That is a really good point. Ohio State had Snyder and that was about it. Although tbf pretty much all of the “major” RTCs based outside Happy Valley are playing catch up to NLWC in the talent arms race
HS Recruiting News
- Thread starter DEWrestlingFan
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Are we talking about the #19 ranked Jr Gallagher who has never placed? Or the Bouzakis who seems to be going in the wrong direction?
I'm talking about the creme de la creme that enters college with world placements and a desire to get better, and who have Olympic aspirations. Guys like Lockett. Like Duke. Like Jax. Like Bo. Like LL. Like Blaze. That's who I'm talking about.
Actually that proves my point. Other than Mendez, Ohio State hasn't gotten any "elite" wrestlers. Guys who have international reputations who want to perform on the world stage after college.
Also didnt notice it before. Jesse Mendez lost to Cole Mathews of Pitt last week.
I don’t quite understand what you’re saying, Paddy Gallagher was the #1 P4P recruit in his class, and I got it wrong Nic Bouzakis was the #2 P4P wrestler in his class. That is the “crème de la creme.” They haven’t developed as tOSU has hoped but coming out of HS they were elite.
This isn't directed at you, so don't take this the wrong way. Nor is directed at Willie. To me, there is a difference between how Willie ranks pfp recruits and how Cael/DT/etc ranks pfp recruits. Cael, and now DT, seem to focus on kids wanting to excel at the sport, and teachable. Those things certainly pertain to many top pfp recruits but the extra criteria goes beyond it to exemplify the elite of the elite. Kids that go to Fargo, U17s, and U20s, and place high seem to be correlated to success in college. That's what I am talking about. Therefore, having a highly developed RTC is important to attract those types of kids. Again, this isn't directed at anyone. Just my observation.
Yes I understand that, but Paddy won Fargo and Ironman. Bouzakis actually beat Mendez to make the u20 world team in high school. I just don’t get saying that Mendez was elite but Bouzakis was not elite.
tOSU is still able to land top recruits due to its location. Ohio is a hot bed and its close to PA.
I'm in the same boat as you my friend, but I recognize that Cael has developed an insight that the rest of us do not see in a recruit. I suspect DT learned well from Master Yoda. The "insight" isn't infallible but pretty damned good. Part of the equation is a higher end RTC to entice them.
Offering high NIL can actually come across as a compensation for what the school doesn't enjoy, which is a quality RTC, That's why Cael doesn't offer full Scholarships or high NIL.
Are top recruits = elite recruits in all cases? That's my simple point. They are not according to the elite coaches using modern philosophies.
The being given money ceiling at Iowa is much higher than anywhere else, that I agree with. You guys have a ton of fan support, it's great and I am a tad jealous of it, but we are pretty supportive around here too. Media support? Not sure how you qualify that.
Most NIL is the lazy, most speculative and risky route to take.
If I am being recruited and the Program aligns with my development and path to goal attainment AND I get the opportunity to profit well, it is a no-brainer.
Have a few camps, with advertising, media and sales to make a substantial chunk. Have some sound investment strategy in place with other avenues is also great. Have a much smaller NIL agreement in place, still nice to have. There is a decent recipe to get more of a payday than just being given a check to compete for a few years.
Is it hard to turn down 500k, sure. Is it easier when you will be getting much more than that over 10 AND in a spot to help you win Gold medals...not really?
If you're 17 and have spent countless hours in the room honing your skills, which message resonates? Money or better training to get you to the top? I often think we all think of our situation rather than that of a 17 year old striving to reach the top of the mountain.
Those guys were the crème de la crème coming out of HS, so, either Ohio state is not evaluating talent properly or they are not developing talent properly. My bet is on the latter. Ohio is a hotbed for talent, as well as right next door to the hottest bed of talent in the US. They should be vying for championship every year.
By media support I mean television viewership it probably coincides with fan support.
If Jax went to Iowa and became multi time champion, world team threat, there is no doubt Iowa shells out money for him to remain an RTC athlete on top of the sponsorships he already has.
I understand that his career at Iowa would probably be fine and he would probably do pretty well AND he would be well compensated to stay and train with nobody to be a world team threat.
IF, he were to choose Iowa, it is my opinion, nothing more...he is selling himself short. You don't embark on a career with a company trending down unless your job is to turn it around and he isn't being recruited to be the HC.
That was December 10 of 2023.
