paper, there’s no way those two should’ve won those matches in college. Sollars is the same story: not a top 100 recruit, and he’s made the round of 12 and the round of 16 the last two years. As a program, Indiana is in a completely different place than what Escobedo inherited. In Duane Goldman’s last eight seasons, Indiana went 6-62 in Big Ten duals. That stretch included a 35-dual conference losing streak and five seasons without a single Big Ten win. In Goldman’s final year, Indiana finished 55th at NCAAs. The last four years, Indiana has been a top 25 program, and it’s gotten better every season. Over the last two NCAA tournaments, Indiana has finished ahead of Iowa State, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Rutgers, Michigan State, West Virginia, Navy, Army, North Carolina, Oregon State and Purdue. Most of those programs have had a lot more success than Indiana over the last decade. Escobedo is closing that gap. And he’s doing it with less. Indiana is the second lowest funded wrestling program in the Big Ten, ahead of only Michigan State. This program is out-developing schools with far more resources. So the expectation should be realistic: a competitive dual team, an All-American every season and a top 25 finish at NCAAs. If the athletic department decides to go all in on wrestling, the bar goes up. Until then, that’s the right standard.

The Big Ten is brutal, no doubt. But you are throwing teams into that “bottom group” without really looking at results. At NCAA’s Indiana finished ahead of Rutgers, Maryland, Purdue, Wisconsin, Northwestern,Michigan State, Little Rock, West Virginia, Pitt, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, and Oregon State. Feels like they’re climbing more than you want to admit.