Our posts were sent at the same time and say very similar things. Uncanny. Are you reading my posts before I hit SEND?
HS Recruiting News
- Thread starter DEWrestlingFan
- Start date
The only reason to manage expectations is because of a juggernaut that our head coach had a big hand in starting.
I promise you this, DT isn't managing expectations! He plans to build "IT" yesterday and won't stop until it's done. Team trophies isn't in his sights.
That said, I really just want the finals to be exciting again. That would make me happy! Honestly, I would hope for a 4 team race going into finals or something like that.
Melvin Miller. The top Soph in the country and he’s a young guns / Bishop McCort kid like Jax and Bo
Melvin Miller PA class of 27
He has the potential to be better than anyone being discussed here. Rolls with Bo regularly in Bo's basement.
71kg U17 freestyle champ in 2024
Junior national champion at 157 in 2024
Won Super 32 as a freshman in 2023 at 144
Won PA state title as a freshman at 152 in 2024. 57-3 record
He is a sophomore this year. He will be HIGHLY recruited by Bobby Telford (inside joke on Iowa board)
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What’s the Bobby Telford joke about? Ive seen a few people over there saying they want him Gone
I believe the joke is that Bobby is not a big draw for any of the top recruits. Anytime someone big signs with anybody that's not Iowa they joke that Tom and Terry must've sent Bobby to recruit the kid.
I disagree, if Cael has proven anything its that if you get the right kids they can come in and compete for a National Title right away, why does DT have to wait 2 years? Starocci, Brooks, Messenbrink, Davis etc etc etc he has had a ton of kids come in and win a national title as a freshman or have a legit chance to.
Bo, Jax, Blaze, Dee etc all have a chance to win a national championship as a true freshman
Bobby Telford joke stems from Flo’s “First Day of Recruiting” (similar to what they did with Bo and Jax this year) featuring Anthony Knox. It’s been said Knox was a huge fan of Iowa wrestling and the Brands and is also a 125 so Iowa had a potential leg up there if they pushed.
Instead they have the relatively unknown heavyweight coach call Knox the first day of recruiting and it was on blast (on a car speaker) for everyone to hear. Iowa seemingly lost all momentum and traction with Knox after and he committed to Cornell shortly after.
So now the new joke on the PSU board is for the biggest recruits, Iowa sends Bobby Telford to call.
Instead they have the relatively unknown heavyweight coach call Knox the first day of recruiting and it was on blast (on a car speaker) for everyone to hear. Iowa seemingly lost all momentum and traction with Knox after and he committed to Cornell shortly after.
So now the new joke on the PSU board is for the biggest recruits, Iowa sends Bobby Telford to call.
Respectfully, they were different circumstances. Cael had the benefit of Molinaro, Ruth, and Q Wright already in house at PSU as young guns, and then added a couple from ISU, such as DT. So Cael got his NC in 2011 without anyone he actually recruited while coach at PSU. On top of that, Iowa was coming down from their perch in 2011, so it was a perfect storm of sort. Cael deserves credit for coaching the team to victory, but it didn't come from recruiting.
You have nothing like that here. You have studs, but nothing like what Cael had. Cael had 10 future individual national championships on the team when he started on day one, and then recruited add-ons from there. Not counting the transfers, you have Lockett and a couple others that may get to that status over time, but you'll need to build through the draft as they say in order to fill out the team.
If we could land Bo Bassett it’s a game changer for recruiting…what kid in any middle school across the country wouldn’t want to follow his footsteps….social media presence is huge. For now it looks like biggest names in wrestling for future DT & Bo Bassett.
No offense, but are you a time traveler?
It’s easy to look backwards and say what you just said.
Molinaro was 8th and Q was 6th the season before CS. Ed Ruth didn’t compete at NCAAs until 2011.
In the OSU room, you have Plott, who is more decorated than anything CS inherited. Throw in the transfers he inherited, the OSU room looks better in real time.
Plott, Hamiti, Hendrickson and Amine are currently more accomplished than the room at PSU in 2009.
I will say, if the OSU room turns out like that room, we’ll be happy!
Ironically the most accomplished wrestler Cael actually inherited was Bubba Jenkins lol
I think you missed some important words in my post, but since I need to get up at 3am, it’ll have to wait until tomorrow.
Lilledahl, Blaze, Sealey, Ryder, Mirasola twins, PJ Duke, Henckel, Desmond, etc... Yeesh
Insane
Taylor was easily the biggest talent (and it wasn't inherited since DT was his guy) but Bubba was the highest accomplished to date with a finals appearance.
Bubba later said in an interview later that he understood why Cael had to cut ties with him. He was skipping lifts, late to practice, living the "good life" off the mat. He did get his comeuppance in one match but obviously can't deny Cael's culture setting (which DT is doing now like I said) was essential and built the foundation for everything.
Yes, but not a good cultural fit. He and Vallimont were neck and neck for most accomplished on the team, but I agree with you. Lean times.
I'm not saying you are incorrect in what you write (except Q's 6th was in CS first season), I think we are just looking at it from a different angle. From my view, and if I am an elite HS wrestler or a parent, I am more likely to sign onto the DT train once I see what DT does with his recruits. Doesn't mean he won't get his fair share, but when DT goes after a Blaze or Bassett or Forrest, it'll be far easier to sell the program if he can point to successes from scratch. Plott, Hamiti, Hendrickson, Amine are established guys. One or more of them may win titles this year, and DT will get some credit as he should, but the real test for me is how does DT develop the talent of his recruits. Having the four wrestlers mentioned succeed this year will certainly help recruiting but I also believe long term success will come through progression of new recruits.
Iowa had three championships in Brands' first three years but it didn't translate into long term success. I believe Iowa's recruiting challenge is that the perception of wrestlers under Brands have a tendency to regress and/or break down over their careers. May or may not be true, but perception is a hard thing to break. Not always true of course. PSU under Cael has a perception of developing his kids into national champions. There is some marketing in there, and Iowa let other teams define their image. DT won't make that mistake.
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I don’t disagree at all with this post. If March Matness comes down to the last day or if God willing the Finals, DT will have the momentum.
100% agree that there has to be some stellar output from a few guys in the room, not transferred in, to turn heads.
Ex., Travis, Young, Spratley and Jamison all AA. Or Plott shocks the purple.
Ex.2, transfers look completely different. Hamiti and Amine make the finals and/Hendrickson wins it.
Actually, example 2 might be more beneficial? It should certainly knock guys off Michigan and Wisconsin in head-to-head battles. So really, we need a PSU transfer to come in and blow the doors off so we can recruit against CS with it.
But, I was responding to the statement that this room is pale in comparison to the PSU room in 2009.
There was no way to tell that then, and no way to tell it now.
The PSU room in the spring of 2009 (not counting incoming recruits because one never knows if they pan out) had two guys place AA that had eligibility in 2010. Bubba Jenkins ( 2nd) and Frank Molinaro (8th), along with a couple other point scorers. OSU in 2024 only has Plott still on the team as an AA from this past season. That's the snapshot in April 2009 versus April 2024. Pretty similar.
The next year, we lost Jenkins to RS but gained Q (6th) and Vallimont (2nd). OSU gains Hendrickson, Amine, and Hamiti, as well as any that take a shine to DT's coaching style. So IMO, OSU is poised for greater success in year one of DT as a tourney team that PSU was back in 2010 in year one under Cael. PSU placed 9th that year. I expect top 3 this year from OSU.
All that to say that the new transfer rules have greatly increased OSU's ability to compete this year, but the future is in recruiting of course.
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BREAKING NEWS!!! Bo Bassett has announced OK State is still in the running after eliminating 3-4 schools and now we have a 1 in 29 chance of landing him. I believe that the Readers Digest sweepstakes people are about to knock on my door and when they do I will have a great NIL package for Bo. That might get us into the last ten schools standing.
Iowa has already offered him a college degree in any discipline he chooses and a post graduate job post freestyle career so you'll need to step up your game to compete. This will allow him to pimp himself in the marketplace without worrying about school work. Gotta think outside the box like Iowa. 🤣
Iowa offered him 10 section 8 houses by way of a quit claim deed.
A freestyle job there is like getting promised a regional manager position with Burger King vs. an owner of several Ruth's Chris restaurants.
For a second, I thought you typed 10 section 8 buses. I'm like, Bob is cutting edge now. Housing on wheels must be the future of slumlording.
I did hear he was buying storm damaged campers by the train load and putting them on properties he owns.
Roof, electricity and running water...boom, government pay check.
In many cases I’d think this was a joke but with Bob, I can’t say for sure.
Iowa really was not serious about recruiting for a while. They just assumed that everyone wants to come there like they did in Gable's era. The fact that it was not true took a while to sink in for TnT and it also put them way behind. They were able to regroup and had a monster class with Lee and Kemerer and a few others, but Cael has been gaining ground on them and now the perception that they beat their guys down is starting to hurt them.
As a side note - many people would argue that being in the top 3 for 10 -1 2 of the last 14 years is long term success. If success is only winning championships, then there are only 8 schools that have had ANY success over the last 60 years
This is why I say iowas fine. Consistent success. Top two team in the last decade. Literally the best team not named PSU. This perception of grinding their guys may be true but I have no way of verifying wrestlers’ lives and the results are there.
Everyone makes fun of Bobby. This guy if I remember correctly was a light weight at St Marks in Delaware. I think he wrestled like 120 his freshman year. Went up to 145 his sophmore year then HWT his Jr and Sr year. Not sure he placed in Delaware his first two years. He was one of the best in the nation both his Jr and Sr year in HS though. Won a lot and won tournaments. He ended up being a 3x AA at Iowa at HWT, when there were a lot of good HWT's! And since he became a coach there, he has only coached up Sam Stoll, Cassioppi, and last year Bradley Hill overachieved. We shall see what he does with Kueter! I am a Delaware guy. I still agree he should not be making the first call to top recruits, but he was a good wrestler and a good coach! But had to stick up for him because he was a good wrestler and is a good coach!
I think you misinterpret to a degree. By all accounts Bobby is a great guy, good coach, and better wrestler. I enjoyed watching him on the mat. When I use "Bobby Telford", it is actually a cut at Tom Brands for allowing someone else to be the face of his program to recruits.
The joke was never about Bobby Telford as a wrestler, person or coach. It's the fact Tom had him of all coaches to call Anthony Knox, a lightweight hammer rather than do it himself (or have Terry do it)
Have him call Dreshaun Ross? Absolutely, great idea.
Have him call Dreshaun Ross? Absolutely, great idea.
It is all good! I know you guys are just giving a hard time. Me being from Delaware and watching Bobby grow up and get to the point he is at now is great to see. Just wish he did it with a different team! haha And I completely get what you all are saying. I am not sure why the head coach is not the one making the first calls to these top recruits. Probably does throw them off if it is Bobby calling. haha
Sales 101 says you use your best asset to sell your product. Low cost. Sell that. Rugged and sturdy. Sell that. Olympic gold medalist. SELL THAT all day every day. John Smith sold his program. Cael sells his program. J Rob. Tom Ryan. DT.
Tom Brands allowed his program to be defined as indifferent and disinterested, and with only five years left on his contract, I'm not sure how much he can repair the program before recruits start to see him as a lame duck who won't be around for their entire career. I can see a coach-in-waiting in the final years of his contract. I don't expect him to be retained when his contract expires in 2029. He will be 61 or 62. Hard to connect with kids who think of you as grandpa.
No dog in the fight but I generally have a beef with social media echo chambers and I don’t see this sentiment about Iowa anywhere outside of social media and forums. Iowa has some vocal critics but their constant doomsday posting should not be interpreted as truth. Iowa is an always favorite for runner-up at NCAAs and they are very consistent from year to year. They do get recruits and they do develop wrestlers - folks just cherry pick the failures and TnT don’t give a crap about their image on the internet.
TBH I’m amazed to defend Brands, I just don’t buy the narrative and am protesting mobthink lol
No one should ever be forced to defend TnT. My knock on them is only that, it appears on the outside, that they would sell their mom and a kidney to win. In addition, I’m not fond of their wrestling style (just an opinion). It comes off as a bit old school, but hey, they are almost a lock for second place every year. 🤷🏼♂️
I think using average placement is misleading. Since Cael has been at Penn State, Oklahoma State has averaged 3rd place. Have you been happy with the Cowboys consistent success the last 14 years?
(Also, fun fact, Iowa has finished in 2nd place to Penn State just once. Ok St has finished 2nd to Penn State twice.)
I think a better metric is average team score per year:
1) PSU: 121.7
2) Iowa: 90.5
3) Ok St: 73.4
This better shows the gap that needs to be traversed to catch Penn State and how far behind Iowa actually is. Of course, I agree with everyone on here, Oklahoma State will soon be replacing Iowa as Penn State's main rival.
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