Kid is just a competitor. All in for his team. I love that we picked him up.
NCAA PORTAL
- Thread starter Pokes1988
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One of those guys you love to hate when he’s on the other side and love to love when he’s on your side.
I don't know about Figueroa. Yes, he has national champion talent. Yes, he will be wrestling up a weight class that he is better suited for. But he didn't even AA last year. He looked tired, underfed, and burnt out. What makes us think DT can make magic with a guy like that???
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Well played 😊I don't know about Figueroa. Yes, he has national champion talent. Yes, he will be wrestling up a weight class that he is better suited for. But he didn't even AA last year. He looked tired, underfed, and burnt out. What makes us think DT can make magic with a guy like that???
It’s going to happen. Cost of doing business.
Not saying anyone has to like it. Seems to be the reality.
Yes but at some point you'd like to see the staff develop the guys we recruit who have paid their dues and been loyal. Trust me when I say I'm not mad about any of these moves but we can't continue to do this year after year.
I understand your sentiment and am aligned. That said, loyalty is a tricky word. No one was more loyal than John Smith, and things quit working.
They will try to bring in high end talent every year and have 1-2 guys at every weight that can challenge.
At some point, the portal should level off and it will be more headhunting top targets. That said, there have been holes in the lineup. There is no time to waste, you have to be able to compete every year and put out your best lineup.
The dynamics and foundations have completely changed. You almost have to view everyone as on a 1 year contract every year. It sucks, but this is how the system has metastasized.
AND, as we are seeing in other sports, it’s a 2-way street.
The system doesn’t reward loyalty in the way you and I see it.
This staff didn’t recruit these guys. If someone like Dee hit the portal then sure but these are not their guys
The portal is open you nimrod and we are getting Wresers there…not one has entered the portal with a DNC. We don’t have other head coaches publicly exposing OSU for tampering.
Don’t be so obtuse and yes, OSU is playing within the rules and is much classier.
Figs wasn't in and I knew he was going to Stillwater. Why the name calling mod be better. Nimrod 🤣🤣😍
IMO its only bad when Iowa or Penn State does it.
Figs is being offered $50 million per match by OSU
Meanwhile Brands is sacrificing babies to get Jordan Williams to transfer
Oh wait I don’t actually know any details
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Sounds just like one of our assistant coaches. Love Gilman being a cowboy. I’m sure we will love swiderski too.
It will slow down once DT gets the roster where it needs to be.
It sucks but if you want OSU wrestling back to the top it is going to take massive roster turnover. There is a reason where were so far behind.
Figs reached out to one of our RTC guys. Not hard to connect the dots. He wanted to make the change and move to Stillwater. There was no contact with anyone on staff before he was in the portal.
This is the reason that tampering is pretty much impossible to enforce. Playing the game of telephone has some risks for scrambled communication but one thing is certain - it doesn’t violate tampering rules. And that’s why everyone who is thinking clearly does it that way.
If someone wants to claim the contact violates the ‘spirit’ of the rule, good luck. This is a problem across all collegiate sports and it’s not going away without a major overhaul of the entire quagmire.
I think I am sniffing some Hamiti sarcasm - nicely done!I don't know about Figueroa. Yes, he has national champion talent. Yes, he will be wrestling up a weight class that he is better suited for. But he didn't even AA last year. He looked tired, underfed, and burnt out. What makes us think DT can make magic with a guy like that???
The first 2 or 3 years of Taylor's tenure will have pretty heavy portal usage - there is no other option if he wants a trophy contending team. After he gets 2 of his own recruiting classes on campus (year after next year), with the type of talent that OSU needs to contend again, the portal usage will slow down and he'll just cherry pick here and there.
Agreed, in '24 he was seeded 8th (17-5 record) but beat the #1 (Davis-PSU) and #3 (Ayala-Iowa) to win the natty but lost by a MD to Spratley in the dual. Obviously, a great tourney.I don't know about Figueroa. Yes, he has national champion talent. Yes, he will be wrestling up a weight class that he is better suited for. But he didn't even AA last year. He looked tired, underfed, and burnt out. What makes us think DT can make magic with a guy like that???
What happened last year at Nationals? Seeded #5 (17-4 rec; 4 via injury), won one match by 12-7 dec (not steller) then pinned by #12 (who didn't AA) and lost in Cons by a MD to #22 (who didn't AA). Definitely appears that is early season injury could have been affecting him.
I think you missed the sarcasm - Hamiti reference.
He looked bad in his first match at big 12's and then looked like his normal self after that. I'm assuming the cut was hard on him.
Agreed, however...
Since the 2021 (After COVID) we’ve had 10 wrestlers deliver 16 AA’s.
7 of those 10 were transfers (70%):
Caleb Fish, Cam Amine, Dean Hamiti, Wyatt Hendrickson, Troy Spratley, Izzak Olejnik & Dakota Geer each with 1 AA (Geer had one pre-covid AA)
Three were recruited/signed out of HS by OSU (30%):
Dustin Plott (4 AA’s), AJ Ferrari (1 AA) & Daton Fix (4 AA’s and one pre-covid AA)
It’s a much better percentage of AA’s with 43% from transfers and 56% home grown.
We’ve always had a few AA transfers here and there before COVID but it seemed like a good (or bad) demarcation. These are all I can think of from the 2000’s:
Jacobe Smith, Derek White, Tyler Caldwell, Steven Mocco, Muhammed Lawal, Skyler Holman, Daniel Cormier.
I’m sure I missed some along the way and I know there were others from our history. It would be fun to find all of them.
Dakota wasn’t a transfer was he?
Also, I don’t count Troy as a transfer. He ain’t have a spot here, but wanted to be here. Once a spot opened up, he went were he wanted to be. But I get it, he technically is a transfer.
The BEG guys interviewed him. He said he would be moving up next season.
Good, he looks like a 197 out there with 25 pounders…
Richie can get revenge for Troy when we wrestle them next year.
Hopefully we get the version of figs that dominated the backside of bracket at big12s
Geer was a transfer. I think it was Edinboro when the coach left.
Hopefully we get a much better version of Figs with him being able to eat, being healthier, and our coaches as with Hendrickson and Hamiti push Figs up a whole level and therefore becomes a National Champ.
I know they won't but if one of the coaches publicly said we did not offer him a spot right now, I might implode from the happiness that would bring me.
Good to see ya back in here @west2east I hope all is well!
I love when we get to see DT let his hair down a little
