Penn St. PBP

JLhawkfan

Sophomore
Jan 13, 2017
20
107
28
Angelo was yes. He lost a close match to a top 10 p4p out of HS recruit who was a NCAA runner up at tOSU.

Ayala lost to to a 2 time world champion ( and 1 time silver world medalist) , and the number one p4p wrestler in his class. Thats Spencer Lee level credentials.

Arnold was not a #1 recruit. He was wrestling a guy with similar HS pedigree but one that has already won 3 B1G championships and an NCAA championship.

Kueter I'll give you.

Penn St gets Angelo's and Ben Kueter's every year. They get Drakes and Arnold's as additional recruits every year. Every. Year.

That meet was about a talent discrepancy, not coaching.
While you are technically correct about talent discrepancies, you can’t possibly sit here and ignore how much better Penn state is developing wrestlers compared to Iowa. Our most aggressive a best wrestler wasn’t even close to being ranked top 10 PFP and transferred from a small school. People gotta stop with the excuses and open their eyes.
 
May 21, 2023
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301
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Arnold was #5 P4P while Haines was 9, separate years. Arnold was ranked ahead of Welsh,Barr ,and Kasak in his class. It's fair to to be concerned as to why Arnold hasn't had much of any impact as a starter yet.
And Gabe had a win over Rocco at who's number one. Penn State does get a disproportionate amount of number one recruits, but they are just better at what they do with the 5-20 guys. That same class had BK as the number 2. Every program has recruits that don't pan out, its the nature of it. Usually if a blue chip kid doesn't cut it, its evident pretty fast. Its not really regression, its more like a quick burn out. Iowa guys seem to slowly regress year after year. Thats 100% on coaching/environment.
 

Misalorales

All-Conference
Jun 3, 2025
791
2,272
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And Gabe had a win over Rocco at who's number one. Penn State does get a disproportionate amount of number one recruits, but they are just better at what they do with the 5-20 guys. That same class had BK as the number 2. Every program has recruits that don't pan out, its the nature of it. Usually if a blue chip kid doesn't cut it, its evident pretty fast. Its not really regression, its more like a quick burn out. Iowa guys seem to slowly regress year after year. Thats 100% on coaching/environment.
Digging through old big boards is wild. You see all sorts of names you forgot all about lol
 
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Cedarfalls

Junior
Jul 4, 2025
64
239
33
Angelo was yes. He lost a close match to a top 10 p4p out of HS recruit who was a NCAA runner up at tOSU.

Ayala lost to to a 2 time world champion ( and 1 time silver world medalist) , and the number one p4p wrestler in his class. Thats Spencer Lee level credentials.

Arnold was not a #1 recruit. He was wrestling a guy with similar HS pedigree but one that has already won 3 B1G championships and an NCAA championship.

Kueter I'll give you.

Penn St gets Angelo's and Ben Kueter's every year. They get Drakes and Arnold's as additional recruits every year. Every. Year.

That meet was about a talent discrepancy, not coaching.
C’mon man. How many shots did those two take tonight? They’re both painful to watch. Not looking to score isn’t a talent discrepancy, it’s coaching
 

o_waterboy4582

All-Conference
Jan 1, 2023
1,528
1,996
113
Angelo was yes. He lost a close match to a top 10 p4p out of HS recruit who was a NCAA runner up at tOSU.

Ayala lost to to a 2 time world champion ( and 1 time silver world medalist) , and the number one p4p wrestler in his class. Thats Spencer Lee level credentials.

Arnold was not a #1 recruit. He was wrestling a guy with similar HS pedigree but one that has already won 3 B1G championships and an NCAA championship.

Kueter I'll give you.

Penn St gets Angelo's and Ben Kueter's every year. They get Drakes and Arnold's as additional recruits every year. Every. Year.

That meet was about a talent discrepancy, not coaching.
Head in sand
 

HawksDominate

Senior
Dec 16, 2022
296
720
93
Angelo was yes. He lost a close match to a top 10 p4p out of HS recruit who was a NCAA runner up at tOSU.

Ayala lost to to a 2 time world champion ( and 1 time silver world medalist) , and the number one p4p wrestler in his class. Thats Spencer Lee level credentials.

Arnold was not a #1 recruit. He was wrestling a guy with similar HS pedigree but one that has already won 3 B1G championships and an NCAA championship.

Kueter I'll give you.

Penn St gets Angelo's and Ben Kueter's every year. They get Drakes and Arnold's as additional recruits every year. Every. Year.

That meet was about a talent discrepancy, not coaching.
Recruiting is on the coach...
 

trfhawk

Junior
Jul 10, 2020
142
273
63
Rose colored outlook
My honest thoughts:

125 - I thought this was a great match between two great wrestlers. I thought Dean came to scrap.
133 - Again, two great wrestlers going at it.
141 - Bailey did what he had to do and rode the takedown to a victory. He wrestled smart.
149 - You can't be upset with Block's effort. I was actually pretty impressed.
157 - Again, at the half way point, every match was a battle. I don't think Williams ever really challenged Duke, but, he certainly fought hard
165 - I don't know how you can get down on Caliendo. Mitchell is just an alien. The more aggressive you are against him, the worse things will go for you. Just like the Hidlay's, Mikey is simply blocked by an all-timer
174 - The Brands were proven right putting Gabe out there. He did what he was asked to do
184 - Angelo is tough to score on, but, with all that talent, that just isn't enough. Welsh isn't necessarily an offensive machine, but, he definitely was the more aggressive wrestler
197 - Barr is a machine, and there isn't much to talk about in this one
285 - Both of these guys struggle against the big guys. It just looked like Mirasola was out there to win and Kueter was wrestling with caution.
Rose colored outlook, but...
I went to the dual early on against Bellarmine. Iowa shut them out. I came away with a sick feeling in my stomach. I knew that this team was still nothing close to wrestling the old "Iowa Way", even against vastly inferior talent. Iowa's performance since that time has reinforced that sick feeling.
So sad. Iowa wrestling used to be one of the few positives of the long Iowa Winters.
 

JoeBagobagels

Senior
Jun 24, 2025
740
856
92
Angelo was yes. He lost a close match to a top 10 p4p out of HS recruit who was a NCAA runner up at tOSU.

Ayala lost to to a 2 time world champion ( and 1 time silver world medalist) , and the number one p4p wrestler in his class. Thats Spencer Lee level credentials.

Arnold was not a #1 recruit. He was wrestling a guy with similar HS pedigree but one that has already won 3 B1G championships and an NCAA championship.

Kueter I'll give you.

Penn St gets Angelo's and Ben Kueter's every year. They get Drakes and Arnold's as additional recruits every year. Every. Year.

That meet was about a talent discrepancy, not coaching.
Recruiting is part of coaching as is development .
 

heldyhawk606

Senior
Oct 10, 2001
154
434
63
While you are technically correct about talent discrepancies, you can’t possibly sit here and ignore how much better Penn state is developing wrestlers compared to Iowa. Our most aggressive a best wrestler wasn’t even close to being ranked top 10 PFP and transferred from a small school. People gotta stop with the excuses and open their eyes.
After the match twitter-verse is full on discussion about new techniques Penn State is using on finishing on single legs, while Iowa can't get a shot off. says it all, even if we had the ponies, we ain't training them to run the same race right now.
 

trfhawk

Junior
Jul 10, 2020
142
273
63
Arnold was the number one recruit before he moved to Iowa City prior to graduating. Naturally, he got worse, because guys who get into the Hawkeye sphere with no offense can spend an infinite about of time there and never improve on offense.

As a Penn State fan, I hope your AD views things the way you do. Because, buddy, lemme tell you, your biggest issue are the two brothers in the corner vs our two brothers (and casey) in our corner. That's where the biggest mismatch lies.
Wrong. I am not happy with the Brands either, but Talent is the BIGGEST difference. Your guy in the corner, Cael was 0-3 against Brands at ISU. Iowa had better talent. Brands beat Cael a few times early on in Cael's tenure at PSU. Iowa had better talent. Penn State is beating Iowa now because they have vastly superior talent. Cael is a great coach, coaching the best talent in the country.
 

Crablegs1

Senior
Feb 27, 2009
188
555
93
Wrong. I am not happy with the Brands either, but Talent is the BIGGEST difference. Your guy in the corner, Cael was 0-3 against Brands at ISU. Iowa had better talent. Brands beat Cael a few times early on in Cael's tenure at PSU. Iowa had better talent. Penn State is beating Iowa now because they have vastly superior talent. Cael is a great coach, coaching the best talent in the country.
Not sure that you can simply point to that. Iowa had higher ranked recruits in 3 matchups last night and all lost. There is something else besides talent.
 

kingstown

All-Conference
Dec 7, 2025
526
1,751
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MSU laughed at all of us for even suggesting Iowa do whatever it took to get Taylor a couple years back. Taylor hasn't done anything yet but it's coming. I'm gonna throw the next name out there that within the next 10 years is gonna be a hot commodity and will become the sports next young great coach....Mitchell Messenbrink. Hopefully schools laugh at the idea like MSU will and PSU keeps him in their fold. Kids wrestling mind is gonna be lights out after learning from Dad, Ben Askren and Cael Sanderson.
I don't think this a secret. The one guy that has figured him out a bit is David Carr. Carr is going to be an incredible coach and wherever he lands will be very fortunate.
 

Outbackbowl2017

All-Conference
Dec 4, 2016
1,289
2,075
113
Rose colored outlook

Rose colored outlook, but...
I went to the dual early on against Bellarmine. Iowa shut them out. I came away with a sick feeling in my stomach. I knew that this team was still nothing close to wrestling the old "Iowa Way", even against vastly inferior talent. Iowa's performance since that time has reinforced that sick feeling.
So sad. Iowa wrestling used to be one of the few positives of the long Iowa Winters.
Iowa winters are now mild with an occasional burst of extremes. Definitely very comparable to Iowa wrestling.

It’s long past time to change the assistant coaches and if TnT aren’t going to do that then all should go.
 
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McUSA

Sophomore
Mar 10, 2022
44
189
33
Yep. I've been thinking of this Gable scene a lot lately.

Dang. I miss those days and coaching philosophy on display. Gable had a way to get his guys to respond. The difference, for me, between Brands and Gable — Brands is a motivator and can light the fire but nobody wanted to disappoint Gable. The fire can be extinguished but to disappoint cuts through the core.
 
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kingstown

All-Conference
Dec 7, 2025
526
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Angelo was yes. He lost a close match to a top 10 p4p out of HS recruit who was a NCAA runner up at tOSU.

Ayala lost to to a 2 time world champion ( and 1 time silver world medalist) , and the number one p4p wrestler in his class. Thats Spencer Lee level credentials.

Arnold was not a #1 recruit. He was wrestling a guy with similar HS pedigree but one that has already won 3 B1G championships and an NCAA championship.

Kueter I'll give you.

Penn St gets Angelo's and Ben Kueter's every year. They get Drakes and Arnold's as additional recruits every year. Every. Year.

That meet was about a talent discrepancy, not coaching.
That is a coaching problem. Failure to recruit. Failure to develop talent. Failure to have guys in shape. Failure to advance wrestling skills in whatever wrestlers are on the roster. Failure to even give interviews without looking like an insane idiot. The time for change was 10 years ago, but how can anyone that even remotely cares about Iowa wrestling defend this Failure. Excuses are for wusses and coaching staffs I suppose. Go do the Iowa State dual using your same formula and see how that stacks up. It is all one big coaching failure and it is way past time for a complete clean out of this staff.
 
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98lberEating2Lunches

All-Conference
Feb 11, 2018
765
1,334
93
The difference, for me, between Brands and Gable — Brands is a motivator and can light the fire but nobody wanted to disappoint Gable. The fire can be extinguished but to disappoint cuts through the core.
Despite an elite HS status, a wrestler who needs external motivation is far less likely to achieve their goals.

Today's generation seem less concerned with disappointing others, so I'm not sure the father-figure trope works anymore. And anyways, dissappointment is fear-based, so less likely to produce guys who wrestle freely.

Recruiting self-motivated wrestlers who hold themselves accountable better enables coaches to focus on wrestling technique. Having a trained sports psychologists on staff also helps.

Better recruiting and continuously improving mindsets is key.
 

Crablegs1

Senior
Feb 27, 2009
188
555
93
Today's generation seem less concerned with disappointing others, so I'm not sure the father-figure trope works anymore. And anyways, dissappointment is fear-based, so less likely to produce guys who wrestle freely.
Nailed it. This is what Cael is so good at. He is able to minimize the pressure for these guys, so when they’re in the biggest, toughest environments, they are able to wrestle freely at their best.
 

Nashville_Hawk

All-Conference
Dec 31, 2015
604
1,592
93
Man I'm glad Bailey showed up tonight after all you guys f****** have been bashing on him for the last 2 months
We’ve been bashing because he hasn’t done jack sh*t. This win gives him a little credibility but he still has to show us every time out, not just once in a while. And his conditioning - and he’s not alone - still needs work.
 

HikeNatParks

Senior
May 12, 2023
148
680
93
Loved Rocco’s patient win, maybe the only way to beat Angelo. Even the trolliest, slappyist, oldest hiker sees Angelo’s issue. Kneeling before other elite wrestlers won’t always translate to the wins he’ll pile up with lesser foes. With strict refs, it may even cost him stalling points. Poor kid doesn’t seem to know that scrambling out of even a bad takedown attempt is his best weapon against elites. He’s strong and fast enough to improvise in precarious spots (scrambling’s very definition) and should dive into those treacherous waters all day. A coach telling him to continue kneeling (praying?) until the last half minute of period 3 does him no favors.
Ahem, Tom can donate my coaching consultant fee to the National Park Service. ;)
 

BrianLafevre

Senior
Jun 30, 2025
216
752
93
Loved Rocco’s patient win, maybe the only way to beat Angelo. Even the trolliest, slappyist, oldest hiker sees Angelo’s issue. Kneeling before other elite wrestlers won’t always translate to the wins he’ll pile up with lesser foes. With strict refs, it may even cost him stalling points. Poor kid doesn’t seem to know that scrambling out of even a bad takedown attempt is his best weapon against elites. He’s strong and fast enough to improvise in precarious spots (scrambling’s very definition) and should dive into those treacherous waters all day. A coach telling him to continue kneeling (praying?) until the last half minute of period 3 does him no favors.
Ahem, Tom can donate my coaching consultant fee to the National Park Service. ;)
Don’t worry, tom told him to make more fakes during his post dual presser….
 

heldyhawk606

Senior
Oct 10, 2001
154
434
63
Wrong. I am not happy with the Brands either, but Talent is the BIGGEST difference. Your guy in the corner, Cael was 0-3 against Brands at ISU. Iowa had better talent. Brands beat Cael a few times early on in Cael's tenure at PSU. Iowa had better talent. Penn State is beating Iowa now because they have vastly superior talent. Cael is a great coach, coaching the best talent in the country.
Cael also continues to evolve - every aspect of the program, recruiting, conditioning - his guys always look fresh some saturday night in march while ours look like they should be led out by a civil war drum and pipe duo with all the bandages, which plays a part in the insane record they have in finals and why we only have 3 different individual champs in 10 years - technique.. and on and on. yes, he has the best talent, doubt anyone can argue that, but where he and his staff continue to evolve day after day, season after season... they are maximizing that talent. even when we had superior talent 4-5 years ago, we still only had 1 individual champ, not to downplay how hard it is to get multiple guys into the final.
 
Jun 28, 2025
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Penn State shutout Rutgers last weekend and Iowa scored 3 points. Let that sink in. Is Iowa closer to Rutgers, Maryland, Indiana, Michigan St. and Northwestern than Ohio St, Nebraska, Penn State, Michigan? Will Michigan and Minnesota become battles year in and year out? Program is falling down, down, down.
 
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Mattski

All-Conference
Apr 21, 2022
874
2,164
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maybe Blaze is better than anyone Drake has ever faced. Time will tell. There is a reason everyone wanted that kid. Its not like he came out of nowhere.
I have no doubt he will be. But that doesn't justify a complete lack of offense from Drake. There's a reason he has 5 losses this season, it's not a fluke or bad luck.
 
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AndEEss

Junior
Jun 12, 2020
144
372
63
relax everyone. in 2 years we will have a class that kinda resembles a PSU class. then in 3 years we will have another. If PSU just quits recruiting we might have a chance in five years to finish behind OSU. chill pil

The recruits in those classes look exactly like the guys on your team now. Good wrestlers. Not very offensive.

Here’s a question for you Iowa fans:

Have you ever seen an Iowa wrestler shoot an outside step single in a match?
 

trfhawk

Junior
Jul 10, 2020
142
273
63
Arnold was #5 P4P while Haines was 9, separate years. Arnold was ranked ahead of Welsh,Barr ,and Kasak in his class. It's fair to to be concerned as to why Arnold hasn't had much of any impact as a starter yet.
Arnold was #5 P4P while Haines was 9, separate years. Arnold was ranked ahead of Welsh,Barr ,and Kasak in his class. It's fair to to be concerned as to why Arnold hasn't had much of any impact as a starter yet.

Not sure that you can simply point to that. Iowa had higher ranked recruits in 3 matchups last night and all lost. There is something else besides talen
Rankings of high school prospects are quite often wrong. No doubt Cael is a great coach but you can't make chicken salad out of chicken ****.
 

98lberEating2Lunches

All-Conference
Feb 11, 2018
765
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So is that what Kueter and Angelo are?
How much, if any, did the absence of Endene as a training partner (before and after being de-rostered) factor into Kueter's and Angelo's recent performances?

And if he stays off the team for the rest of the year?

How would it bode for the rest of the season, if Endene healed up and was back on the roster soon?

If the Brands saw the negative impact of Endene's absence on the team as a whole, I could see them pressing Endene to return sooner rather than later.

I hope Endene returns healthy. Without him Iowa would've likely lost to OkSt the first time.

Surely the Brands understood the implications of a 6/7 loss season, which is what they seem to be facing without Endene.
 

trufan

Senior
Nov 16, 2025
240
824
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Because Gabe is really hard to take down and PK is much better offensively, but was likely to get worked by someone as relentless as Haines.

Problem is Gabe's offense is what you saw against really good competition, just doesn't have a ton of skill on the offensive side. That said, he had a chance late, which several did actually, we just sucked when it mattered most.

So Gabe did indeed do his job, he kept the mauling under 30 which was apparently the goal tonight. 😡
Gabe had no chance.
 

trufan

Senior
Nov 16, 2025
240
824
93
Loved Rocco’s patient win, maybe the only way to beat Angelo. Even the trolliest, slappyist, oldest hiker sees Angelo’s issue. Kneeling before other elite wrestlers won’t always translate to the wins he’ll pile up with lesser foes. With strict refs, it may even cost him stalling points. Poor kid doesn’t seem to know that scrambling out of even a bad takedown attempt is his best weapon against elites. He’s strong and fast enough to improvise in precarious spots (scrambling’s very definition) and should dive into those treacherous waters all day. A coach telling him to continue kneeling (praying?) until the last half minute of period 3 does him no favors.
Ahem, Tom can donate my coaching consultant fee to the National Park Service. ;)
Doesn't seem to have the gas tank to "dive into treacherous waters all day ".
 

RockySmith

Senior
Dec 10, 2020
308
860
93
Loved Rocco’s patient win, maybe the only way to beat Angelo. Even the trolliest, slappyist, oldest hiker sees Angelo’s issue. Kneeling before other elite wrestlers won’t always translate to the wins he’ll pile up with lesser foes.
I can’t understand why Angelo can’t let it fly with top 10 opponents. I think he has the skill.

The only way to beat Angelo? Well, if he is playing for a 1-1 match going into OT, then either start wrestling or else just wait for ride-outs, every match is just going to be a coin flip as to whether he wins or not.

It doesn‘t have to be that way.
 

redghost1974

Junior
Jan 22, 2006
125
328
63
I can’t understand why Angelo can’t let it fly with top 10 opponents. I think he has the skill.

The only way to beat Angelo? Well, if he is playing for a 1-1 match going into OT, then either start wrestling or else just wait for ride-outs, every match is just going to be a coin flip as to whether he wins or not.

It doesn‘t have to be that way.
I think Welsh just showed how to beat Angelo. Hold the center, stiff jab the head, advance him to the edge to draw the stall call and force a bad decision. The 3 point stance had no forward motion and most times 1/2 step back. At least fake some low singles to prevent the stall call. I guarantee refs are going to get aggressive on this.
 

JoeBagobagels

Senior
Jun 24, 2025
740
856
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I can’t understand why Angelo can’t let it fly with top 10 opponents. I think he has the skill.

The only way to beat Angelo? Well, if he is playing for a 1-1 match going into OT, then either start wrestling or else just wait for ride-outs, every match is just going to be a coin flip as to whether he wins or not.

It doesn‘t have to be that way.
According to Pyles he dropped to his knees for over two minutes and over thirty times total .



I have no idea why he wrestles that way.
 
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