I am going to say it: Regime change is needed at Iowa wrestling

[Rustys Dad]

I can't imagine calling for Tom Brands to be replaced after we went undefeated in the Big 10 and were #2 in the country. Yes, we got handled by NC State ... Let's not forget that is a good wrestling team. And as for Iowa ... as in other sports ... it simply wasn't our night ...

I will say this one thing about Brands and a consistent comment he makes ... He is constantly saying how we are leaving points on the mat and need to be more aggressive ... That is a consistent message from Brands ... But one that seems to be said every season ... Are some guys simply not "getting it" or are some guys simply not talented enough to be the type of wrestler Brands thinks they should be? Does that have to do with recruiting the wrong guys in some cases? Is it coaching/development?

 

[artradley]

I can't imagine calling for Tom Brands to be replaced after we went undefeated in the Big 10 and were #2 in the country. Yes, we got handled by NC State ... Let's not forget that is a good wrestling team. And as for Iowa ... as in other sports ... it simply wasn't our night ...

I will say this one thing about Brands and a consistent comment he makes ... He is constantly saying how we are leaving points on the mat and need to be more aggressive ... That is a consistent message from Brands ... But one that seems to be said every season ... Are some guys simply not "getting it" or are some guys simply not talented enough to be the type of wrestler Brands thinks they should be? Does that have to do with recruiting the wrong guys in some cases? Is it coaching/development?

Clark should have majored his guy -- and has gotten decisions instead of majors frequently -- because of poor strategy. If you're that much better than the other guy you simply catch-and-release until you have the major locked-up; and then you go for the turn. The longer you ride a guy in the first half of the match, the more you let him keep hanging around, and the more energy he gains as he sees his chance to keep it to a decision. Guys like that you have to break the spirit early. Then you'll lock up the four points and give yourself a much better chance of turning them late in the match.

That said thing is, Brands was telling him to do it but he doesn't seem to respect Brands enough to follow his instructions.

 

[LutherAce]

No team in college athletics is more synonymous to their respective sport than Iowa is to college wrestling.

UCONN - Women's Basketball
CAL - Rugby

 

[IamHawkeye]

This is not a rash statement. We have seen Iowa do this now for half a dozen years. We know what March will bring. I hope I have to eat crow, but I am just going by facts on the ground. I love Brands as a wrestler and human being, but I would throw a "too good to say no" offer at Cael. I know I will get roasted for that. I'm just sick of the yearly March Meltdown.

There is a disease called UCLA basketball syndrome. Or in wrestling it's Dan Gable syndrome.

 

[Hicksy87]

I'm of the opinion that the grass isn't greener on the other side. Nebraska football has fired and hired more coaches than they can count since Tom Osbourne left and their program is worse off than ever. The fact is that Dan Gable isn't walking through that door anymore, and no one that we hire is going to get close to replicating the success that we had with him. I do think Tom and Terry are very good coaches, and I really can't think of anyone off the top of my head that would do a better job than they are doing. We are still relevant in college wrestling, and pretty much every team outside of PSU would love to be the University of Iowa right now. I understand the frustration, but I don't think a regime change is going to fix the problems.

I agree with you 1stplacehawk. I think that the Brands brothers are top notch coaches. But I have said before that they lack in the psychological motivation side of coaching. Of course IMO there are very few coaches period who compare to Gable when it comes to the mental side of coaching. Gable was a master motivator. I don't believe that Sanderson is even close to the motivator Gable was. Gable had a short period with poor results took a step back and reevaluated the program and made the necessary changes to get the Hawks back on top. We can only hope that the Brands brothers can do a similar reevaluation and get back to the top rung.

 

[SPOONER]

This was a very good post, and as a Hawk fan I agree with many of your points. I'm starting to wonder if having both Brands is a drain on the program. I don't think it is a drain due to too much intensity from the Brands, but how about financially. Let's face it, Terry is paid more than most head coaches and I think he is obviously qualified and deserves to be paid that much, but he should probably be a head coach somewhere. His salary could be divided 3 ways and would still make a good paycheck for 3 young assistants that are spread across multiple weights. Or even splitting it two ways could bring in 2 highly qualified assistants. Someone like Jay Bo would help out the 165-184 mess that M* is leaving.

I guess someone would have to convince me what Terry brings to the program that Tom couldn't bring on his own.

You probably shouldn't post such definitive statements if you don't even understand that the number of assistant coaches is limited.

Terry has the reputation as a better technician and teacher than Tom. Despite looking alike, these are actually different people.

By the way, though I was not happy with last night that performance hasn't been the norm for this team. And do not forget this team finished 2nd in the NCAAs and won the Big 10s just last year. As brutal of a performance as last night was, and not to say things are all rosy, there's quite an overreaction on here.

 

[Big Fall]

Wow.....

So a dual where 9 of 10 matches went according to script is the back breaker and now we need to fire coaches?? Give me a break guys. Step back and take a deep breath. If Brooks wins, it's a 20-18 final even with Stoll givign up 6. Hardly a cause for burning the place down.

As far as Terry is concerned, he is widely considered by his peers, both in the US and internationally as one of the best lightweight coaches in the WORLD. Our lightweight success is unparalleled by any program in the country since he arrived. I think his value is apparent if you're paying attention.

Also, people can rip on M* all they want but the fact is, he's largely repsonsible for some of the recruiting successes we are having and that was his primary responsibility when he was brought on board. Expecting him to turn middle tier guys into national champions is a bit unreasonable. But I guess that's the theme of this board right now. I also love people still bringing up Jay Borschel as if he's some type of savior. What did he do while at NU exactly? How many AA's or NC's did they at the middle weights while under his watch? And that's not meant to blast on JayBo but he's proven nothing more than M* and when it comes to recruiting, M* has a resume JayBo can't sniff. And at this point in the game, from what I'm seeing, college wrestling is 80% about recruiting and 20% about culture, fit and development of skills already possessed by the athelte. They're all coming in better coached than at any time in history because of the number of successful wrestlers that have gotten into kids/HS coaching. You can be 8 years old and get coached by former college national champs and AA's. So by the time guys are 18, while not a finished product, the general style and approach is already in tact. The college coach is responsible for taking what the kid has and souping it up, not overhauling it. So if you get the best of the best, then you win and that's what PSU is doing. Iowa is a notch below in getting the best of the best. But they're not far off. If recruiting continues to improve and takes off, so will the program. It's about talent, plain and simple.

 

[brucefan]

This was a very good post, and as a Hawk fan I agree with many of your points. I'm starting to wonder if having both Brands is a drain on the program. I don't think it is a drain due to too much intensity from the Brands, but how about financially. Let's face it, Terry is paid more than most head coaches and I think he is obviously qualified and deserves to be paid that much, but he should probably be a head coach somewhere. His salary could be divided 3 ways and would still make a good paycheck for 3 young assistants that are spread across multiple weights. Or even splitting it two ways could bring in 2 highly qualified assistants. Someone like Jay Bo would help out the 165-184 mess that M* is leaving.

I guess someone would have to convince me what Terry brings to the program that Tom couldn't bring on his own.

I'm pretty sure there is a limit to how many assistant coaches you are allowed to have on staff. Of course, you can try to get around that by hiring 72 "administrative assistants" like Minnesota, but you still face the restrictions on how much time they can spend in the room actually coaching.

 

[B_U_C_K_Y]

UCONN - Women's Basketball
CAL - Rugby

I had no idea Cal was good at Rugby and I watch sports everyday. UCONN yes, but not to the extent of Iowa and college wrestling, not even close.

 

[Sandor45]

Tom and Terry Brands are elite college AND world level wrestling coaches. We essentially have two elite coaches who could head a major program on there own somewhere else.
TnT are world caliber coaches, but they're ok recruiters. Need to get kids in the room who will buy all-in to the program with the raw skill and motor than can be tuned in by the Brands.

 

[dtripp26]

This is a fair point, but it's not the biggest point. It's the fact that guys like Brooks, Sorenson, Clark, etc NEVER seem to either peak at the right time of year or develop beyond their first year in the lineup.

Man, you just blew your whole argument out of the water with this post.

Brooks has never done anything. I've said it repeatedly, he's just average. He's Meyer with a little more panache against lower ranked wrestlers. He's an example of an average wrestler who we're hoping that Brands can mold into something while PSU and OSU are landing more top 10 guys.

Using Sorensen and Clark as an example of guys who don't peak at the right time is just flat out stupid.

 

[Menace Sockeyes]

I started this thread to generate the discussion. I am not sure there is a better option out there than Brands, so I'm not necessarily in favor of massive overhaul until the timing is right. It would be one thing if we were able to turn tournament talent into AAs, and AAs into champions, but I don't see us doing that. How many times are we left scratching our heads while Seniors disappoint? How many guys with raw talent become overly conservative and offensively inept? How many times do we look great in early season duals and then burnout in the post-season? I wholeheartedly agree that the psychological/motivational aspect of coaching is to blame.

 

[Menace Sockeyes]

Using Sorensen and Clark as an example of guys who don't peak at the right time is just flat out stupid.

Do you really see Sorenson and Clark doing better this year than they did last? Really? What are you seeing at this point in the year that I am not?

 

[Greco Gilligan]

Are the kids having fun and enjoying wrestling? Looking from the outside-in it seems a lot of the wrestlers are spent after the first two years wrestling for Iowa. I know kids have a different mindset than just 10 years ago. It takes different motivation to keep them going.

 

[LutherAce]

I had no idea Cal was good at Rugby and I watch sports everyday. UCONN yes, but not to the extent of Iowa and college wrestling, not even close.

Cal won 25 national championships from 1980-2012 in Rugby.

 

[Mattski]

This is not a rash statement. We have seen Iowa do this now for half a dozen years. We know what March will bring. I hope I have to eat crow, but I am just going by facts on the ground. I love Brands as a wrestler and human being, but I would throw a "too good to say no" offer at Cael. I know I will get roasted for that. I'm just sick of the yearly March Meltdown.

Cael to Iowa huh? Unreal. Let's just get Saban for football and coach K for bball while were at it. Not happening.
TnT are the best available coaches for our program and making a change would only put us further behind.
I've said for a few years now we need to adapt in the way we recruit and the way we strength train and I think we actually are. But it won't happen overnight. We're feeling a little pain right now bc we have a couple gaping holes but I have hope going forward we're on the right track.

 

[Sandor45]

I started this thread to generate the discussion. I am not sure there is a better option out there than Brands, so I'm not necessarily in favor of massive overhaul until the timing is right. It would be one thing if we were able to turn tournament talent into AAs, and AAs into champions, but I don't see us doing that. How many times are we left scratching our heads while Seniors disappoint? How many guys with raw talent become overly conservative and offensively inept? How many times do we look great in early season duals and then burnout in the post-season? I wholeheartedly agree that the psychological/motivational aspect of coaching is to blame.

F it. Since we're on this topic, I'm just gonna say it.
The big recruiting class of '10 was a bust. They were the number one ranked recruiting class that year, and they failed to live up to the hype. I think that hangover from that class is what you're referring to. This current class is actually over-performing compared to the '10 class. And the class before the '10 won National Titles.
One bad recruiting class can set you back a ways.

 

[Menace Sockeyes]

Cael to Iowa huh? Unreal. Let's just get Saban for football and coach K for bball while were at it. Not happening.
TnT are the best available coaches for our program and making a change would only put us further behind.
I've said for a few years now we need to adapt in the way we recruit and the way we strength train and I think we actually are. But it won't happen overnight. We're feeling a little pain right now bc we have a couple gaping holes but I have hope going forward we're on the right track.

You're not seriously comparing Iowa wrestling to Iowa football or basketball, are you? Iowa City should be THE destination for college wrestling coaches.

 

[hawks150]

Cal won 25 national championships from 1980-2012 in Rugby.

Kudos to Cal and their rugby team, but I don't believe you should compare a club sport to an NCAA sanctioned sport! Maybe this is just my opinion, but that seems to me like apples & oranges.

 

[Big Fall]

Man, you just blew your whole argument out of the water with this post.

Brooks has never done anything. I've said it repeatedly, he's just average. He's Meyer with a little more panache against lower ranked wrestlers. He's an example of an average wrestler who we're hoping that Brands can mold into something while PSU and OSU are landing more top 10 guys.

Using Sorensen and Clark as an example of guys who don't peak at the right time is just flat out stupid.

I'd have to go back and look but I think Brooks was one of (if not the) top rated guy at his weight coming out of HS. He was a top rated recruit. He just hasn't panned out. It happens everywhere, not just Iowa. PSU has highly rated guys that don't pan out too but they hide them by getting the elite of the elite. If we had Nolf or Nickal in the lineup, Brooks not panning out would be masked. Just like Gulibon not really living up to his HS ranking is being masked. We need more elite of the elite guys. I think Marinelli is that. As is Spencer Lee(landing him would be huge). Mejia is on that trajectory. We have to get more studs but we do also need the next level of guys to produce at a higher level like a Sorenson or Clark has. Brooks and Dziewa are examples of guys that weren't elite but were at the next level and haven't panned out like we all hoped. It's a little bit of a crapshoot and you have to hit on projections.

Edit: just looked and Brooks was the #20 overall recruit by Intermat.

 

[CaliHawkFan]

Wow.....

So a dual where 9 of 10 matches went according to script is the back breaker and now we need to fire coaches?? Give me a break guys. Step back and take a deep breath. If Brooks wins, it's a 20-18 final even with Stoll givign up 6. Hardly a cause for burning the place down.

As far as Terry is concerned, he is widely considered by his peers, both in the US and internationally as one of the best lightweight coaches in the WORLD. Our lightweight success is unparalleled by any program in the country since he arrived. I think his value is apparent if you're paying attention.

Also, people can rip on M* all they want but the fact is, he's largely repsonsible for some of the recruiting successes we are having and that was his primary responsibility when he was brought on board. Expecting him to turn middle tier guys into national champions is a bit unreasonable. But I guess that's the theme of this board right now. I also love people still bringing up Jay Borschel as if he's some type of savior. What did he do while at NU exactly? How many AA's or NC's did they at the middle weights while under his watch? And that's not meant to blast on JayBo but he's proven nothing more than M* and when it comes to recruiting, M* has a resume JayBo can't sniff. And at this point in the game, from what I'm seeing, college wrestling is 80% about recruiting and 20% about culture, fit and development of skills already possessed by the athelte. They're all coming in better coached than at any time in history because of the number of successful wrestlers that have gotten into kids/HS coaching. You can be 8 years old and get coached by former college national champs and AA's. So by the time guys are 18, while not a finished product, the general style and approach is already in tact. The college coach is responsible for taking what the kid has and souping it up, not overhauling it. So if you get the best of the best, then you win and that's what PSU is doing. Iowa is a notch below in getting the best of the best. But they're not far off. If recruiting continues to improve and takes off, so will the program. It's about talent, plain and simple.

No... its not that 9 out of 10 went according to plan. It's how we looked... it's the fans looking at their studs who are racking up more bonus points... it's looking at our guys wondering why we aren't being aggressive like our opponent. I dont care about the score card saying the match went about as we expected on paper. I expect better from our top 5 guys. We have guys trending down.

 

[Sandor45]

I'd have to go back and look but I think Brooks was one of (if not the) top rated guy at his weight coming out of HS. He was a top rated recruit. He just hasn't panned out. It happens everywhere, not just Iowa. PSU has highly rated guys that don't pan out too but they hide them by getting the elite of the elite. If we had Nolf or Nickal in the lineup, Brooks not panning out would be masked. Just like Gulibon not really living up to his HS ranking is being masked. We need more elite of the elite guys. I think Marinelli is that. As is Spencer Lee(landing him would be huge). Mejia is on that trajectory. We have to get more studs but we do also need the next level of guys to produce at a higher level like a Sorenson or Clark has. Brooks and Dziewa are examples of guys that weren't elite but were at the next level and haven't panned out like we all hoped. It's a little bit of a crapshoot and you have to hit on projections.

Brooks was like the #2 or #3 guy at his weight coming out of H.S.
It's a bit unfair to say he hasn't panned out. Actually, really unfair.
He's one of our few bonus point getters. He was hurt last year right before the NCAAs were he went up against Dean and gave him all he could handle.
This year, he beat Zillmer at Midlands. He also teched Chandler Rogers to give us the win at the Grapple on the Gridiron. Now, he's hurt again and people will call him a bust once he fails to AA at NCAAs due to his injuries.
He's a fighter and a beast when he's healthy. Last night, he wasn't either one.

 

[theIowaHawk]

Wow.....

So a dual where 9 of 10 matches went according to script is the back breaker and now we need to fire coaches?? Give me a break guys. Step back and take a deep breath. If Brooks wins, it's a 20-18 final even with Stoll givign up 6. Hardly a cause for burning the place down.

.

This, and it should have been obvious. Good god, f*** some of you. You can dislike Iowa's coaches, you can secretly (or not so secretly in this thread) pine for Cael who ran to the most fertile ground for recruiting in the nation in order to even beat Iowa one time, there is nothing wrong with expressing those opinions.

Trying to use last night, or even the last several years, as "proof" that you are right is f****** absurd.

How did Penn State do last year? Even with that incredible of a coach?

 

[theIowaHawk]

No... its not that 9 out of 10 went according to plan. It's how we looked... it's the fans looking at their studs who are racking up more bonus points... it's looking at our guys wondering why we aren't being aggressive like our opponent. I dont care about the score card saying the match went about as we expected on paper. I expect better from our top 5 guys. We have guys trending down.

Which ones? Be specific, give your thoughts weight by weight.

 

[CaliHawkFan]

This, and it should have been obvious. Good god, f*** some of you. You can dislike Iowa's coaches, you can secretly (or not so secretly in this thread) pine for Cael who ran to the most fertile ground for recruiting in the nation in order to even beat Iowa one time, there is nothing wrong with expressing those opinions.

Trying to use last night, or even the last several years, as "proof" that you are right is f****** absurd.

How did Penn State do last year? Even with that incredible of a coach?

Penn State had a down year after losing two national champions and one other AA. This after coming off 4 consecutive national championships... one year later, Penn State is back and poised to start another streak. They will win this year and be better next year.

 

[theIowaHawk]

Penn State had a down year after losing two national champions and one other AA. This after coming off 4 consecutive national championships... one year later, Penn State is back and poised to start another streak. They will win this year and be better next year.

Ahhhh, I see. So PSU has a down year and they will be back this year and every year thereafter. Iowa, on the other hand places in the, what, top 3 in each of those years, higher than PSU finished last year.

That seems to be your problem, that PSU is the program to credit ahead of time and Iowa no longer is.

Let me ask you this, where does Iowa finish in each of those next years? 2nd?

If so, your solution appears to be to replace Brands with their coach. I'm sure you would hope he would bring in those same recruits (which he didn't at ISU), 20 of which are from Pennsylvania itself right now, 4 more from that direct area.

So, are you really believing that Cael does just as well anywhere but PSU? Now, clearly Iowa is the "better destination" than ISU, is that your basis? That Iowa will trump geography?

 

[CaliHawkFan]

Ahhhh, I see. So PSU has a down year and they will be back this year and every year thereafter. Iowa, on the other hand places in the, what, top 3 in each of those years, higher than PSU finished last year.

That seems to be your problem, that PSU is the program to credit ahead of time and Iowa no longer is.

Let me ask you this, where does Iowa finish in each of those next years? 2nd?

If so, your solution appears to be to replace Brands with their coach. I'm sure you would hope he would bring in those same recruits (which he didn't at ISU), 20 of which are from Pennsylvania itself right now, 4 more from that direct area.

So, are you really believing that Cael does just as well anywhere but PSU? Now, clearly Iowa is the "better destination" than ISU, is that your basis? That Iowa will trump geography?

Where in any post did I say I want Brands to be replaced by Cael? Please quote my lines where I said Brands needs to be replaced. This is not about Penn State and Cael Sanderson vs. Tom Brands and Iowa. We are producing top 4 finishes, that is great... if you are anyone but Iowa. Four years is too long between championships and my point about next year is I dont see it changing. Penn State will be very good. Ohio State is going to be very good.

Iowa has finished 3rd, 3rd, 4th, 4th and 2nd (which in my opinion was our year... we had multiple guys flame out in the tournament) since our last National Championship. That is the bottom line.

I mean it's not like I'm saying anything outlandish... look at the line-ups coming back for both squads. It's really not hard to see Penn State going back-to-back.

And for the record, I'm a huge Tom Brands supporter.

 

[theIowaHawk]

Gilman dominated his guy. Clark dominated his and should have had the major, instead of releasing he thought he could turn him for more, he didn't.

141 has been an issue for years, and Brody hasn't solved that at this point. Jack is ranked and very good.

Sorenson was more active than usual and got bonus, couldn't turn him, largely because of stalling.

Cooper wrestled a great match against a better opponent, the score just didn't reflect it.

165 is 165 right now.

Meyer should have gotten more, but we've seen this from Meyer. Burak the same.

Brooks is likely what sent everybody over the edge. Flip the script on this one and nobody is happier than Sammy and the coaches.

The only issue with Stoll is that he got injured and maybe whether he should have went back out. Gwiz is a stud that nobody realistically predicted a different result. Stoll has been very good this year.

So which of these is being complained about? In calling for the PSU it can't be about empty weights, because he has always had, and still has, empty weights. So is it just about Sammy? My guess is yes, flip that match (as posited by a different poster above) and the result, including this thread is completely different.

 

[theIowaHawk]

I mean it's not like I'm saying anything outlandish... look at the line-ups coming back for both squads. It's really not hard to see Penn State going back-to-back.

Because you've sold yourself on their recruits as opposed to Iowas. You are theorizing about wrestlers with high school rankings.

 

[theIowaHawk]

BTW, Gable went 4 years between championships at one point as well.

 

[OSUMatFan]

We at Oklahoma State are also frustrated, but not calling for John Smith's head. I think Cael has a massive advantage being in Pennsylvania that seems to have the best recruiting territory. Ohio is also very fertile, but that is even close to Pennsylvania. That worked out ok for Iowa and Oklahoma State for years, but when Cael went to PSU we both started losing those blue chip recruiting wars. I think both of our programs have geography problems.

 

[HoundedHawk]

We definitely have to wait to see what Brands does with this good class coming in. If they under perform then it will be time for a change. We'll be at ten years with no title.

He already wasted the class with Evans. That is a fact. Evans finishing 6,6,6 is haunting.

 

[theIowaHawk]

Also, Penn State, even with 4 tournament titles, finished the dual season undefeated for the first time in like 50 years. One loss =/= regime change and vitriol.

 

[CaliHawkFan]

Because you've sold yourself on their recruits as opposed to Iowas. You are theorizing about wrestlers with high school rankings.

Dude...

I'm not the one posting about firing Brands and replacing him with Cael. I love Iowa wrestling... I have a family member who was a 3X AA at Iowa. Dont be so defensive... I can have the opinion that we didn't wrestle well last night. I want to see Brody be competitive. I want to see Brooks use his motor. Alex Meyer needs to show-up. Clark at worst should've majored his kid.

For the record, we all theorize about High School wrestlers, that's what fans do and that's what wrestling websites do. Dont be all high and mighty about projecting high school wrestlers.

The wrestling season is about peaking in March at Nationals. We haven't peaked in March since 2010. Would you disagree?

 

[theIowaHawk]

Dude...

I'm not the one posting about firing Brands and replacing him with Cael. I love Iowa wrestling... I have a family member who was a 3X AA at Iowa. Dont be so defensive... I can have the opinion that we didn't wrestle well last night. I want to see Brody be competitive. I want to see Brooks use his motor. Alex Meyer needs to show-up. Clark at worst should've majored his kid.

For the record, we all theorize about High School wrestlers, that's what fans do and that's what wrestling websites do. Dont be all high and mighty about projecting high school wrestlers.

The wrestling season is about peaking in March at Nationals. We haven't peaked in March since 2010. Would you disagree?

You responded to defend my post against a different poster, you were defending the PSU/Cael posts. If you didn't want to be in that camp, I'm not sure why you posted it.

 

[artradley]

Wow.....

So a dual where 9 of 10 matches went according to script is the back breaker and now we need to fire coaches?? Give me a break guys. Step back and take a deep breath. If Brooks wins, it's a 20-18 final even with Stoll givign up 6. Hardly a cause for burning the place down.

As far as Terry is concerned, he is widely considered by his peers, both in the US and internationally as one of the best lightweight coaches in the WORLD. Our lightweight success is unparalleled by any program in the country since he arrived. I think his value is apparent if you're paying attention.

Also, people can rip on M* all they want but the fact is, he's largely repsonsible for some of the recruiting successes we are having and that was his primary responsibility when he was brought on board. Expecting him to turn middle tier guys into national champions is a bit unreasonable. But I guess that's the theme of this board right now. I also love people still bringing up Jay Borschel as if he's some type of savior. What did he do while at NU exactly? How many AA's or NC's did they at the middle weights while under his watch? And that's not meant to blast on JayBo but he's proven nothing more than M* and when it comes to recruiting, M* has a resume JayBo can't sniff. And at this point in the game, from what I'm seeing, college wrestling is 80% about recruiting and 20% about culture, fit and development of skills already possessed by the athelte. They're all coming in better coached than at any time in history because of the number of successful wrestlers that have gotten into kids/HS coaching. You can be 8 years old and get coached by former college national champs and AA's. So by the time guys are 18, while not a finished product, the general style and approach is already in tact. The college coach is responsible for taking what the kid has and souping it up, not overhauling it. So if you get the best of the best, then you win and that's what PSU is doing. Iowa is a notch below in getting the best of the best. But they're not far off. If recruiting continues to improve and takes off, so will the program. It's about talent, plain and simple.

If nine out of 10 matches went according to script then somebody must have given me the wrong script. In my script Clark and Meyer score major decisions against their weak opponentsh. In my script Brody puts up a tough match and perhaps gets majored but looks like a potential All-American. In my script Cooper doesn't just battle hard but keeps the store close. And yes in my script brooks gets the win.

Looking back at the predictions, I don't see any that resembled this meet in any way.

 

[theIowaHawk]

In my script Cooper doesn't just battle hard but keeps the store close.

What is your complaint about Cooper's match? Was it just the last scores? I thought he wrestled one of his better matches, against a guy that killed him the last time. He was right in it until the end. It was a weird match at the end of the 2nd.

 

[artradley]

Also, Penn State, even with 4 tournament titles, finished the dual season undefeated for the first time in like 50 years. One loss =/= regime change and vitriol.

Nobody. NO--BOD--DEE. Is complaining because of one dual meet. It's just stupid to say that.

 

[theIowaHawk]

Nobody. NO--BOD--DEE. Is complaining because of one dual meet. It's just stupid to say that.

If this is true, where were the complaints two weeks ago?

 

[LutherAce]

Kudos to Cal and their rugby team, but I don't believe you should compare a club sport to an NCAA sanctioned sport! Maybe this is just my opinion, but that seems to me like apples & oranges.

Rugby is a Varsity Sport at Cal and adheres to NCAA regulations regarding eligibility and academics and is treated just like the basketball or football team. I will concede that Rugby is not Sanctioned by the NCAA and thus, loses it's "status" at the collegiate level, however, Cal supports and funds Rugby like any other varsity sport.