I'm just playing the devil's advocate obviously guys. 
I'm excited to see where his future takes him.
I'm excited to see where his future takes him.
Nelson Brands to Iowa
- Thread starter Azchief32
- Start date
Totally agree...the close wins at the state tourney do not cause me ANY concern whatsoever...over the long term. I have no idea which HS wrestler(s) will pan out at the D1 level...but I would MUCH RATHER see a HS wrestler wrestling aggressively at this stage of their career v. playing it safe, etc.
Other than Brands getting caught by some very good fellow wrestlers...while he was clearly dominating them from the neutral position...his trajectory is very, very good, bloodlines are excellent and his attitude and work ethic are very, very good. Sounds like a good recruit to me!
I'm just playing the devil's advocate obviously guys.
I'm excited to see where his future takes him.
I get it. There were three guys at the State tourney that popped out and one of them was Nelson. I admit a bias to Iowa but man is he fun to watch. The others were Happel and Teske. For the most part, you can't teach aggression. It's one thing to dominate a lesser kid but what happens when you are up by one with 50 seconds left and your choice is either to ride him out or take a risk and cut him? A lot of kids would try to ride because they are tired and counting on the other guy to be as well. It has happened to our guys a lot this year. Brands didn't even really hesitate. Not many guys are going to outlast him or out physical him. He gets beat, it will be because of sloppiness. I think a year in the room and he will be just fine. Still, has real tough guys he needs to beat to get there.
Cael does not wrestle like Carter. Carter is methodical while Cael is hyper aggressive much like Brands. Teske has both technique and aggression.
Teasdale (still praying/begging for solid solid commitment) - multiple national champ in my humble opinion
Brands - hammer with huge up side
Sasso - yes please!
Looks to be a fine class. Probably need an 84er and we're set?!
Also Chief congrats to beating me to the punch on the thread
Need some more depth at Hwt imho. Right now we've got little behind Stoll. Costello (#13 hwt FLO, not listed in top 100 p4p) is a nice recruit, but not sure he's the guy, if Stoll can't get a full recovery. Steveson would sure be a nice addition.
I'll throw Schriever in w your 3 chief. Cullen is at full feed and still doesn't weigh 106. I think he wrestled 88 at Fargo this past summer. It will being interesting to see how he gains weight over the next few years.
A
anon_0pi0cv8t1ggvb
Guest
He has Olympic gold medal pedigree. He started wrestling later than most. He's shown really big improvement in two years. He clearly has fantastic work ethic, confidence, and drive. Many kids go from great but not top of the rankings high school wrestlers, to absolute studs in college, and vice versa - kids go from top of the national high school rankings to nothing in college. Anyone who isn't excited about having Nelson at Iowa is not a Hawkeye fan period, and is also probably a pretty pessimistic person in general. Even if he doesn't turn out to be the best wrestler in Iowa history or live up to his father/uncle, it's still going to be great to have him in the room. I'd take a chance on Terry Brands' son any day.
Last edited by a moderator:
I imagine the news that Dresser was coming to Iowa had the staff apply some extra pressure to commit early. Didn't want to lose him to ISU.
Another great recruiting job by M* - go Hawks.
Need some more depth at Hwt imho. Right now we've got little behind Stoll. Costello (#13 hwt FLO, not listed in top 100 p4p) is a nice recruit, but not sure he's the guy, if Stoll can't get a full recovery. Steveson would sure be a nice addition.
Probably a better chance of getting Snyder to transfer here for his senior season.
Good get. Good prospect. When I watch him, I think to myself that he looks sloppy at times with footwork and hip positioning. I imagine he's used to outworking and out-horsing his competition. If he tightens up his technique, I think he has AA potential.
I really like the fact Terry waited to get him into wrestling. He probably could of been a 4 timer if he started earlier but the trade off is a guy who isn't going to get burned out and will continue to improve right through college. Good example for all those dads out there that want to start Jr. at 4-5 years old and/or hold them back at some point.
Amen! His motor is incredible. He just doesn't stop. I think the sky is the limit for Nelson. I really do. Welcome aboard!
Off topic: IAWrestle does an absolutely amazing job covering the sport of wrestling. Coverage of the state tournament was amazing.
Nelson looks Raw to me I have only have seen a couple of his last matches looks like very big upside even without his pedigree I will go out on a limb and say I believe Nelson will have a much better college carreer than Smith at OSU and Ryan at tOSU in comparison
Thank you! I always think it's going to be a grind, but I tend to forget just how satisfying it is once we get there and let the young men tell their stories. We truly appreciate the kind words.
Nelson's improvement in the past two years alone have been incredible and I see that continuing right through his collegiate years. Needs to spend the next year fine tuning his technique especially his mat wrestling from the top position. Also cannot believe how much Nelson has physically developed in the past year.....kid is absolutely ripped. Sky is the limit for him. Great get for the HAWKS!!!
I have not seen this kid wrestle and may not be a good judge, but it seems like he has all the intangibles. As several have mentioned, wrestling is so individual it seems like it has become more difficult to keep that edge all the way through college when you have started at 4-5. Just being around championship level program for 16 years has exposed the kid to the focus and attention to detail and he has made the decision it is for him. It appears that there will be some pretty strong competition at a couple of those weights to be the starter, but kudos to Nelson for accepting that challenge.
I hope that Hawk fans let the kid develop on his own and classify him a disappointment if he does not AA a couple of times or become champ like his father and uncle. Smith at OSU is a perfect example of the expectations tied to a name. It is probably a good thing that Gable had four daughters!
I hope that Hawk fans let the kid develop on his own and classify him a disappointment if he does not AA a couple of times or become champ like his father and uncle. Smith at OSU is a perfect example of the expectations tied to a name. It is probably a good thing that Gable had four daughters!
Speaking of mat wrestling, I noticed he had regular opportunities for back points on many of his TDs. He didn't seem interested and instead immediately let his opponent go. Maybe his strategy was to wear them out.
Most impressive thing about him is that the scope of the match doesn't seem to change his aggression. Seen many times a guy that has a full go motor in a dual or lesser tournament, then on the big stage can't pull the trigger. Other than the third period against Yant (after Yant discovered that slide by), Nelson doesn't change his approach.
Nelson is going to continue to break people in college with his motor. There is both a hard work and genetic aspect, and he has both
The Brands brothers were known to be creepy strong. This type of thing a lot of times can run in the family.
There is a type of strength that almost no amount of weight lifting can give a person. When people gifted with this type of strength work hard and build upon it along with use it wisely in matches they are very very to wrestle.
There is a type of strength that almost no amount of weight lifting can give a person. When people gifted with this type of strength work hard and build upon it along with use it wisely in matches they are very very to wrestle.
Last edited:
I'm often the first guy to call out a dip$hit but I actually think this is somewhat reasonable and fair. No doubt, the name is huge here. However, I think even if his name was Nelson MNHAWK we would still be quite pleased to land a future 3 time state champ, with national accolades along with his style and upside. Not to this level of course, but still pretty pleased.
With the close wins at state, I think he should be ranked higher than Spencer Lee.
Teasdale (still praying/begging for solid solid commitment) - multiple national champ in my humble opinion
Brands - hammer with huge up side
Sasso - yes please!
Looks to be a fine class. Probably need an 84er and we're set?!
Also Chief congrats to beating me to the punch on the thread
Hold on. Since when is Teasdale not a solid commit?
I've been told that Iowa does NOT offer tuition/fees benefits for dependents -- NO special deals for the Ferentz or McCaffery boys!
That's too bad -- I'd like to see Mitch Kelly's son, Joe, on Iowa's wrestling team -- 2nd place as a junior & 3rd place as a senior at West Liberty High School!
Mitch wrestled for Iowa back in the late 1980's & is now a professor at Iowa -- His daughter plays volleyball for Iowa & his nephew (Nicholas Baer) plays that other winter sport for Iowa!
Joe will be a senior next season at West Liberty. West Liberty looks to return the most points in 2A next season
https://iawrestle.com/2017/02/21/2017-18-class-2a-top-returning-teams-state-tournament-points/
Love when future teammates get along
man i really like that lee kid, oh and yeah glad we got nelson.the sun will shine again on our wrestling team.
Just a paranoid Hawk fan here Spooner. Nothing more, nothing less. Truly feel he's the final piece to multiple title run
When I think of Nelson:
- Great parents
- Solid pedigree
- Relatively young in terms of experience compared to other national recruits
- Relentless motor that made Iowa great
- Incredibly raw talent that needs college coaching
- Led the state of Iowa in take-downs by more than 200 (500 to 300 something)
- Would be very surprised if he isn't an AA
- Great parents
- Solid pedigree
- Relatively young in terms of experience compared to other national recruits
- Relentless motor that made Iowa great
- Incredibly raw talent that needs college coaching
- Led the state of Iowa in take-downs by more than 200 (500 to 300 something)
- Would be very surprised if he isn't an AA
