Sloe-I'd argue that Hall is more heralded than Metcalf...He already has a Cadet World Title and is working on his Junior this summer. In fact, Hall will probably be one of the most sought after prospects ever because fans have been able to watch his progress on Flo from the time he was in Jr. High on.
I do think talent attracts more talent.These guys want to win both individual and team titles. Having tough national title level opponents in the room everyday helps. A guy like Hall is already gauging his potential teammates...look at the quote in the recently published article when it comes to Iowa. I also think that he knows he would be a rock star at Iowa.
You could argue that, and you may be right (I disagree but it's all good), but it's purely semantics, IMO. There was a ton of media exposure on the Metcalf versus Schlatter debates and who was truly the #1 overall recruit between them. I don't believe the presence of Flo makes one more "heralded" than another. You know who these kids are whether it's video, audio, or in print. And if it was long enough ago you would have seen the smoke signals relative to all of them.
I don't recall Metcalf's entire career or his efforts to be on Freestyle Cadets or Juniors teams, but he did win 6 Fargo Titles I believe (did he wrestle as a Senior? - seems like a lot don't anymore). And he went undefeated in his Michigan Folkstyle career, then split matches with the other "best recruit on the planet" in Dustin Schlatter (whose NCAA Title as a True Freshman while Metcalf sat is all the testament one needs about the legitimacy of these two guys abilities and how "heralded" they were).
I suppose it depends on how much emphasis one puts on Freestyle credentials and subsequent accolades. I personally feel it's a great accomplishment, but it doesn't translate to College Folkstyle success or failure and never has.
I honestly couldn't care less if any Hawkeye recruit ever won Fargo or Cadet or Junior anything as it relates to Freestyle. Iowa has had several Fargo Champs that didn't do much on the College scene at the end of the day. Why? Because it's Freestyle and it doesn't matter when you wrestle Folkstyle.
And guys like Metcalf, Schlatter, Nickerson, etc., they win Freestyle Titles and Greco Titles and Folkstyle Titles because they're better than everyone else. If you invented 4 new ways to wrestle they'd beat you at that too, as would Mark Hall I suspect.
My position is guys like Brent Metcalf and Lincoln Mcllravy and Joe Williams were and are every bit as heralded as Mark Hall. Each one of them was a threat to be a 4 timer before they ever set foot on a college campus (I should say Legitimate 4-Timers, there have been about 1,000 others over the years depending on who you ask).
At the end of the day, we'd have loved for all these guys to be in Black and Gold. Mark Hall is just the latest. There will be others down the road.....................
