LMFAO. That isn't remotely the ONLY standard to measure with. ONLY 10 win it each year. Of those 10 not all are even top 10 recruits. So, year in and year out, you have anywhere from 50 to even 70(covid extended eligibility) top 10 recruits all going for those 10 spots.
Excepting injury(to me, this has been, BY FAR, the biggest consistent issue under Brands), nearly ALL of Iowa's top 10 recruits AA multiple times, with many AAing all 4 times. Of those, most make the Finals.
Top 10's Starting with Kemerer(2015):
Kemerer-3rd,4th,2nd,4th(done with a major shoulder injury)
Marinelli-6th,7th,R12(injured rib and was not allowed to wrestleback),5th Young was this year in the 20's and AA'd twice.
Lee-1st,1st,1st,6th
Warner-7th,4th,2nd,5th Murin was 44th that class and AA'd.
Cassioppi-3rd,7th,4th,DQ was not allowed to wrestle his senior year due to the gambling fiasco.
Kennedy-R16,R12,4th, ?
Ayala-(1-2),2nd,2nd, ?
Kueter-8th,?,?,?
Arnold-R16,?,?,? Block was 22 that class and we will see how he does when finally healthy.
Ferrari- In his 1st season
DeLuca-redshirting
Ludington-redshirting
Mocco-incoming
Bachmann, Kenny, Borge and Amato are all class of '27 top recruits.
Again, it isn't bad recruiting holding them back. The one CONSTANT negative has been injuries and the gambling fiasco happening in ONLY Iowa.
Now, I will say recruiting is a huge factor why PSU is so far ahead. But, it simply isn't fair to even try to compare to them. They are a Unicorn. No DI team has recruited anywhere like them, including Iowa under Gable. As good as the above is when compared to EVERYONE else, PSU has had that many top 10's on the team AT THE SAME TIME.....