This is actually the closest answer. He passed Tom during his first recruiting haul...before any of them step foot on the mat for them. There is hope tho. You can just say David is a great recruiter but he can't coach. That always seemed to make Hawk fans feel better in the past ..
There isn't an option out there right now that can compete for recruits at the level of Cael and Taylor. And those two have overwhelming support from boosters and their athletic departments. Dake, Burroughs, Spencer....none of them would put the fear in me as a PSU fan like Taylor would have at Iowa. Huge miss by you guys in my opinion. I'll be honest, I don't see anyone coming along for at least 8 to 10 years that will draw recruits like Cael and Taylor. The next HUGE program changing hires will be Messenbrink and Bassett. There will be solid hires and guys will improve programs but none will skyrocket like Taylor is. So, settle in folks...Cael and Taylor are gonna dominate for the next decade. VT will be on the rise the entire time and will probably be grooming Bo who would most certainly draw in the talent. As for Mitch, I hope State College is his permanent home...
After PSU, I'd bet Taylor's top choice to coach would have been Iowa.
You nor I have the ExperiencE to debate MSU..
Nope. The fury on this board is past the point where I really want to engage. If Iowa does well in March, I will be happy and I am sure everyone unleashing that fury won’t change their tune in the slightest.
You love the fire, no way you can let it burn.
I personally just like to talk wrestling. Dumpster fire for sure, but also an active forum. Im a wrestling fan first. Ill be the first to admit that I am biased when it comes to PA wrestling, but that doesnt necessarily mean PSU. I enjoy the banter and try and be respectful. Im in my late 40s and wrestled in that era when every kid had an Iowa poster on their wall. Ive also spent the last 14 years coaching and going thru the entire process of having a son who wrestled just about every major youth event there is, all the way thru him wrestling his freshman year in college. Im not an expert, but I do have a bit of knowledge on the current landscape.
That's why he'd need to hire great assistants.
Or... you could simply have a little self awareness and admit you might be on the wrong side of the topic? Who are we kidding, nevermind.
I'm sure it helped get us to where we did with the Bassetts and likely helped land the 27 and 28 classes. Hate to think where'd we be otherwise.
Yeah, you got me there. Anybody could coach Iowa to NCAA titles and the Brands are too stubborn, stupid and old to not selfishly get out of the way and instruct Beth to hire Taylor over them.
You said the exact same thing about DT. You’ll never learn.
As you know "doing well" is a very relavent term and will differ among fans. What reasonable "doing well" scenario needs to happen to lighten up on the brands is the question. In my mind if iowa finishes top 5 with this team Tom should get coach of the year and deserves another chance
I don't often agree with iron but he's right about losing Bassett. That changed everything for iowa wrestling
You keep asserting that it wasn’t possible with ZERO evidence and you’ve moved to that line because your original argument can no longer stand on its own.
Nothing. Total misunderstanding of what matters in recruiting. Like drafting a running back in top 5 when you have a terrible o-line. That’s a cherry on top move, not a foundation builder.
Come on, making fun of someone's appearance. Junior High bs.
I gave reasons why it wasn’t going to happen and didn’t happen. Starting all the way back when the rumor said it was happening at the NCAA tournament. As far as my opinion goes I do not and still do not believe he would have been a fit for Iowa. He wouldn’t have got the money it took to go to OkState, nor the wide open rein and support he is given by the athletic department.
Ive been saying this since before NIL when they were approaching all of us for $$. I’m proud to say I didn’t donate a penny to that new facility. I thought it was a waste of money. Have you seen Penn State’s room. I’m guessing our old room is better than their current situation. I was screaming from the rooftops that the money should go for a high-end RTC coach new assistance and recruits. It got blasted by the brands lovers who you know those are.
You had me at Messenbrink but bassett….come on! Id add 50 names already graduated and still competing. Short list
I've been saying for years the worst flaw of TnT era is not being able to keep guys healthy thru March. The extra year from Covid just exacerbated the problem. Iowa strength/conditioning/recovery cycle has been awful. Injuries happen but at Iowa it's a given. I thought they had a handle in it but then last year and this year seem to be back on trend.
What a ridiculous post. No one said "anybody could coach Iowa to ncaa titles", certainly not me. I've posted the opposite.
At the risk of apostasy, and not to hijack the thread, what do I want for Spencer? Go to OSU or PSU to train for a year. Get different partners. Have different coaches provide input about new approaches/ideas. Maybe he already gets that with his visits to the Olympic Training Center but he seems to have hit a plateau. Ten years with the same coaches can't be optimal. Innovation is a good thing. This particular point isn't a knock on TnT; I'd say it about any coach.
You raise some fair points. I will say that JB at the beginning of his career was much different stylistically than JB in the second half of his career.
I don't disagree, but unless Iowa is going to start 1. Landing the elite of the elite recruits psu and now okst is getting or 2. Taking the level of recruits we are getting and developing them into champions, I don't see how we close the gap.
Burroughs is way more of a technician than he gets credit for. Elite wrestling IQ.
Yes. Casey's mat skills in the room are legendary. I don't know what it is now, but at one time, if your name was called, you couldn't leave practice until you could get out from bottom against Casey. Some guys like Matt Brown spent over an hour on bottom. Brutal to the psyche and pride, but the point that improvements were needed got across.
There are some very strong hard core Brands supporters in the hard core wrestling fan base. At this point I believe they are mostly hard core because they so strongly don’t want the Dan Gable link broken.
And yet you engage every post? Interesting, about the future of the program and how it will play out.
Compared to how I usually post, you should be able to tell a considerable difference. I may respond directly to people that post to me directly, but I DO keep saying I am waiting for March and do my best to not make it a long, dragged out back and forth, like I would normally do…
