CHROMEBIRD

Idk, I just think he'll get caught in some stupid position on the mat. If I'm his opponent, I don't let him work from space and force scrambles. Ono's used to not giving up exposure so stuff like rolling through, fighting from the crackdown position, grambys, won't come naturally. Also look for opportunities to use the Merkle to take him down. All easier said than done, I know, but I do think the folkstyle learning curve will be steeper that he may expect.

RBY admitted that his heart wasn't completely into it during his bonus year and he ran through almost everyone.

I'm skeptical that Ono will be ready for folk, esp at 141. Mendez will spladle him.

We all know what was said.

He does seem like a great kid. Did he decide to come back last season because of NIL? It caused a little bit of a logjam and I wasn't sure if his heart was into it this time around...

I still think he has a bright future in baked goods and would like to see the Bagel Steveson franchise

I think Ono should RS, but he seems pretty flexible about weight. He's been saying he can wrestle freestyle at 57, 61, or 65 and joked that Cael said anywhere between 125-157 would be cool. So that kind of helps with the lineup. What's up with Nagao? Is he healthy? Hard to tell where his transfer & NIL stock is at

The best part of this commitment is that if things work out for Ono, maybe it opens the door even wider for other international talent to come here

Yeah, elite freestylers can get by on their feet alone, but that potentially puts them at a 0-1 or 0-2 disadvantage going into the match. Also Ono just said on FRL that he doesn't know anything about folkstyle. Sakamoto wrestled OSU's last dual after training in folk all year and looked completely lost out of neutral. For all we know, we could see Ono get spladled. He just isn't used to stuff like that.

I don't think Ono will be ready for primetime by next year. He's already got a full plate right now with U23s, JWT, etc.

The other interesting thing to watch with Ono is whether four seasons of college folkstyle wrestling will weaken his freestyle game. I assume he's going to want to make the Japanese OT while he's at PSU. It'll probably give us a lot to talk about with the whole "is our folkstyle hurting our freestyle in the US" debate

I agree with this. If a strong defensive wrestler could hold a match with Ono to 1-1 or along those lines and take it into rideouts I could see him losing there. Will he redshirt? If Rin Sakamoto was any indicator, a year to adjust to the style would be helpful... though we all know Carl is fine with throwing guys out there if they tell him he's ready.

Thanks for that info. WCAP is what allowed Matt Brown to compete in freestyle while he was an Army Ranger or something like that, isn't it? I am sure Hendrickson will get in if he wants it. Also @de4856 brings up a good point about Gable. This season was supposed to raise his stock for MMA and other opportunities. Some of that may have fizzled after last night's loss. Might as well stick with what he does best and wrestle.

Energy better exerted towards their social media and other channels

Interesting posting history you have there. I guess tinfoil headgear is a thing now.

The timing would be odd. If Ono announces, is it drowned out by all the NCAA storylines? There's just so much to talk about tomorrow and folks are still abuzz from the tournament.

I like this board and the old themat forums, but USAW had the right idea. Message boards tend to draw folks of a certain age and older. The convos are happening on Reddit or socials.

True dat. Did the PSU corner even throw the brick during the tournament?

I thought 10 AAs was also very impressive, esp after the Day 2 Massacre

Holy ffffffff

I enjoyed the finals, and the fireworks of the last match cannot be denied whether you're a hardcore or casual, fan or hater. However, this is a very good point:

Hodgerickson

I actually think Steveson is more likely to stick with wrestling now than if he had cruised to a title. He's going through some serious FAFO right now and, if he's serious about all that "my legacy" stuff, will want to prove himself on the biggest stage and go out on a high note. I think we'll see him wrestling at WTT with a chip on his shoulder. One caveat, it's unclear what Pindrickson's plans are. I thought his AF service deferral was just for this one season of eligibility. Will he be able to continue wrestling at the Senior level?

Gable was overconfident and FAFO. Like when he got in on that first single, he was just screwing around instead of, you know, reaching for Hendrickson's hip or far leg and cashing in that 3

MOW