ADVERTISEMENT

Brooks to PSU

You've overstated it, but there's a grain of truth there.

PSU fans seem to want to elevate Cael to mythical proportions because PSU has won national championships in recent years.

To downplay the importance of getting top tier recruits is disingenuous and common with PSU fans. Mark Hall was 'developed' into a true fr national champ through Cael's magic coaching ability. Give me a break.

Each year there are some very elite HS wrestlers... some years the top couple of guys or maybe the top 5-10.... guys that realistically could be multiyear AA's and a good chance at being national champion. David Taylor, Metcalf, Retherford, Varner, and Steveson all fit this description. If you can recruit guys like that, you will be successful, with competent coaching.

Here are the facts....

Cael never won a team championship during his time at ISU, either as an asst coach or head coach. The number of top 10 recruits he got was quite small at ISU, certainly nothing like at PSU.

Fast forward to Cael at PSU. For years now, PSU has been getting multiple top 10 guys. No other school comes close. Surprise.... PSU starts winning championships.

Cael is a good coach, but when you're starting with the best of the best, it's a lot easier to bring home team titles.

Cael has recruited like no one else in wrestling history. That much we know. How he does it is something of a mystery to non PSU fans, so questions arise. And how well kids actually develop under him is not so obvious, at least compared to other top d1 schools.


Surprise, surprise. Cael is doing what Gable used to do. Now all of a sudden Iowa fans act like Gable was winning with all walk ons. Why doesn't Brands coach up your wrestlers like Gable used to do?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 91Joe95 and Ski
3 things:
1-is PSU cheating or at very least working extreme grey area- just to be safe I will say that it is as close to certain as can be
2-do you think any PSU fan would admit that? Would you if it were iowa? Keep in mind this is same fan base and athletic Department that allowed/condoned/denied/turned back etc. on a child molestation crime, they are lucky they have an athletic program at all
3-even though it’s probably true-we should move on bc we sound like sissy’s making excuses on here.
 
Surprise, surprise. Cael is doing what Gable used to do. Now all of a sudden Iowa fans act like Gable was winning with all walk ons. Why doesn't Brands coach up your wrestlers like Gable used to do?

Not really true. Gable did get some top recruits, but developed a good number of low level guys into AA's and champions.

No coach is getting the kind of recruits Cael has been getting since he arrived at PSU.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Grip220 and Dagboi
Why top recruits want to wrestle Cael-/ PSU

only 4 time undefeated national champ in history
world champ
Olympic champ
team has won 6 in last 7 team titles
5 NC last year--all under classman
ROTC
not to mention world class dodge ball facility!

hmmmmmmmm I wonder???????


reality check - Cael was never a World champ. He got one silver and later a 5th place finish.

World and Olympic gold medals:

Cael -1

Tom Brands - 2
Terry Brands - 2
 
Surprise, surprise. Cael is doing what Gable used to do. Now all of a sudden Iowa fans act like Gable was winning with all walk ons. Why doesn't Brands coach up your wrestlers like Gable used to do?

Gable had a few elite recruits...I'll give you that but he never had a team where almost all of them were top ten P4P. Not ever. Why?

1)Wrestling was very regional
2)A lot more three sport athletes whereas they now specialize
3)We know much more about the recruits then we did then;

Gable got a lot of Iowa kids. Guys like Ironside...he was "only" a two time state champ. Today, he wouldn't get a sniff from Cael. The average ranking for guys from PSU are #15 IIRC. The avg from Iowa is in the 40s to 50s.

Here was Gable's 1997 NCAA Record breaking team...maybe not his best team, it's debatable but we'll go with them because that's who PSU is chasing:

118:Jessie Whitmer-Zero State champ-Iowa (I think)
126:Mike Mena-4X State Champ Illinois
134; Mark Ironside-2X State Champ-Iowa
142: Kasey Gillis-3X State Champ, ND
150:LMAC-5X State Champ, SD
158: Joe Williams-4X Illinois
167: Mike Uker-No state titles-Iowa
177: Tony Ersland-2X Iowa
190: Lee Fullhart-3X Iowa
HWY: Wes Hand-1X Iowa

So out of the guys on the 97 team, how many would Cael even look at? Mena, LMAC, Williams, and maybe Gillis. Hell, Cael recruited that many P4P studs in one year.

The great Cael was still Cael at Iowa State but didn't pull in recruits to even close to the level he is now...for those of you making that argument. Kids then had grown up watching him wrestle and had witnessed his gold medal. He had the same 9.9 as Iowa plus its not like he had to start over at Iowa State...he transitioned into head coach and had done their recruiting as an assistant. But Brands came in and beat him when they were on the same turf. So what changed? PA is great but he has shown no real loyalty to the kids in the state. Next year, there are not going to be very many PA kids starting...mostly out of staters. PSU is a nice university but let's not kid ourselves...most kids come to wrestle first.
 
What makes you think brands doesn't know exactly what psu is doing. bc he certainly does.
Let’s just hope the NCAA grows a pair! Why wouldn’t you cheat, there is never punishment for P5 teams. PSU covered up freaking rape to lil boys, UNC had fake classes, MSU allowed dr to molest their own athletes. At least 4 schools had criminal charges brought to assistants in bball. PSU is breaking rules and that is pretty obvious, even the biggest PSU homer knows deep down
 
No but it sure seems like the most likely place these days. Maybe he also liked the international caliber wrestling partners. Maybe he also liked the variety of degrees. Maybe he also liked the dual meet atmosphere. Maybe he also liked the other big game sporting event atmospheres on campus. Maybe he also liked the campus. Maybe he also liked the coaching staff. Or maybe its all about the money *rolls eyes*
Maybe he liked the Joe Pa statue.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dagboi
Gable




Joining the Big 10 helped but Penn State had an awesome team heading into the Big 10. McCoy, Prescott, Sunderland, Kolat... But Iowa was a buzzsaw back in 91/92. The difference maker was Cael. Penn State paid him a lot of money to draw him over. The narrative by some over here that Cael can't coach is of course baloney. He didn't win a national championship his second year with 10 of his recruits. Success breeds success. Especially in a high school wrestling hotbed state.
Gable had a few elite recruits...I'll give you that but he never had a team where almost all of them were top ten P4P. Not ever. Why?

1)Wrestling was very regional
2)A lot more three sport athletes whereas they now specialize
3)We know much more about the recruits then we did then;

Gable got a lot of Iowa kids. Guys like Ironside...he was "only" a two time state champ. Today, he wouldn't get a sniff from Cael. The average ranking for guys from PSU are #15 IIRC. The avg from Iowa is in the 40s to 50s.

Here was Gable's 1997 NCAA Record breaking team...maybe not his best team, it's debatable but we'll go with them because that's who PSU is chasing:

118:Jessie Whitmer-Zero State champ-Iowa (I think)
126:Mike Mena-4X State Champ Illinois
134; Mark Ironside-2X State Champ-Iowa
142: Kasey Gillis-3X State Champ, ND
150:LMAC-5X State Champ, SD
158: Joe Williams-4X Illinois
167: Mike Uker-No state titles-Iowa
177: Tony Ersland-2X Iowa
190: Lee Fullhart-3X Iowa
HWY: Wes Hand-1X Iowa

So out of the guys on the 97 team, how many would Cael even look at? Mena, LMAC, Williams, and maybe Gillis. Hell, Cael recruited that many P4P studs in one year.

The great Cael was still Cael at Iowa State but didn't pull in recruits to even close to the level he is now...for those of you making that argument. Kids then had grown up watching him wrestle and had witnessed his gold medal. He had the same 9.9 as Iowa plus its not like he had to start over at Iowa State...he transitioned into head coach and had done their recruiting as an assistant. But Brands came in and beat him when they were on the same turf. So what changed? PA is great but he has shown no real loyalty to the kids in the state. Next year, there are not going to be very many PA kids starting...mostly out of staters. PSU is a nice university but let's not kid ourselves...most kids come to wrestle first.

I actually looked at this once - Iowa under Gable averaged a little over 3 top ten high school wrestlers in the lineup each year. PSU is up over 6 and going higher. There is a significant difference.

Also, Gable passed on some of the best high school wrestlers in the history of the sport - Fried and Kolat (both were dying to come to Iowa).
 
I actually looked at this once - Iowa under Gable averaged a little over 3 top ten high school wrestlers in the lineup each year. PSU is up over 6 and going higher. There is a significant difference.

Also, Gable passed on some of the best high school wrestlers in the history of the sport - Fried and Kolat (both were dying to come to Iowa).

You mean Gable didn’t want to recruit over a Steiner or Brands? I do remember Fried talking about his love for Iowa in an interview.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SDHN2013
You mean Gable didn’t want to recruit over a Steiner or Brands? I do remember Fried talking about his love for Iowa in an interview.

Fried, Kolat, Nate Carr, and Tim Krieger all wanted to come to Iowa. Gable passed on Fried and Kolat. Nate Carr's mother had a bad premonition about Iowa and made him switch to ISU. And, Krieger changed to ISU because he wanted to be with Carr. Gable was no Cael.
 
what flavor was the cool aid you drank?
The reason I say Brands is not part of the problem is because currently I do not think anyone can or would threaten tOSU or PSU. It will take more than a head coach change to rise above those 2 programs as they currently are. To put this on Brand's shoulders seems a bit unfair and unrealistic. Does he make mistakes? Yes. Is he perfect? No. Blaming Brands is like blaming the farmer when his field gets washed away by a rainstorm. Lot of things are out of a person's control.
 
Iowa is also a winning program with a great RTC and staff. I think it’s more a matter of fit. The styles, the culture. Iowa is only a few guys away and their upper weights have improved every week. Have a little patience fellas.
Mr. Brooks, you are a class act. It is so refreshing to read your posts. Your sense of respect speaks volumes. My guess is that your son will carry these same character traits into his collegiate career. All the more reason that I wish he were going to be a Hawkeye!
 
Team NC's Cael - 6
TnT - 0

Oh shit! I really think you deserve to be on my ignore list with your kool aid nativity but I have a feeling your posts will be nothing short of entertaining; by that, I mean completely stupid.
 
Gable did not pass on Kolat. Kolat's transcript had lots of problems. Dept of admissions passed on Kolat.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BoroBuilt
Fried, Kolat, Nate Carr, and Tim Krieger all wanted to come to Iowa. Gable passed on Fried and Kolat. Nate Carr's mother had a bad premonition about Iowa and made him switch to ISU. And, Krieger changed to ISU because he wanted to be with Carr. Gable was no Cael.

Not when it comes to recruiting for sure! But, you got to give Gable credit for doing an outstanding job of coaching up his wrestlers. It must have been glorious to be a hawk fan during those Gable years!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hunter78
I’m not privy to any Penn State scholarship/slush fund info, and I’m not trying to flame or troll. Serious question though about Iowa’s history of success. When Iowa was winning national championships virtually every year, were they doing this because they were recruiting better than everyone else or did they have average recruiting classes? No doubt that they were coached up by one of the greatest wrestlers and coaches of all time. If they were killing it in recruiting, however, was there unwarranted academic scholarships or excessive camp money involved?
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: lionlover
I’m not privy to any Penn State scholarship/slush fund info, and I’m not trying to flame or troll. Serious question though about Iowa’s history of success. When Iowa was winning national championships virtually every year, were they doing this because they were recruiting better than everyone else or did they have average recruiting classes? No doubt that they were coached up by one of the greatest wrestlers and coaches of all time. If they were killing it in recruiting, however, was there unwarranted academic scholarships or excessive camp money involved?
You're a troll and/or an asshat, and likely both. Because you have to be a complete moron not to know the answers.
 
I’m not privy to any Penn State scholarship/slush fund info, and I’m not trying to flame or troll. Serious question though about Iowa’s history of success. When Iowa was winning national championships virtually every year, were they doing this because they were recruiting better than everyone else or did they have average recruiting classes? No doubt that they were coached up by one of the greatest wrestlers and coaches of all time. If they were killing it in recruiting, however, was there unwarranted academic scholarships or excessive camp money involved?

On another thread, I showed that our 97 team had maybe 3-4 starters who had credentials on par with what Cael gets at PSU. Cael was a huge name at a traditional power at Iowa State. At that point, he should have been able to get anybody to "pay" to go there as they do now at PSU because those guys grew up watching him go undefeated at college and win a gold medal. Kind of like how Jordan Burroughs would be a hot commodity now in the wrestling world. Yet he didn't come close to getting the same level of recruits at ISU as he does at PSU.
 
If your admins feel they must ban me for this post, then so be it. I truly hope y'all keep focusing on slushfunds, burner phones, summer clinics, and the vile Sandusky scandal. Because then your not focused on beating us. Thank you.
 
If your admins feel they must ban me for this post, then so be it. I truly hope y'all keep focusing on slushfunds, burner phones, summer clinics, and the vile Sandusky scandal. Because then your not focused on beating us. Thank you.

Yeah, because I'm sure that's focused on in the wrestling room you dumbass.

Message boards win duals, wtf?

You're not going to get banned for dumb posts here. I've been doing it for years. We have thick skin on all our boards. That's why it's the best message board on rivals.
 
Cael wouldn't sniff a guy who was "only" a 2X state champ?
Zain and Cenzo would disagree with you. (And when they committed, each was only a 1X state champ.)

Also, PSU lineup has 28 state championships. (That includes 5 from Kuhn and Keener, who weren't exactly huge recruits that Cael went after because of pedigree.)
The 97 Iowa lineup has 24 state champs (according to your post).

But sure. Totally different.
 
Great guys. I went to school with them at Bloom. Boy has Bloom fallen.

No doubt. I lived in Bloom for a few years about 15 years ago and they showed some signs of life, but nothing like the past. You should see how those old Bloom wrestlers shaped District 4 wrestling in PA ... tons of former Bloom wrestlers - really good ones - in elementary, middle and high school wrestling rooms everywhere.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hotshoe
Cael wouldn't sniff a guy who was "only" a 2X state champ?
Zain and Cenzo would disagree with you. (And when they committed, each was only a 1X state champ.)

Also, PSU lineup has 28 state championships. (That includes 5 from Kuhn and Keener, who weren't exactly huge recruits that Cael went after because of pedigree.)
The 97 Iowa lineup has 24 state champs (according to your post).

But sure. Totally different.

It took great courage for Cael to take a chance on Zain and Joseph. Thanks for the info. Go away.
 
You're a troll and/or an asshat, and likely both. Because you have to be a complete moron not to know the answers.
I live in PA and am not an expert on the history of the sport. I may be a moron, but my lack of knowledge about Iowa wrestling recruiting under Gable isn't proof of it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: pahawk1
It took great courage for Cael to take a chance on Zain and Joseph. Thanks for the info. Go away.
I didn't say anything about courage.
What I am saying: Cael has, in fact, sniffed recruits who were merely 2X state champs.
Correction: Nick Lee was only a 1X state champ, so the total number for PSU lineup is 26, compared to 1997 Iowa's total of 24.

Saying Cael isn't on Gable's level because he pulls more Top 10 P4P recruits is like saying Nick Saban will never be as good a coach as Bear Bryant because his recruiting classes have a higher average on the 247 composite rankings.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Creek Side
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest posts

ADVERTISEMENT