Tarp, you usually offer some well needed realism to the conversation but I have to question putting Cassioppi in the same grouping as Lee, Warner, Maranelli and Kemerer. Don't get me wrong, he is a solid recruit, but I'm not seeing the same elite status and neither are the rankers.
You are partially correct about Cass, but not for the reason you typed. Getting a top 25ish lb4lb 285 usually IS a big deal. Especially in as deep of a class as 2017 is. You rarely see many 285's(especially true 285's instead of 215's) in that range and many of them end up playing Football. The ONLY reason not to necessarily be as excited is how strong the 2017 and 2018 classes are at 285, especially in the B1G.
285 (top 25ish)recruits over the past 10 years(plus this year and next):
2007:This was the year of Gardner and Platt not panning out(215's are very hard to predict at 285). However, the next highest ranked traditional 285 was Dom Bradley at #29. He was a 2X AA(3rd,4th) and probably would have been a 4X AA if not for sitting behind NCAA Champ Mark Ellis his 1st 2 seasons. #42 Rey, #64 Flores and #97 Trice were also in this class.
2008:Eric Thompson was the only one to wrestle ranked 26 but fell victim to bad grades and ended up at GrandView winning 3 NAIA Championships. He never wrestled a Varsity match for ISU.
2009: Tony Nelson was the highest traditional 285 ranked #49. We all know how he did. Jeremy Johnson was #50 and he was a 2x AA.
2010: Mike McMullan slotted in at #14 and the highest ranked High School Heavyweight so far. Telford was #19 and Lawson was #22. Spencer Myers was #37 and even he reached the podium. Alot of AA finishes from top 40 recruits.
2011: Gwiz was #18. Need I say anything? #20 Longendyke was named Redshirt of the year at Nebraska but fell off quickly thereafter. He did go on to be a DIII Champ at Augsburg. #25 Austin Marsden was a 2x AA.
2012: Vollaro was the highest ranked so far at #8. Definitely fell way short of expectations, but he did make R12 as a Senior and finished a respectable 72-23. Kroells was the next highest at #22 and he finished a 3X AA and may very well have been a 4xer if not for sitting behind Nelson his 1st season. The next one after that was #38 Tavanello. He made R12 as a Freshman and fell victim to injury the next and then got Snydered after that. Final tidbit, Ty Walz was #111 in this class.
2013: Coon is our highest so far at #2. R12,2,3 so far and very likely a Finalist again this season. Black was the next highest at #9. Has 1 season left, but is so far the biggest bust of the traditional 285's. The last top 50 is Aaron Bradley at 40 and he never ended up in a DI room.
2014: #5 Nevills will most likely be a solid 3X AA and probably a 4xer if not for injury. #9 Haines was a 215 but has done well dealing with Nevills and then Snyder taking his spots. Went 14-3 his first season at Lock Haven, but did not wrestle at EWL's. As a Soph he went 33-7 and 2-2 at NCAA's. At #14 is
SAM STOLL. If not for injuries, it is pretty safe to say he would have been a strong podium contender his 1st 2 seasons. No other top 50 285's.
2015: Zack Chakonis is the only guy in the top 40 to wrestle. Has not done well, but with what is going on at Northwestern, I think he will just be happy to get that NU degree.
2016: #20 Wood, #23 Stencel and #28 Streck(Purdue) all had strong redshirt seasons.
2017: #10 Singletary(tOSU), #21 Hilger(Wisc),
2018: #1 Steveson(MINN), #2 Parris(Mich?), #11 Nevills(PSU) and # 28Cass(Iowa)
Why all the data? Simple. To show that Cass is very likely to be a multiple AA ranked in the top 30. If not for how crazy deep 285 has been the past couple of seasons, Cass would truly be a Gwiz level recruit.
Simply put, an overwhelming amount of true 285's that are ranked in the top 50 do very well in DI.