I’m anxious to hear the good news. Also, plenty of rumors floating around out there for a Nick Suriano return to college. He sure would look good in orange for a season.
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I was on the floor for the finals that year. I remember Nick's dad going nuts, seems like a real idiot. That being said I'd take Nick for a year at 125 as long as his dad stayed out of Stillwater 😁
I'd pay good money to watch just about anyone's dad try to take on John Smith.
Did you guys see the Flo videos on DC's new wrestling academy? He mentioned some wrestling parents are out of control. So he plans to separate the viewing area & the practice area with one way mirrors. Parents can watch their kids, while the kids focus only on their instructors.
Keep in mind that you have a lot of good talent locked up down the road:
Both Ferrari's, Kale Voinovich, Sam Smith for sure. And i'd imagine Cael Hughes, LaDarion Lockett, Clayton Giddens, JJ McComas and maybe Jace Roller.
You're in on Braeden Davis out of Michigan. And I don't have inside info on this one but i would go hard at Jersey Robb.
the roster is loaded and that's not gonna change any time soon.
and i'm pretty sure Jordan Williams will recommit (some say he already has).
Both Ferrari's, Kale Voinovich, Sam Smith for sure. And i'd imagine Cael Hughes, LaDarion Lockett, Clayton Giddens, JJ McComas and maybe Jace Roller.
You're in on Braeden Davis out of Michigan. And I don't have inside info on this one but i would go hard at Jersey Robb.
the roster is loaded and that's not gonna change any time soon.
and i'm pretty sure Jordan Williams will recommit (some say he already has).
2023 & 2024 are our best opportunities to win a team title. Besides PSU, OhioSt is now emerging as a challenger. They just picked up Rocco Welsh. Along with Bouzakis, Feldman, Gallagher, Kharchla & Sasso, I think they now have 6 guys that are/were top 10.
Problem is go back 5 yrs ago and we were saying 2022 would be our year.it will be tough every year.the top 5 teams including OK sT will keep getting top talent.
The top teams do recruit well, yes. But OhioSt & PSU get a ton of top 10 guys. And I missed one above too, Decatur was also top 10. So they have 7 signed/committed. For comparison, we have 4 - Daton, AJ, Plott & Wittlake.
The problem with OhioSt is they haven't developed their talent nearly as well as PSU.
Ohio state and Michigan don’t seem to do much with a ton of their talent
You might have a specific ranking and point of time for that ranking to use as who counts as a top 10 recruit, but Trevor Mastrogiavanni, Travis Mastrogiavanni, Voinovich, and Haas have all been ranked top 10 p4p.
I’ve kind of come to terms with OSU and their recruiting. They may not get as many top recruits as some but they get a lot more than most. They also develop their talent as well as, or better than the best of them. I was pretty surly over the RTC situation but I’m impressed with what they do with what they have.
I was going off Flo's final rankings. Which is a problem because their rankings haven't been good lately - they had Plott #11, but I counted him anyway because that was ridiculous. Trevor was #13, Travis #39, Voinovich #12 and Haas #18. Also, Carter Young was #19.
This is no knock on our recruiting, which has been great the last couple of years. But on paper at least, OhioSt & PSU have been better.
Well COVID kind of messed everything up. Not saying we would win it but things would look a lot different if Iowa wasn't loaded with super seniors.
I do agree with you. The future is now. We are a very good team. Smith and team do a great job at developing talent. I think we have a really good team that can do great things. I think many may see our finishing 3rd this year was just a “one-off”, but I feel that the staff planned it well and had the team reaching their potential and I only see better things this year and the next. It takes time for new recruits to develop, for the most part. I think we only needed a little attitude, ie AJ Ferrari, to get that swagger back. I’m very excited for our prospects
I would say the concern of an OsU fan now and moving forward is in the development aspect. Of course John and crew develops our guys but are we doing it to the degree PSU is (and a few other blue bloods who have full RTC programs)?
That is going to be the question and difference in us hanging a few more banners in GIA or not. Can we turn our blue chippers into a Nolf, Nickal or Lee? Can we churn out multiple time NC’s who are dominant wrestlers? That’s the question.
The cupboard is now loaded with potential but we have to push and develop our guys to become that and lately is been a fair concern/criticism.
You can lead a really good horse to water but you can’t make him drink. Our coaches know how to lead and we’ve got really good horses. I have no doubt that AJ and Daton work their butts off and that is why they win. I’m sure there are others on the team that also do the same. This will win team championships.
I hope more of the team joins in on the dedication to wrestling that AJ and Plott have. Those two go to practice, work hard, and strive to be better after practice than before. I’m afraid too many of our guys show up to practice in body only and they are more concerned with after practice than practice itself. I would add Taco to the twosome above, it’s a damn shame that he can’t stay healthy.
I agree with OSU2082, development will be key.
Rob Koll says some interesting things. I mentioned before he cited PSU's $9M in RTC assets as the #1 reason for their success.
Something else he said was that when he began coaching, he used to spend 12 hours/day in the room teaching technique. He loved developing guys. Then at some point he realized if he had 5 guys teaching the technique, it would actually be 5x more productive. So he turned his efforts toward fundraising and endowing the positions of the college assistants & RTC athletes.
Talent & hard work are key, no doubt. But guys need someone in the room to push them. That's one reason why the RTCs are so important. College guys go H2H with senior level athletes. I have no doubt JO was critical in Yianni's development. JO is one of the most talented & cerebral wrestlers in the country. I don't think it's a coincidence that 2 guys he trained with won titles - Yianni @ 141 and Austin O'Connor @ 149.
Rob Koll says some interesting things. I mentioned before he cited PSU's $9M in RTC assets as the #1 reason for their success.
Something else he said was that when he began coaching, he used to spend 12 hours/day in the room teaching technique. He loved developing guys. Then at some point he realized if he had 5 guys teaching the technique, it would actually be 5x more productive. So he turned his efforts toward fundraising and endowing the positions of the college assistants & RTC athletes.
Talent & hard work are key, no doubt. But guys need someone in the room to push them. That's one reason why the RTCs are so important. College guys go H2H with senior level athletes. I have no doubt JO was critical in Yianni's development. JO is one of the most talented & cerebral wrestlers in the country. I don't think it's a coincidence that 2 guys he trained with won titles - Yianni @ 141 and Austin O'Connor @ 149.
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I suppose it speaks to the newer generation, I think the program would benefit more to use the money for more assistants rather than a locker room.
I do not disagree at all. I would imagine John would put more money into an RTC if they had it. On FRL they said those that had money to invest into Rtc would and those that don’t would focus on collegiate wrestling. I would imagine Smith and staff would put more money into a senior program if they had it. That’s what gets me to sleep at night, at least.
We have real good team leadership and that makes all the difference. These guys are tough now if they can stay healthy
I know. I’ve written long posts about RTCs and I hope it happens one day.
I agree. I was unsure about the RTCs when they first started up, partly because there was too much smoke about guys getting paid while still in college. With the NIL, it doesn't matter now.
I look at it this way, D1 wrestling allows 1 head coach and 2 assistant coaches. And D1 football allows what, 10 assistants? I just think of the RTC athletes as additional coaches.
I imagine the new locker rooms are coming from a donations rather than budget. I have no inside info on how this all went down but I think it is a lot easier to raise money for physical construction than salaries (right or wrong).
This is accurate. And technically the OSU AD can’t solicit funds for the RTC. They can for facilities which are needed and what is being done.
They are still actively fundraising for a stand alone world class facility.
As far as assistants… That number is set by the NCAA and we are very well funded there. What is being suggested is we hire an RTC coach or two and sponsor senior level guys which has to be separate from the OSU AD and we all know our coach and athletic directors stance on RTCs and so until that changes it’s a moot point.
The really strange thing is we already have 2 RTC coaches - Derek Fix & Zo. They are not University employees and by rule they must be paid separately. What's puzzling is why only 2? Why can't we add more? Never understood it.
We could but they would need to be paid for. The RTC would need to raise the funds.
Sure, but why would that be an issue? A short time ago, we had Alex, Derek & Eddie as RTC athletes and they were all being paid. I'm struggling to see why $ would be the problem.
I don’t know that all 3 were FT at the same time and if so I expect one was working another job. Alex was the OSU volunteer assistant so he got some housing assistance and was able to make money working OsU and other camps.
We don’t have the financial power to go attract and “hire” multiple senior level athletes and our coach has been hesitant to mix the two and really put his efforts into helping raise the funds for the RTC.
Volunteer assistants must also be paid separately from the University. And early in Alex's RTC career, Chris Perry was actually the volunteer coach. Then Issac Jordan took the role for a year when Chris came on staff.
I think your last paragraph probably explains it - John is reluctant to dive into the RTC fundraising. But again, why is he ok funding 2 coaches, but not 3 or 4? And if he was philosophically opposed to RTCs, then we would have zero coaches. Just seems strange to me.
I think your last paragraph probably explains it - John is reluctant to dive into the RTC fundraising. But again, why is he ok funding 2 coaches, but not 3 or 4? And if he was philosophically opposed to RTCs, then we would have zero coaches. Just seems strange to me.
I would think we can get $500,000 a year to fund some athletes for the RTC over what we spend now. In this day of NIL, why would John or anybody still have a problem with it?
Regarding facility....what do we need in one? A great locker room, weight room, training room with hot/cold tubs, etc., large wrestling room, and maybe a small, cool meeting room. Now Ohio State also has basically a small arena with theirs if I remember correctly...is that really needed? Where is our wrestling room now? Where is the wrestling weight room and training room and how good are they? Is there a plan for use of these new locker rooms if we get a separate wrestling facility?
Regarding facility....what do we need in one? A great locker room, weight room, training room with hot/cold tubs, etc., large wrestling room, and maybe a small, cool meeting room. Now Ohio State also has basically a small arena with theirs if I remember correctly...is that really needed? Where is our wrestling room now? Where is the wrestling weight room and training room and how good are they? Is there a plan for use of these new locker rooms if we get a separate wrestling facility?
To be neither completely in on RTCs nor completely out on RTCs is pointless. If you feel that RTCs are breaking a rule or at least shady, don’t do them. Keeping some athletes but not supporting it, is a waist of time. If you support even one wrestler, you’re part of the “problem”. You might as well be all in.
Jordan Williams will be a cowboy
Getting stacked up on talent. I like it.
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