tom-brands@hawkeyesports.com
(319) 335-9400
Here shoot Tom an email or give him a call to let him know your ideas and thoughts.
For those concerned of Gabe Arnold's height at 184
- Thread starter dmlawdad
- Start date
(319) 335-9400
Here shoot Tom an email or give him a call to let him know your ideas and thoughts.
The plan was to red shirt him all along. Not sure why you can’t understand that. Him burning a year was hardly worth a handful of team points.
Iowa wrestling will never mortgage their future to get 2nd. That's an Iowa St type of thing to do.
Could be the difference of Gabe being a 3 timer or a no timer
if Gabe is wrestling outside his ideal weight to make room for Nelson Brands thats just stupid. Not saying that he is, but can we all agree on that?
I remember that interview as well, I think it was after the ISU dual last year. Maybe he has changed his mind and really prefers 184 now, but if that was the case I don’t think he would have bothered with a wrestle-off with NB at 174.
Someone said on this board awhile back that the results of the Soldier Salute were going to be the determining factor in who goes 174-184 the rest of the season. If that’s really the case and if Gabe wants to try for 174, it sounds like he would need to start cutting pretty soon after the ISU dual as the Soldier Salute is scheduled for Dec 29-30.
perhaps. I just wouldn't put Nelson before anything Gabe wants to do.
Unless Angelo is strongly opposed to redshirting, at this point I'm more interested in getting PK in the 74 mix soon than I am in Gabe and Nelson swapping. PK may not produce more than NB at Natty's, but I have to believe he'll be much more entertaining to watch while trying. Early in season or not, NB just isn't giving me confidence. In the end, I'm still confident it will sort itself out in a fair way that's best for the team.
Where did you read that?? Must have changed his mind. I remember him saying right before college he belongs at 174 in college.
this might be the response you're remembering. but a year later, who knows, maybe he filled into 184 a bit.
You are doing the exact same thing the basketball board does with Kris Murray. He's in the NBA now so by rights he should have started as a freshman. Well, as a FRESHMAN he was not good enough. He got better. This current version of Gabe is better than last year. This version isn't the one that would have been on the mat last year. He may, or most likely, may not have AA'd at 184. Would he have gotten more than 4 points that would have given Iowa the first loser spot? Who knows and who really cares.
And for the record - Gabe was certainly good enough to have earned the 184 spot last year. I just don't think he was a lock to AA and wasting a year for the outside shot at 2nd Place in 2023 is what is at issue.
The way I look at it is PK was not a full size 174 last year. This year he is. He will get his chance. TnT are not going to just hand Nelson a spot. They are not doing him any favors in life by doing so. You get what you earn! If Nelson doesn’t turn things around don’t be surprised if someone else is at 174 come BIGS. That being said. It’s early, no need to panic. Guys Norman is really good. He beat Shane Griffin last year who crushed PK twice last year. I think we all know 2nd place is the ceiling this year and we should all enjoy the season, cheer on are guys, and hope for some fantastic recruiting news from the 2026 class.
I remember NB scoring a fair amount of points in HS or am I wrong?Counter wrestling and wrestling styles now, can definitely play against shorter wrestler. I realize the Brands brothers 1990s approach to wrestling clearly works now, but using an example from the 1970's isn't reassuring. If the Brands' truly consider performance on the mat as the best tryout, the best indication of who needs to wrestle, then Arnold needs to be at 174 and Nelson needs to be wrestling off with Ferrari at 184. I don't care if Brands can barely beat Arnold in a wrestle off, Nelson has had zero takedowns. He's always been that way and nothing is going to change. Problem is now, it would take Arnold at least a couple months to get down depending what he weighed in at, right?.
He did; against Iowa high schoolers not D1 wrestlers. I don’t even remember him doing much for national tournaments so I wouldn’t equate putting a bunch of points on Iowa high schoolers to being able to rack up points at a D1 level.
There's no reason he can't still wrestle with the same pace and effort. I don't normally say negative things about Iowa wrestlers, but Nelson needs to ask himself why he is wrestling this year. Is it to just be on the team for one more year or to have the best season of his career? I was hoping we would see more offense and effort from him this season, but as of now I don't see it. He has all the tools to go hard, real hard every match and take the fight out of the guy he is wrestling. Unfortunately, at this point I don't know if the switch can be flipped.
Stated very well. Nelson needs to decide if he wants to wrestle tight and have a very average last year or if he wants to wrestle loose and offensive this year and dare I say have some f%@. I know which one will end better for him, but only he can make that change. It is all upstairs. He has the tools, but he needs to decide if he is going to use them or not.
But there are alleged unnamed paid media haters. As such, it might be wise to engage all media suspects with disinformation, as part of an overall comprehensive counter-intelligence initiative.
I wouldn't be surprised if that's what Gabe was doing.
That, or he might want to make good on beating Carter Starocci to be the man.
Either makes sense to me.
Well.. actually....
Nelson absolutely changed who and what he was after a year in the Iowa room. One of the biggest reasons he jumped in success level (from not qualifying for state as a freshman) was his attack rate.
Nelson was seen as a decently athletic guy who wouldn't stop shooting. Regardless of the person in front of him.
His best losses in high school were to david carr (8-4) and braunagel (13-7) in Freestyle. But he went down shooting. A LOT. And its how he operated in high school. I remember watching him as a sophomore at the Dvorak. See the below match, but this version of Nelson was who we thought we were getting, but then he turned into this handfighter will to stand around and wait for the perfect shot.
160 lbs Round Of 16 - Nelson Brands, Iowa vs Danny Braunagel, Illinois
160 lbs Round Of 16 - Nelson Brands, Iowa vs Danny Braunagel, Illinois
Post #103 in thread Oregon St Predictions/
Post #103, thread Oregon State Predictions/Thoughts
Thought I remember him setting the all-time Iowa state high school record for takedowns JR or SR year?Well.. actually....
Nelson absolutely changed who and what he was after a year in the Iowa room. One of the biggest reasons he jumped in success level (from not qualifying for state as a freshman) was his attack rate.
Nelson was seen as a decently athletic guy who wouldn't stop shooting. Regardless of the person in front of him.
His best losses in high school were to david carr (8-4) and braunagel (13-7) in Freestyle. But he went down shooting. A LOT. And its how he operated in high school. I remember watching him as a sophomore at the Dvorak. See the below match, but this version of Nelson was who we thought we were getting, but then he turned into this handfighter will to stand around and wait for the perfect shot.
160 lbs Round Of 16 - Nelson Brands, Iowa vs Danny Braunagel, Illinois
160 lbs Round Of 16 - Nelson Brands, Iowa vs Danny Braunagel, Illinoiswww.flowrestling.org
https://www.press-citizen.com/story...a-city-west-terry-brands-tom-brands/97919276/
Not sure if it was the record - but as a junior he had 454 takedowns BEFORE the state tournament.
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It's risky trying to win 1 TD matches at NCAA's. Some might even say your taking a gamble in doing so.....
Ok I will see myself out now.
He's been well north of 200 in the past. It's been a few years but I believe Phil Keddy was 5'7 or 5'8. Matt Brown seemed to be about that.
When Gabe was in middle school, we always joked him because he was shorter that EVERYONE he wrestled, not to mention always the youngest becomes he wasn’t held back. He got to HS, same song, different verse. Always the shortest. Always the youngest. But the one thing I appreciate about this kid is his ability to adapt and succeed. Last season there was not a single wrestler he went against that wasn’t taller than him. Probably the closest was Wolak in the Salute finals.
I said all that to remind folks that physical stature is not the most important factor in a match. It’s your mind. Gabe’s walk around is over 190. He’s cool with it. I’m good with it. Could he make 174? Sure he could, but he wouldn’t like it very much. However, if TnT want him down there, that’s where he’ll be. My advise to him is the same advice I’ll give to my cesspool brethren: Trust the process, in the end it always works its way out for the good.
I look at it like this: If your gonna pray; why worry? If your gonna worry; why pray?
I ain’t worried. I’m just praying. 😉
#letsgohawks
I said all that to remind folks that physical stature is not the most important factor in a match. It’s your mind. Gabe’s walk around is over 190. He’s cool with it. I’m good with it. Could he make 174? Sure he could, but he wouldn’t like it very much. However, if TnT want him down there, that’s where he’ll be. My advise to him is the same advice I’ll give to my cesspool brethren: Trust the process, in the end it always works its way out for the good.
I look at it like this: If your gonna pray; why worry? If your gonna worry; why pray?
I ain’t worried. I’m just praying. 😉
#letsgohawks
Always enjoy your input and words of wisdom. What I love most about Gabe is he is a 100% team guy. I don't think he has ever put the letters I and M before the word possible.
I am in the camp of wanting to see Gabe at 174 as I believe it's highest ceiling. However something tells me Gabe doesn't believe in ceilings.
As someone who was right in the middle of two weight classes and knows the pains I ask this question. I understand if you don't want to answer. What are the biggest pitfalls for Gabe getting to 184 and being at full strength and ability versus 174?
Now I’m interested in how they work Gabe and Angelo into line up next year. Do they reverse the beef up plan for Angelo and have him start cutting to 174, or do they do it more scientifically by seeing who would still have the higher body fat percentage at 174, and they cut. Ideally the athletes work it out. Loved Kennedy interview, would like to see him get a shot at 174, at least get some matches and see who looks better as season progresses
I honestly do not see any pitfalls. (gonna take off the dad hat, and put on my coaching hat). The reality is short people are a pain in the arse to wrestle! Don't believe me? Look up Deron Winn. The dude is literally 5'6, and usually wrestled the big guys. In fact, if you dig deep enough you will find battles between him and......my nephew. One of which he thumped J at University Nationals after J's 1st NCAA title. Deron remained a problem throughout his entire wrestling career. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deron_Winn
