I wonder if Brody will get the nod Friday night? Did he come out of Saturday healthy?
Brody Grothus
- Thread starter HIWILLE
- Start date
Considering several of the Wisconsin back-ups defeated him on Saturday in Dubuque, it's probably a good chance for redemption, and I'd imagine he'd be in the line-up. By the way, he's fine health-wise and just needs to clean up the fundamentals (protecting his legs and common sense from the top). Missed you on Saturday gablefan73!!!
When you are as tall as he is at 141 it makes it a bit harder to ride people because you are naturally going to be too high on them anyway, he will need to adjust that some. I think the two backups he lost to are true freshman who are likely better than the guy they have starting.
Would be nice to hear from someone with inside info what happened to BG in those 2 matches (specifically, was he gassed - was he too rusty - weight cut too much, etc.)
19 pages in, I'm ready for juicy content...
Someone who was at the tourney basically said his tank was ok but that Brody just looked lethargic, a step slow and lacked any explosivness. Good news is NOW this staff knows exactly where they are starting from so he can only improve on this. What that level ends up being, who knows?
Id guess we see Brody next friday at home vs Purdue? Maybe Brody needs more time or maybe he just needs more live matches? Either way as much as id like to roll Brody out vs Wisky I just think Carton earned the next start. Brody didnt. Id let Brody make his debut at home if that helps vs away. Lets see if a rowdy home crowd can jumpstart his motor and push him to another gear that he isnt sure he has at 141 yet.
Id guess we see Brody next friday at home vs Purdue? Maybe Brody needs more time or maybe he just needs more live matches? Either way as much as id like to roll Brody out vs Wisky I just think Carton earned the next start. Brody didnt. Id let Brody make his debut at home if that helps vs away. Lets see if a rowdy home crowd can jumpstart his motor and push him to another gear that he isnt sure he has at 141 yet.
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IMO only from an outsiders viewpoint. I have no idea what is going on with Brody, how he looks in practice, etc. Just a comment on the two matches he lost.
My main take is that his strategery was very poor.
Took maybe one shot in two matches. Seemed to want to go upper body at all times. Let guys get to his legs way too often. Although they were able to get very deep shots very easily and get his leg elevated, he was able to fight off the majority of those shots and even managed to get a scrambling TD or two from very bad positions.
On bottom, he didn't look very good - probably the most worrisome IMO. No good burst off the whistle and had difficulties getting to his feet. When he did get to his feet, he struggled with hand control more than I would have expected.
On top, he put the legs in frequently. He was a fair amount taller. He didn't seem to get the leg in very comfortably and seemed to be riding too high and too loose way too much. His leg seemed to not be too close to the opponents body and they could frequently get an arm in between to lift his leg out and get to Brody's arm or head with their other arm. He seemed to hang on too long and once got reversed to his back and pinned. Reversed a couple of other times (if I recall correctly) and one other time reversed to his back (can't remember if there were back points though).
Mainly just not wrestling smart IMO. Generally he seemed to lack a burst of energy - although he did have a few explosive moves. Didn't seem particularly gassed, but mostly just sluggish.
I think if TnT had been there to coach him, he wins both those matches. He just wrestled stupidly. The guys he wrestled weren't poor wrestlers. That said, he certainly didn't look like an AA on Saturday. I think his deficiencies certainly seem correctable though.
Time will tell. Don't give up on Brody. He will make some noise yet this year.
Others were there watching as well. I could be off on my perceived observations. Maybe others can chime in and correct me if I am off base
not disagreeing and certainly understand exactly what you're saying. But id argue at this point Carton kind of has taken the 141 spot. Albeit more by default. We just dont want him to have it yet because we dont see him making any noise at nationals. I think his Ervin win won him the next start. Brody didnt earn a varsity start at a JV tourney. Now if Topher loses vs Wisky then Brody vs Purdue is justified and its fair to Topher since he lost.
Im holding out hope for Brody but from the outside I wonder if the cut has eaten muscle and drained his power. Seems his lungs are ok for 7 min match but at say 60% of the explosion he is use to?
IDK, just arguing to argue. Im like everyone, id just like to see him wrestle with my own eyes.
Cryptic. Hmmm.
A. You don't know
or
B. You don't have info/opinion that you can share with a bunch of random message board strangers?
I think we have different definitions of winning a spot. Ervin couldn't walk after the first period and we still struggled against him. We also had a poor Midlands showing at that weight. They had their multiple chances. It is time to ride the rest of the year out with Brody. He will be our only chance to score points IMO.
I think it's pretty safe to say that no one was impressed by Grothus' long-awaited debut. But I'm going to agree with Gabelfan here. We've got no NCAA points with Carton. Grothus' upside appears much more sobering than it seemed two weeks ago, but if the only hope of scoring points at 141 is with someone other than Carton...what else can you do but put Grothus in the lineup and hope he improves enough by March to pull off a coup?
While I would agree, it depends on where Brody's head is now and how ready he is to wrestle. TnT knew he wasn't ready for prime time last weekend (despite what most message board experts thought). I guess I will trust them to get him ready for prime time, and wrestle him when that time comes.
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whenever there is a question about what to do, one should always go to the message boards for wisdom... can't leave important decisions to the coaches
You could say the same for Brody too really and even more so since he is a Sr. I don't have a dog in the fight but I'm not counting on either one scoring points at this point, even qualifying could be tough. I'm not privy to practice results but at weight vs other people the limited results Brody has are below that of Carton. Carton also had to come back from injury as well. Given what Brody did at 149 we all have hope he could be the same wrestler at 141 and maybe he can get there. Sometimes things don't work as hoped though. Whoever gets it will have to earn it. Hopefully one of them can step up and get it done.
BTW- Ervin had a nice win after losing to Carton. 141: Brock Ervin (ILL) dec. #12 Steve Bleise (NIU), 14-12
I really wish Carton could have that match back vs. Bleise at midlands. He was in on him numerous times but just couldn't finish. Of course Bleise then goes on to make the finals. Carton is close to being very good but it doesn't matter how good you are at handfighting or getting in on people if you can't finish. If he can get a little bigger and learn to finish I think he can be really tough next year.
I agree with you guys though that you kind of have to go with Brody. He just needs matches. It's been a long time, plus injury, plus the weight cut.
I think most of it is mental with Carton. He appears to have the physical tools. Looks like his strength is good, and he doesn't look to me like a small 141. He looks pretty quick to me, and his technique generally looks pretty solid. However, positional awareness, mat IQ, and just general confidence seem to be lacking. Not unlike Rhoads, IMO.
I do think Topher has potential to be quite good. We've seen quite a few similar kids come through the Iowa program over the decades who struggle early, the light bulb goes on, and they end up AA's later in their careers. The question is whether the light bulb will go on in time. Confidence doesn't often come easily, and it's often what separates average wrestlers from good/great ones. You have to be completely committed to what you're doing out there and believing that you have what it takes to finish that takedown, earn that escape, turn that opponent, fight off that shot, etc. If he starts believing, I think he could surprise some people. Not likely this year, but hopefully next.
I do think Topher has potential to be quite good. We've seen quite a few similar kids come through the Iowa program over the decades who struggle early, the light bulb goes on, and they end up AA's later in their careers. The question is whether the light bulb will go on in time. Confidence doesn't often come easily, and it's often what separates average wrestlers from good/great ones. You have to be completely committed to what you're doing out there and believing that you have what it takes to finish that takedown, earn that escape, turn that opponent, fight off that shot, etc. If he starts believing, I think he could surprise some people. Not likely this year, but hopefully next.
Great Post. I agree with everything your saying. Let's all hope he can have that light bulb on next year. 141 still won't be one of tougher weights and much like this year should be pretty wide open.
From Saturday's action, Grothus' emotions (being too amped up) may have got the best of him. It certainly wasn't a conditioning issue, moreso basic fundamentals (mat awareness, time, score, yielding an escape rather than a reversal, and protecting the legs)) He has an overagressive, risk-reward style of wrestling. Unfortunately on Saturday, that style backfired. The Hawkeyes best option at 141 is Brody Grothus.
I do have a dog in the fight. I want the best rep for Iowa at 141, and since only one of them has previously beaten several All-Americans, that's my guy. Don't care in the least what happened last Saturday. Get out there and get it done Brody, sooner rather than later....
Seems like he hasn't had that long of a time wrestling live in practices. Maybe they plan to use this 2 week stretch from the Pat Flanagan to next weekend's duals a training period for him to get him back into shape.
Looking forward to seeing him in live B1G action. Good luck Brody!
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Had a friend at practice yesterday. Said he looked very good.
