Penn Grades

[Redm18]

125 b - match was more lopsided then score shows Drake faded a bit late

133 b Rhodes looked presentable to me

141 b woods looked flat to me and Penn closed the gap a lot

149 B VV3 is boring

157 b does not pass the finalist eye test

165 a thankful for some action

174 d - ouch this Kennedy should be sitting out with Arnold taking the spot.

184 nr riggins over matched

197 a I'm starting to like this guy winning when your supposed to is key especially when the meet is on the line

285 a hill looks better when he's not giving up 40 pounds.

 

[TNTwrestle]

D-. That's pretty much it. A couple bright spots, but pretty pitiful. I want to elaborate, but won't right now. I really didn't expect to see Kennedy before SS, but we don't have a 184 with Riggins at 174.

 

[fourbyfour69]

Real needs to be more effective in all 3 periods. Right now Mendes from tOSU is looking as a huge challenge for getting to finals.

 

[MVPFAN]

The is the most pedestrian Iowa team I can remember. Bad recruiting and boring technique have combined to create the uninspiring display we have seen on the mat this year. Yes we have the suspensions but the problems with this team run way deeper than that. Short on talent, short on technique, short on scoring and even short on effort and intensity.

125- Not looking like an AA so far. Should be wiping the mat with the Penn freshman. Drake without action and attacks is very average. Having limited mat skills and rather poor TD defense if they get to his leg doesn't help. B-

133- Rhodes is scrappy but undersized and lacking horsepower to finish which is a common problem with Iowa wrestling. I doubt Teske does any better in the match. I would like to see if a healthy Schriever has anything to offer. B

141- Penn guy blocked off the whole match. Woods is not especially dynamic from neutral. B

149- Watching VV is truly awful and I have zero expectation of meaningful improvement. D

157- Watching Franek isn't much better than VV. Very limited offense. Would struggle to AA with how he looks now. C

165- Kudos to Caliendo for having some energy and effort. A

174- PK is clearly completely out of shape. He gassed himself trying to finish the leg in the air TD. I can't really grade him is that condition. Going with the incomplete.

184- He has obviously struggled, caught hanging out under his opponent like he always does and got whipped over. D

197- I'll give an A mainly because he has come through and wrestling pretty well. Cosgrove was a fairly high end recruit.

285- Solid B for Hill beating a 197 who gave Warner some trouble last year.

 

[MitchLL]

While this staff has had a very good run for a long time, it just seems like some "new blood" needs to be infused.
You can believe there was a letdown after ISU, but there are some gaping holes in the lineup...suspensions or not.

 

[TS568]

It’s a boring product right now, but fans are still showing up. Now, if you fall out of the top five and are boring your fans on top of it attendance will be the next thing to fall- and then you’ve got the end of the Zalesky era all over again.

 

[dtripp26]

125 b - match was more lopsided then score shows Drake faded a bit late

133 b Rhodes looked presentable to me

141 b woods looked flat to me and Penn closed the gap a lot

149 B VV3 is boring

157 b does not pass the finalist eye test

165 a thankful for some action

174 d - ouch this Kennedy should be sitting out with Arnold taking the spot.

184 nr riggins over matched

197 a I'm starting to like this guy winning when your supposed to is key especially when the meet is on the line

285 a hill looks better when he's not giving up 40 pounds.

I wish I had you grading me my senior year! Very generous 😆

125-D
Ayala is a top 5 national recruit but he does not look anything like the guy who walked into the room 2 years ago. Inactive and lack of urgency.

133-Incomplete
3rd stringer (at best) have it a solid go.

141-D
TD, rideout, stand around the test of the match. To be fair Penn could have been nailed for stalling a time or two in Woods ride but we did nothing to really press the issue.

149- D-
The win saved him from a F... just barely.

157-D
Came away from this match more impressed with Swisher's effort.

165-A
So we are allowed to be active and score points? Good to know. One of the few bright spots last night.

174-Incomplete
As mentioned in the pbp thread PK was needed against isu but definitely isn't ready yet.

184-F
Riggins is totally outsized at 84 (and likely at 74). This F is on the coaches. 184 has been a void for some time now and we shouldn't be forced to throw a Riggins to the wolves... but here we are. This weight should have been a priority 3 years ago when it was apparent that Abe wasn't the guy.

197-A
Two in a row where Glazier showed up in a tight situation and slammed the door shut!

HWT-B+
Solid win. He scored more than 4 points so that gives him a bump.

Overall- C-
Usually when you win 7 of 10 matches,and the 3 losses were backups or injured wrestlers, you feel pretty good about the performance. That's not the case here. 4 TDs in the first 5 matches was abysmal... and this was against U Penn, not Penn State!

 

[Spoons]

Not going to grade this dual because this team will look a lot different in January. I praying to God that we have some answer for 184 other than thatI think you guys will like what the team looks like after the first of the year. Lots of “upsets” out in Vegas, it’s a long time before March and this team is far from peaking. That being said nobody is beating Carl and his kronies this year.

 

[Steamboat529529]

I will clarify this by saying I haven’t been to as many Iowa wrestling events since Covid. But I didn’t realize Mark Hall was an assistant at Penn. And I was thinking about how loud and excited Carver got when he lost to Kemerer. And when the pin happened last night at 184, it kind of reminded me of that atmosphere for a few seconds. Granted with a lot less people and total noise. But the Palestra was really wild for about 5 seconds.

 

[sdvike]

Hopefully Freight Train 97, Keuter hvy and Ferrari at 49 soon. Hopefully we will see a Schreiver vs Teske match at SS so that weight is determined while in the spotlight. Glazier looks good and wonder if he could get back to 84 to hold down that weight this year.

 

[west2east]

Hopefully Freight Train 97, Keuter hvy and Ferrari at 49 soon. Hopefully we will see a Schreiver vs Teske match at SS so that weight is determined while in the spotlight. Glazier looks good and wonder if he could get back to 84 to hold down that weight this year.

Glazier didn't cert at 184 he's a 197

 

[hawk224]

Watching meets like this makes me appreciate what we had in Spencer even more, if that’s even possible

 

[artradley]

Watching meets like this makes me appreciate what we had in Spencer even more, if that’s even possible

And Austin.

 

[MAGAman]

And Austin.

Totally agree. Hope AD makes a world team. The more we get to watch him compete the better!

On our staff….its this simple. They are cavemen thst havent evolved with the times. Its so evident. The way they act on sidelines and press conferences is embarassing. Feel bad for the athletes and fans we dont have better leadership. It was acceptable behavior when they produce but this era is exposing their weakness and immaturity as leaders of young men and what once was an incredible dynasty.

 

[fourbyfour69]

The days of just beating on the head are gone. Watch wrestlers from the other top programs. They are creating angles, winning scrambles, , building leads, finesse techniques combined with physical wrestling. We look like we are standing in concrete. We have had matches where 2 wrestlers would have as many takedowns as we get as a team this year.

 

[Exo]

The days of just beating on the head are gone. Watch wrestlers from the other top programs. They are creating angles, winning scrambles, , building leads, finesse techniques combined with physical wrestling. We look like we are standing in concrete. We have had matches where 2 wrestlers would have as many takedowns as we get as a team this year.

Don't watch the Shapiro/Andonian match immediately after the Iowa dual. It's like two different sports.

 

[fourbyfour69]

Don't watch the Shapiro/Andonian match immediately after the Iowa dual. It's like two different sports.

I did watch that one and many others from the Cliff Keen. Hell there are the high powered high school kids out there that could give our guys some lessons on what offense should look like. Iowa wrestling offense is becoming the Iowa football offense of the wrestling world.

 

[hawkeye54545]

I appreciate Morningstar being on the staff I just wish the guys didn't wrestle like he did.

 

[Redm18]

Totally agree. Hope AD makes a world team. The more we get to watch him compete the better!

On our staff….its this simple. They are cavemen thst havent evolved with the times. Its so evident. The way they act on sidelines and press conferences is embarassing. Feel bad for the athletes and fans we dont have better leadership. It was acceptable behavior when they produce but this era is exposing their weakness and immaturity as leaders of young men and what once was an incredible dynasty.

I do agree some of this has been frustrating and I'm not 100% ride or die with TNT but I'm curious what everyone thinks the answer is. What coach out there do you grab? I have heard a lot of people say Spencer Lee is the future. If you agree with that then you probably would do nothing now. I have heard that you maybe want to poach from the Sanderson tree which seems like it could make sense. If that's the case you probably try to get who? David Taylor? Is he wanting to get into coaching now? Or after the next Olympic cycle? I have to think Jordan Burroughs would be on the short list but can you get him to come to Iowa city? Or do you make a crazy offer like Ben Askren? My thoughts are you do nothing until after the current Olympics cycle so 2025 2026.

 

[MAGAman]

I did watch that one and many others from the Cliff Keen. Hell there are the high powered high school kids out there that could give our guys some lessons on what offense should look like. Iowa wrestling offense is becoming the Iowa football offense of the wrestling world.

Ive said it before……i am critical on leadership but i also feel bad for brands. Its gotta be so frustrating. They were in a class by themselves with constant looking to score, urgency even when up by 12, will and tenacity. Cant understand why they cant coach it. What they had cant be taught apparently. They were so exciting compared to how they develop others.

 

[sdvike]

And Austin.

was thnkng the exact same thng watching 133 the last few meets. Crazy how good we had it a couple of years ago.

 

[12tdsaw]

didn't tom just recently reup, ya'll can vent till ya turn blue we got what we got

 

[Exo]

I do agree some of this has been frustrating and I'm not 100% ride or die with TNT but I'm curious what everyone thinks the answer is. What coach out there do you grab? I have heard a lot of people say Spencer Lee is the future. If you agree with that then you probably would do nothing now. I have heard that you maybe want to poach from the Sanderson tree which seems like it could make sense. If that's the case you probably try to get who? David Taylor? Is he wanting to get into coaching now? Or after the next Olympic cycle? I have to think Jordan Burroughs would be on the short list but can you get him to come to Iowa city? Or do you make a crazy offer like Ben Askren? My thoughts are you do nothing until after the current Olympics cycle so 2025 2026.

Burroughs wants to be on the East coast as he's said many times. Although money talks. I really don't see a scenario with Burroughs coming to IC though.

Really don't see DT either. He's created an impressive youth program which is probably pulling in good money. Personally, I can't stand the guy either.

Askren, see DT notes. He's been pretty historically outspoken against the program in IC. Don't see it.

Lee is just too young to take over any time soon. Isn't Tom's deal through 2029? That puts Lee around 30 right? Still quite young to run a program of Iowa's stature but he's going to be looking to do something obviously and we don't want to let him go.

My opinion is like many others. Bring in some non-Iowa alum assistant coaching that addresses areas we are struggling.

 

[sdvike]

I do agree some of this has been frustrating and I'm not 100% ride or die with TNT but I'm curious what everyone thinks the answer is. What coach out there do you grab? I have heard a lot of people say Spencer Lee is the future. If you agree with that then you probably would do nothing now. I have heard that you maybe want to poach from the Sanderson tree which seems like it could make sense. If that's the case you probably try to get who? David Taylor? Is he wanting to get into coaching now? Or after the next Olympic cycle? I have to think Jordan Burroughs would be on the short list but can you get him to come to Iowa city? Or do you make a crazy offer like Ben Askren? My thoughts are you do nothing until after the current Olympics cycle so 2025 2026.

I thought Lee talked about being Athletic Director on the college level. Not sure what his career goals are but sure am glad he is in the HWC now.

 

[sdvike]

didn't tom just recently reup, ya'll can vent till ya turn blue we got what we got

Its not the worst thing.

 

[sdvike]

Glazier didn't cert at 184 he's a 197

Can he still drop to 84 if he chose or is that out now?

 

[dhm47]

I know Tom said we don't have rebuilding years, but if we did it would look a lot like this year.

 

[fourbyfour69]

It’s about not being stubborn and bull headed. The Boy’s can adapt in what they are teaching offense wise, recruit guys out of clubs and teams with the newer offense we see from the top teams. It takes watching a lot of video to see how the sport has changed then add the Iowa mentality to this newer proven style. While I love all the guys we recruit there are definitely a few head scratchers. I mean we need room guys as well but we have to fill out a team that the next guy in can hold his own and not just be a body. The problem is the two at the top have to adapt to how the sport has changed while keeping the Iowa physical style. Not force the physical style without any offense to back it up. You can be as tough and in your face for 7 minutes you want but if you can’t score you aren’t going to win consistently and you leave guys in matches to beat you. The other teams have figured out how to compete against our physical style. They have gotten in shape and learned how to score on us.

 

[MAGAman]

Its not the worst thing.

Agree its not close to worse thing….actually better than some but could be better

 

[MAGAman]

It’s about not being stubborn and bull headed. The Boy’s can adapt in what they are teaching offense wise, recruit guys out of clubs and teams with the newer offense we see from the top teams. It takes watching a lot of video to see how the sport has changed then add the Iowa mentality to this newer proven style. While I love all the guys we recruit there are definitely a few head scratchers. I mean we need room guys as well but we have to fill out a team that the next guy in can hold his own and not just be a body. The problem is the two at the top have to adapt to how the sport has changed while keeping the Iowa physical style. Not force the physical style without any offense to back it up. You can be as tough and in your face for 7 minutes you want but if you can’t score you aren’t going to win consistently and you leave guys in matches to beat you. The other teams have figured out how to compete against our physical style. They have gotten in shape and learned how to score on us.

Agree you just discribed brands’ as competitors. Maybe theyd be better assistant coaches.

 

[sdvike]

Agree its not close to worse thing….actually better than some but could be better

I think TNT are better than most but yes, could be better. We really only have 2 in the lineup, Cali and Woods who go all in after points, the rest seem satisfied with a win. Maybe Arnold when we see him wrestling other than top 10s. Cass would be killing it if he could.

 

[MitchLL]

Not going to be excessively critical until I see what the lineup does look like by Feb 1st.

 

[MVPFAN]

Ive said it before……i am critical on leadership but i also feel bad for brands. Its gotta be so frustrating. They were in a class by themselves with constant looking to score, urgency even when up by 12, will and tenacity. Cant understand why they cant coach it. What they had cant be taught apparently. They were so exciting compared to how they develop others.

Their individual determination is not really something that can be taught, not to mention they were high powered beasts for their weights. ADS had it, Metcalf had it but many others did not.

 

[sstark46]

Edit: wrong topic

 

[sunwarrior]

Totally agree. Hope AD makes a world team. The more we get to watch him compete the better!

On our staff….its this simple. They are cavemen thst havent evolved with the times. Its so evident. The way they act on sidelines and press conferences is embarassing. Feel bad for the athletes and fans we dont have better leadership. It was acceptable behavior when they produce but this era is exposing their weakness and immaturity as leaders of young men and what once was an incredible dynasty.

Dear MAGAman,

Can you explain more about the way they act? And how it’s an immature, poor example of leadership?

 

[Chalkdaddy94]

Totally agree. Hope AD makes a world team. The more we get to watch him compete the better!

On our staff….its this simple. They are cavemen thst havent evolved with the times. Its so evident. The way they act on sidelines and press conferences is embarassing. Feel bad for the athletes and fans we dont have better leadership. It was acceptable behavior when they produce but this era is exposing their weakness and immaturity as leaders of young men and what once was an incredible dynasty.

I think you are way off here… I think the Brands are good coaches and the wrestlers love competing for them. Unfortunately the thing they have going on in Happy Valley is just better than what we have at the moment. The only coaching upgrade we could get would be hiring Carl IMO 😂

 

[CAhawki]

I have liked what Glazier has shown at 197. Seems to get to a leg, gets in close and finishes... very methodical.

 

[MAGAman]

Dear MAGAman,

Can you explain more about the way they act? And how it’s an immature, poor example of leadership?

Wow. This goes without saying. If you've watched any competition or most interviews its very obvious. Its absolutely ridiculous unprofessional and an awful example to kids. Some of my stuff may be a bit over the too but this topic is spot on by general concessus….fans and non fans. I know so many fans like myself lifelong fans that cant stsnd their behavior. I know legend iowa weestlers that cant stand it. Your one of the unconditional ass kissers of the TT show obviously. I have conditions!

 

[dhm47]

I think you are way off here… I think the Brands are good coaches and the wrestlers love competing for them. Unfortunately the thing they have going on in Happy Valley is just better than what we have at the moment. The only coaching upgrade we could get would be hiring Carl IMO 😂

Carl, without the money, probably not that much of an uptick in coaching.

 

[el dub]

I think TNT are better than most but yes, could be better. We really only have 2 in the lineup, Cali and Woods who go all in after points, the rest seem satisfied with a win. Maybe Arnold when we see him wrestling other than top 10s. Cass would be killing it if he could.

Woods coasted for most of his last match. He really seemed content with the decision win if his opponent wasn’t going to push the action. And that’s not an “above average,” effort, imo.