Let me elaborate, focus on getting one champ, put a lot of resources there. Then focus on getting another champ, etc. it sounds like that may be the direction OSU is headed already with focusing on getting only the top tier caliber talent like Blair said. If that’s the case, then 125 only needs to be serviceable
HS Recruiting News
- Thread starter DEWrestlingFan
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We already are in the past 3 years we have primarily went after only the top guys that’s what Penn State has. They have no secret they have the best guys.
We are fine at 125
We are you to see he will start competing next week when it counts let’s hope his attitude will change once it’s for real
He is a freshman. They’re all going to have their ups and downs when they’re freshman. He’s doing fine he has lost nobody outside the top 10
Tanner Jordan isn't top 10 in any publication that I know of
Spratley is fine coaches say he is great in the room ( attitude work ethic character) everything you need… give the coaches a chance to work. By the way which coaches work with who?
Guessing Perry works with 184 and up that’s why he needs size Caldwell works with 184 to157 Harding and Colman 149 and down coach Smith over sees all?
This is the way to have the team that can win 35, you have to have outstanding individuals. Put less energy into depth and more into quality which we are doing. If you lose a high quality starter during the year it is very rare to replace that starter with a wrestler that is going to score many points at Nationals. Penn. St. has won with 6, 7 or 8 high quality wrestlers and they are really lucky also. When I indicated this a couple of weeks ago some indicated the importance of depth but I believe high quality is what is most important. I said maybe down the road we may have to recruit over Spratley but we would only do that if that replacement is someone we feel with some certainty is better. Some didn't like this but almost our whole team is in a place where they must jump levels if we are to get 35. My explanation is this 125 Spratley is rated 21, 149 Williams is rated 23rd, Travis is rated 26th, 174 Thompson is not rated, 197 Surber is rated 14th, and HWT Doucette is rated 12th. We have 4 wrestlers rated right now to All American 133 Fix 3rd, 141 Jamison 7th, 165 Olejnik 3rd and 184 Plott 4th. This is terrible and we need lots of improvement in this 2nd semester by all of our wrestlers. Also 2 of those highly rated wrestlers are done after this year. When I indicate a potential challenge in 2 years to win 35, things really need to go our way. In the next 2 years we may have to recruit over several of these wrestlers if they don't jump levels and go way up in the rankings. We have Hughes, Carroll, Sakamoto, Merrill, Lockett and possibly McComas at 125 who hopefully will be joining our lineup in years to come. The potential is there with health and real good development. The truth is we have had an easy dual schedule so far, had a quality tournament that overall we did not do well in. We need lots of quality wins this second semester by our wrestlers to show we are on the right path. I believe even last few years we looked good in the beginning of the year, we need to finish good and show we are on the right path.
We need to name a thread, “Spratley is fine”
Mccombs is not wrestling 125 in college we did wrestle pretty well in vegas if Daton wrestled suber finishes and Douset finished we would have finished 3rd
So in our recruiting class at 133 we have McComas and Sakamoto. The way Coach Smith talked about Sakamoto I thought McComas's best chance to be a starter would be at 125 but will have to wrestle 133.. I also bet Coach Smith even though most are very young wrestlers wants them this year to get much better than in the 20's or even 12 or 14. I thought at Vegas we had many ok wins but based on memory the only wrestlers who had real good wins was Jamison and Olejnik. Well I see our potential as being high but we need the development. I hope but I need to see this next semester about this development. Blair is Carroll going to be back wrestling soon. I would like to see him and some other of our wrestlers in the Southern Scuffle. To me it is important that by next year that he can beat Doucette who apparently he lost in overtime in wrestle offs.
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They develop better than anyone and it isn’t close. They turn their blue chippers into all time types and their guys below that into NC’s.
Carroll will not be back. He just had his knee operated on. Maybe get some matches mid to late Feb. Plott also wrestled well in vegas Doucet also bet the guy who ended up 4th after he bet him.
Tell me how many they have turned into NC that weren’t top ranked kids They have been there 14 years and have not ever recruited a kid to even be an American much less a national champion
No one is turning blue chip kids into monsters like PSU is. They are churning out multiple time NC’s. They are somewhat consistently turning top 15 guys into multiple time NC’s. No one else is doing that including us. We are struggling to turn ours into competing for NC’s.
RBY wasn’t as highly thought of as Daton and look at what PSU turned him into. Starriocci was in the 15-25 PFP rankings. Anthony Cassar, Nick Lee (was once a debate if he or G would be the better guy)
Cassar was just mentioned, Matt Brown was another champ for PSU. James English was a low AA. But they haven't had a ton of lower ranked guys develop into big point scorers.
They've also had their share of misses -- Andrew Alton, Gulibon, Manville, Berge, Joe Lee, Beard, Nevills & Facundo were all top 10 PFP (or close) at one time. And they've missed on some top transfers too -- Cortez, Conel, Hildebrandt. Hildebrandt was the returning 4th place finisher, he went 1-2 at Nationals and was outscored by Mastro.
But there is no denying they've also produced some monsters. A while back osudog posted that PSU has the Jimmys and the Joes and also the X's and O's. Get a bunch of top guys, have them practice with the best RTC partners in the world, and train them to peak at NCAAs. Pretty good formula.
You are right on Penn State has not taken many guys not ranked number one or two in the country and made them into NCAA champs they do have great facilities, workout partners, and money
With OSU there is tons of history and legacy. Just my observation, I would consider it a big ship. It is difficult to turn a big ship. PSU was a small ship and was easy for Cael to redirect. OSU is making those changes, slowly, but they are making them.
1. emphasis on RTC program. This is HUGE.
2. Update the facilities. Shows a commitment to change and the program
3. NIL. OSU is putting their money where their mouth is
4. Transfers. They are bringing in higher caliber talent
5. Recruiting. We are getting the premier talent in the country, including outside of Oklahoma
6. Coaching. We have a commitment to having unbelievable coaching staff.
7. Our you programs are starting to put out too talent.
Pennsylvania has tons more people and even more high end wrestling clubs with some of the top talent in the country in PSU’s back yard. That is something we are trying to compete with but it is difficult
Maybe we can upgrade our sports psychologist, because all we need is a mental change. We need to stop putting teams like PSU or even Iowa on a pedestal.
Our change is not over night but it is coming and I am hopeful.
PS we do need to invest way more on our online presence, including social media. Communication from the program needs to be better, then we would not have to rely on hearsay so much
I agree with 90% of what you’re saying but the ship metaphor is kind of off imo. If you look at this from the outside perspective…. Being the big ship means you’re the big dog and you have what everyone else wants. You can’t replicate that. No matter how you slice it, PSU would’ve loved to have started where we were.
No the difference has just been coaching and commitment. That’s not a shot at coach Smith. CS is just a different guy who was giving a lot of resources
It’s 90 percent recruiting
That’s fair. The metaphor was off the cuff. The change may be more of shifting of focus. Unfortunately, what worked 15, 10, or even 5 years ago, isn’t going to work today and getting all parties on board can be difficult. Heck, last year I was screaming that we need to invest in an RTC and there were those, on this site, that said coach smith would NEVER do it. They even suggested that CS would fight me for suggesting it. Losing has a way of righting the ship. Back to the ship analogy.
We have recruited much better than our results woud indicate. We just have missed on a bunch of guys. Either poor choice of identifying, an inability to develop them or the inability to have a culture that keeps them in a position to develop.
Getting talent on campus hasn’t been the biggest issue.
It’s easy to be an armchair quarterback, the staff is doing one heck of a job. Why do you think Cael took the job in Pennsylvania? He wasn’t doing that well in Iowa. He saw a state with tons of talent and nobody was capitalizing on it, and he seized the opportunity. President Teddy Rosevelt said, “the thief of joy is comparison.” We are doing well, one step at a time.
The other thing about PSU…it seems like there was a strong element of timing as well. PSU was in desperate need of some good news on the athletic front around the time they got Cael and some of the financial commitments.
The last three years has been on par previous 10 not so much
PSU also has no loyalty to their athletes. They’ll recruit over anybody. Yes they get results but “national title or bust” is a crappy way to treat kids.
Flip side OSU has maybe been a bit too loyal to some guys in the past few years. Not naming names but yall probably know. Middle ground is good.
Flip side OSU has maybe been a bit too loyal to some guys in the past few years. Not naming names but yall probably know. Middle ground is good.
Like I said, in an earlier post, call it loyalty or no loyalty. Nobody is safe anymore. If you want to win you get the best kid.
Carroll may wrestle some late season duals, but will not burn redshirt. He is working very hard at rehabilitation. Do not underestimate his desire. Just had some very bad luck to start his career.
I didn’t say a single word about our staff. Does recruiting success not fall on the shoulders of the coach?
I was also hoping McComas could make 125 in college after going 126 at Ironman. That was a same day weigh-in with a 1 lb allowance.
Sakamoto didn't medal at the Emperor's Cup this past weekend. I can't find brackets, so I don't know how he did (or even if he actually wrestled), but I know he didn't make the semis. The defending Olympic champ @ 65 KG (Otoguro) was knocked off before the finals, so he won't have an opportunity to defend his title.
No beef that I know of. Saying or insinuating that Cael has done a much better job isn’t beef imo.
My post was in reply to Blair saying that their success is 90% due to recruiting. I’m just saying that recruiting success is obviously coaching too.
If you’re asking for a point I guess I’m just saying that until we better position ourselves to win more of those battles with PSU (and we need to win some big PA battles) then we shouldn’t expect much change imo. Going after the big time P4P kids that PSU doesn’t want may or may not work. We’ll see.
I’d love to see Coleman work PA hard.