Switch roles?

[CatCoach]

What if Cael would have come to Iowa after Zalesky? Does he build anything close to what he has now at PSU? What if Brands would have then gone to PSU?
I feel PSU was the perfect storm at the time, proximity (hot bed of wrestling), resources (room, donors, $$$), and coaching, but what if you take him out of Penn and move him to Iowa.
Could Brands do what he has done at PSU and would Cael elevate Iowa to PSU status currently?

 

[YoungGun07]

Assuming Brands would have still taken Metcalf, Borschel, Slaton, LeClere etc. with him, Penn State's run of dominance would have started earlier. Iowa wouldn't have won three in a row with the double recruiting class, but likely would have 2-4 titles between 08-24.

I think PSU would still be the clear #1, and Iowa the clear #2. The gap might be a little tighter, but I don't things would be all that different overall. The thought of watching Metcalf, Borschel, and Spencer Lee in a PSU singlet makes me a little sick, but David Taylor in black and gold would've been pretty cool.

 

[Random4598375]

What if Cael would have come to Iowa after Zalesky? Does he build anything close to what he has now at PSU? What if Brands would have then gone to PSU?
I feel PSU was the perfect storm at the time, proximity (hot bed of wrestling), resources (room, donors, $$$), and coaching, but what if you take him out of Penn and move him to Iowa.
Could Brands do what he has done at PSU and would Cael elevate Iowa to PSU status currently?

Winning 11 titles in the last 13 contested years (with a 12th looking imminent)? That seems doubtful, but I don't doubt that he would have Iowa on the top of the mountain. Look at the results for Iowa St before, with, and after Cael. He immediately won the Big 12 all three years there and got them their highest NCAA finishes in the decade either before or after (except for the first year after he left when Jackson was working with the team he left). The impact both his arrival and departure had on Iowa St are as clear as day. He would have that level of immediate impact anywhere he goes.

 

[LetsGoHawks83]

It's also interesting to think about the landscape, if Cael had stayed at ISU...

No doubt ISU would have won a few team titles. As much as it pains me to say this.... I'd rather have ISU winning some more with him.

It would have been better for wrestling parity and better for Iowa, if he stayed at ISU.

Someone would have probably gotten PSU going anyway, but you'd have multiple teams jockeying for #1...

IOWA
ISU
PSU
tOSU
OSU

 

[SPOONER]

I don’t know about any of this, but Tom was highly likely going to Ohio State, Gable told Bowlsby it’s time to step in and can JZ, and the rest is history.

 

[CatCoach]

PSU just has so many advantages with $$$, location, recent success and RTC/Coaching.
What is OSU lands Bo tomorrow? What if Iowa lands them? How even does the playing field become? Who else comes with Bo??
Could that change the tide in 2 or 3 years?
A lot of speculation but I feel like Bo brings at least Jax, Melvin and his brother. That is a big haul.

 

[CatCoach]

I don’t know about any of this, but Tom was highly likely going to Ohio State, Gable told Bowlsby it’s time to step in and can JZ, and the rest is history.

It was definitely the right move at the time. I just know that everyone wants to blame Tom and Terry for being bad coaches, but I think we all know that PSU has so many advantages beyond coaching.

 

[acuhawk]

PSU just has so many advantages with $$$, location, recent success and RTC/Coaching.
What is OSU lands Bo tomorrow? What if Iowa lands them? How even does the playing field become? Who else comes with Bo??
Could that change the tide in 2 or 3 years?
A lot of speculation but I feel like Bo brings at least Jax, Melvin and his brother. That is a big haul.

Don't discount the psu compliance department on your list of advantages. It's night and day. Specifically prior to NIL with allowable camp payments etc.

 

[Random4598375]

PSU just has so many advantages with $$$, location, recent success and RTC/Coaching.
What is OSU lands Bo tomorrow? What if Iowa lands them? How even does the playing field become? Who else comes with Bo??
Could that change the tide in 2 or 3 years?
A lot of speculation but I feel like Bo brings at least Jax, Melvin and his brother. That is a big haul.

If Bo, Jax, Keegan, and Melvin all go to Ok St with the recruiting class they have coming in plus Ross, the playing field will be damn near leveled between them and PSU within just a couple years. That is clearly DT's plan. We'll see what happens tomorrow. If they all go to PSU, no one will compete with them for a long time.

 

[slushhead]

Iowa still had the strongest brand (no pun intended) going for it before Tom took the reigns. Someone needed to reverse the roll that Okie St had gotten back onto. Cael to Iowa would have done that just as effectively as Tom did. However, I think Cael’s run at Iowa would have far exceeded 3 championships in his first 13 seasons, though.

Sure, a PSU-Tom would have been closer to the recruiting hotbeds, but the star-power of Cael and the effectiveness of the staff he assembled would not have been undone easily. Maybe a PSU-Tom and an Iowa-Cael trade more championships than what has happened in reality. But both programs were/arw well supported. Cael & Co. had the superior vision and execution.

 

[WhiteDog125]

Tom refused to adapt for almost 10 years in recruiting and philosophy. He would have done the same thing at psu.