I’m pretty much done posting here but since nobody else has chimed in and fans are understandably curious, I’ll share what we saw while we were in the room.
Spencer and Dennis were working together and wrestling at a pretty decent pace. Spencer was moving well and looking good. All of the guys were getting after it. Jaydin was doing some especially intense conditioning work — and this was actually his second work-out of the day. All of our guys looked in great shape. Noticed that Max, in particular, was especially ripped.
Several guys were lifting most of the time we were there, including Kem. Tony and Nelson had to work the football game for school but the rest of the starters were there. Fans therefore didn’t get to see “Hercules Cassioppi” in the flesh this time. Abe looked healthy and strong. Don’t have any more specific details about match-ups as there were lots of distractions and conversations going on.
As for others in attendance, Jeremiah Moody was there and in his usual good spirits, just mingling and cracking jokes. Cash Wilcke, Paul Glynn, and Sam Stoll were there and having a good time. Larry Lee was mingling and all smiles. Absolutely awesome dude and a tremendous resource for the program and other parents. There were some significant donors in attendance as well — lots of momentum on that front these days.
Our coaching staff is phenomenal, needless to say. All smiles and taking time to greet almost everyone and make everyone feel welcome. Just incredibly high-quality people. Hawk fans are proud of them, of course, but it’s worth emphasizing how amazing those guys are. Great leaders, mentors, husbands, fathers, and friends. Loyal, caring, and exceedingly ethical. I heard an interesting quote: There’s decency and honesty, and then there’s recruiting. At many schools, those are very different things. At Iowa, they’re one and the same.” We can be very proud of the integrity of our coaching staff. It’s unfortunate that some other staffs lack that integrity and are perfectly willing to lie to recruits and their parents to gain a commitment. Recruits and their parents should keep this in mind and always seek to verify as much as possible. They should also be wary of coaches who stoop to criticizing other programs to make their own look better.
Overall a good crowd especially considering the short notice. The bleachers were basically full, with recruits and others. There were a good number of other folks standing. There was apparently one woman in a PSU shirt but otherwise no clearly identifiable PSU fans.
Overall a very upbeat practice with lots of laughs and smiles among the coaches, fans, alumni, and parents. And the Hawks looked hungry and ready to rock and roll!
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