Next Year’s Lineup '26
- Thread starter SlickWillie18
- Start date
Ugh. I do not mean to dog CY, but at this point I feel like we kinda know what we have with him. Great kid. Great ambassador for the university/team. Unable to finish shots and not going to be a points scorer at Big 12’s or NCAA’s. I figured him getting yanked from the postseason favor of a hobbled Teague Travis was a sign.
Yeah kinda seems like he is what he is at this point. I’m still holding out some hope tho. He looked pretty undersized at 149 last year so I think he’ll do better than last year at least
I can't imagine DT is going to start a kid who he didn't trust to take into the postseason 6 months prior.
No one will ever doubt that Carter has talent so maybe it all clicked this offseason. That being said, I would be shocked if Carter is the guy at 141.
No one will ever doubt that Carter has talent so maybe it all clicked this offseason. That being said, I would be shocked if Carter is the guy at 141.
I hope going down a weight and another offseason with this staff is what he needs to “figure it out”.
Was it Howie or Harley who was saying Tagen will be out with injury for at least the first semester, but would be back for one last hurrah at 141 when healthy?
I don't see CY beating out a healthy Hughes.
And yes, expect Tagen back at 141 2nd semester.
I saw someone on another OSU board say that Hughes will be at 133 this year and is probably going to start over Figs. Have you heard anything similar?
I haven't. and that would be surprising to me. Both that Hughes can beat Figs, and that Hughes would even try. Weirder things have happened though.
I have heard that we have four great wrestlers at 133 that coach thinks are All American quality. Ronny Ramirez is killing it in the room as well. He will redshirt though.
Hughes, Figs, Rin, and Ramirez.
Hughes, Figs, Rin, and Ramirez.
We will see lots of different guys. Hungry dawg goes on the march hunting trip.
Carter wrestled 65kg (143 lbs) this summer so 141 makes sense. Rin and Ronnie wrestled 57kg (126 lbs) so I'm not sure 133 is their best weight just yet, but obviously there's no opening at 125. I'm curious how Sergio is doing and if he prefers to redshirt or not
Ole T-Boy is doing really well! No opening at 25.
Just a buncha imposters over there. THIS is the real boardThere's another board?
Yep. Remember that ol' saying that hard work beats talent when talent doesnt work hard? Once youre in that room DT could care less what you accomplished before you got there. Having all the accolades in the world wont keep Coach T from benching someone in a heartbeat even if they start talking about handing him their walking papers. Hell he"ll probably beat them to it and tell em to hit the road first if they dont shape up. He is NOT playing. The guy is so laser focused on reaching his goals he's even hard to have a conversation with because his mind is racing 100 mph.
DT is chasing a national championship and Chase is 100% correct. Hunger, lifestyle, and hard work will determine our line up long before natural talent. And I say that to the point some of this crowd will get pissed before the season is over, I promise you.
I thought he was much more relaxed at the golf tournament with the fans. We had a few good convos and he gave me a hard time receiving my trophy. I was impressed with his progress there! He’s probably taking a page from his Dad and John’s book.
But yes, this season will be the season he makes examples and concretes Culture firmly in place. The good news there, we have lots of talent. That’s why I keep saying we will see a lot of guys compete. By March, we will have a trophy hunting team I believe.
Fascinating. I can't wait. Obviously the wrestling is the most fun part... but I can't deny that some of the culture-building narrative is pretty delicious to follow too lol
The PFB+ board has a wrestling thread.What board? Explain yourself.
Okay, I’ll indulge you some more.
These guys have fun! They’re happy, the like each other and the coaches integrate in the fun and family aspect of it. So, it’s not just a crazy grind of a lifestyle.
Then, you see a watchful eye on things that aren’t “living the life” in full, in part or not at all. Those guys are somewhat given a hard time and it’s not mean spirited. It’s accountability and the guys that aren’t doing it right, know that their team knows too.
We really do have the privilege of rooting for lots of good kids, committed kids. It’s impressive to watch!
Copied the above post from the Hawks board. I don't think it's unreasonable at this point with Iowa having more proven guys, but things could look a lot different by February. Thoughts?
Seems pretty fair. I think Jamison could beat Bailey honestly. And I could see Teague upsetting Jordan. Just kind of hard to predict rn because we have so many unknowns.
Here is my take.
25- yeah, come on. Toss up?
33- Drake, yup! I’m a fan!
41- Bailey fan here, so I will call this a toss.
49- Swid 100%
57- I’m also a fan of Jordan. Robido smashes him!
65- yeah, I’m taking Mikey
74- we take this one
84- Ferrari…he’s good man.
97- not a toss up. Merrill
285- Konnor wins…in overtime.
This will be fun! Comes down to bonus. We win this one! $100 on it!
A few questions that I haven't seen discussed in a while. I know it is early, but some of y'all seem to have some good insight into what is happening in the room already.
Is Dee 100% in on 165 or still a possibility that he will move up/down? I know he wants 165, but that's the weight with the toughest returning champ.
Is Robideau as advertised? I love Teague, but he feels like the kind of guy who needs to get beat out soundly if we want to build a lineup that competes with PSU.
Has Merrill locked down 197 or still in a dogfight with Goff?
Is Brayden Thompson pushing Ryder? He stuck around for a reason, but it is hard for me to imagine him being competitive with Ryder after what I have seen so far.
Is Dee 100% in on 165 or still a possibility that he will move up/down? I know he wants 165, but that's the weight with the toughest returning champ.
Is Robideau as advertised? I love Teague, but he feels like the kind of guy who needs to get beat out soundly if we want to build a lineup that competes with PSU.
Has Merrill locked down 197 or still in a dogfight with Goff?
Is Brayden Thompson pushing Ryder? He stuck around for a reason, but it is hard for me to imagine him being competitive with Ryder after what I have seen so far.
I am sort of asking the same question as Travis25 although more specific about 165. Fl0 latest rankings at 165 do not even show Lockett in the top 33. Are they somehow getting feedback from our coaches or others that he will not wrestle? This is a
puzzle and is concerning. Anyone with answers?
puzzle and is concerning. Anyone with answers?
Several question marks on some of these things but from what I was told specifically from one coach is that Robideau is a stud who is more ready than most and does everything right. Definitely as advertised.
Id say its Merrill at 97 this year.
Oh and btw, I asked Landon how to pronounce his last name and he told me it Rob-buh-doo.
Flo does not rank incoming freshman with zero college matches.
I think you’re overthinking this. I don’t think Flo normally ranks true freshman to start the season. Blaze is ranked because of Penn State privilege
@oberebo too
The Dee situation is either undecided or hush-hush. I don’t know that he RSs or that he stays at 65. I know he took a breather after Worlds. Sorry to not help out here, but it’s TBD.
Robideau is as advertised! Is he beating Teague? That hasn’t been said. One thing about Teague, he is a rough and tough SOB! Either guy at this weight will show some success.
Merrill has separated I believe. Goff is still raw.
You don’t hear much on BT, so again, no news here either.
It’s early, so we should start hearing some more stuff.
I think Blaze is ranked because he wrestled a college open or two and beat some good guys so Flo has a metric to rank him by.
Exactly why. If you hit college opens in HS and have a resume they will rank you. Rankings aren't guesses so you can't rank a guy without data since rankings are results driven . Didn't say that for you I know you understand how it works but not everyone does
Willie just said Flo's recent rankings reflect the lineups that teams submitted to the National Duals committee for seeding consideration.
- 125: Troy Spratley (2)
- 133: Richard Figueroa (12)
- 141: Carter Young (20)
- 149: Casey Swiderski (6)
- 157: Teague Travis (16)
- 165: ??
- 174: Alex Facundo (11)
- 184: Zack Ryder (7)
- 197: Cody Merrill (10)
- 285: Konner Doucet (9)
I think it's his if he wants it. I was just listing the guys Flo has ranked. They don't rank anyone who hasn't had a D1 match yet
Media day interviews are up on PFB's YouTube with Coach, Spratley, Dee, Swid, Figs, and Ryder
My takeaways from the interviews:Media day interviews are up on PFB's YouTube with Coach, Spratley, Dee, Swid, Figs, and Ryder
DT: He has a gift for talking for 30 minutes and not giving away anything. He still wants to score a bunch of points. I don't know where Robert Allen was, but DT is usually good for dunking on him at least once during a press conference.
Figs: I didn't take a lot from this one, but the fact that Figs got picked to do an interview makes me think the staff is feeling good about him.
Dee: He was wearing an interesting large necklace that said "Too Saucy." Said that Facundo should win a natty this year. That got me pumped.
Swiderski: He seemed very focused and healthy. I have heard some people express off the mat concerns with this guy, but he seems solid to me. Time will tell.
Ryder: He looks so much cooler in orange. He didn't say it, but I can read between the lines and understand that he feels that Penn State is painted rust and that he didn't want to be there when the ship sinks. He seems like a really cool kid. Going to be a fan favorite.
Sprat: He was very complimentary of Figs. Said that the freshmen are hungry and want to win national titles.
All in all, pretty typical wrestler interviews. Not much substance. Gonna have to tune in to duals to get the important questions answered.
Swiderski sounded really impressed with Robideau. Talked about his motor and his hand fight.
Spratley seems to have a different energy from last year and was more comfortable in front of the camera. I took it as a sign of personal growth and confidence going into the season.
Figs is oddly the biggest question mark on the team for me because his floor and his ceiling are so far apart. I don't have any clue what has caused his inconsistency in the past, but I think we have the right staff to solve it.
I would've loved to hear from Carter and how he's feeling going into this year. I'm really curious how he and Cael are doing.
I laughed out loud when Coach Taylor answered the question about Doucet: “do you like his muscles?” Perfect response lol
Final preseason crystal ball predictions per
@MatScouts1
125 Troy Spratley - 3rd
133 Richard Figueroa - R16
141 Sergio Vega - BR
149 Casey Swiderski - 5th
157 Landon Robideau - 5th
165 Dee Lockett - 3rd
174 Alex Facundo - 7th
184 Zack Ryder - 4th
197 Cody Merrill - BR
HWT Konner Doucet - R16
--
Team Oklahoma State - 5th
@MatScouts1
125 Troy Spratley - 3rd
133 Richard Figueroa - R16
141 Sergio Vega - BR
149 Casey Swiderski - 5th
157 Landon Robideau - 5th
165 Dee Lockett - 3rd
174 Alex Facundo - 7th
184 Zack Ryder - 4th
197 Cody Merrill - BR
HWT Konner Doucet - R16
--
Team Oklahoma State - 5th
TBH 6AAs in our development year is not bad. But DT has such high expectations, I refuse to believe we settle for 5th. I expect 133, 141 and HWT to do better than his predictions here.