It’s only a matter of time for him
Next years squad
- Thread starter driad
- Start date
Hello everyone. Huge Poke fan for years and glad to be among others who are like minded. Looking ahead to next year I'm completely blown away that no one seems concerned with Thompson? You have a top blue chip recruit that really has no offense. Im puzzled how that even happens? And dont kid yourself hes been in and around Stillwater for a good while. Its nothing personal but there are no guarantees he EVER develops a solid, consistent offense. Anyone remember Dallas Bailey? He never did. Outside of Surber being injured, 174 seems to be the weight we are least likely to score any points at NCAAs and everyone seems fine with it? So my question is should the staff be actively seeking to recruit over him and have they learned their lesson to focus more on guys that score points when recruiting?
I 100% agree. He’s the most frustrating wrestler for me but every time anyone says anything people just yell Fr so we’ll see.
Forgetting Alvarez has another gear if he chooses to come back. I wouldn’t count him out. A 24/25 year old guy
Upper weight freshmen generally struggle. He is progressing well. Remember Clayton Foster got better over time.
Next Year I see Spratley, Hughes, Jamison, Williams or Young, Travis, portal, Thompson, Plott, Surber, Doucet or Carroll. Shocker I know. After NCAAs there needs to be hard evaluations about who we need to recruit over. That part sucks and I dont say it lightly. You root for all these guys but Championships dont come easy. The other top programs do it and we have to do the same.
Ive heard Coach Smith say hes gotten better also. Still no kind of TD whatsover. You CANNOT win if you cant score on your feet. Let me say he WONT WIN if he cant score on his feet. Not against anyone good. To win trophies and especially titles we need point scorers and as many guys firing on all cylinders as possible.
Guys always are more aggressive with wrestlers they dominate. Few true Freshman larger than 165 pounds come in and dominate. Hopefully he does not lose the aggressive nature that he had when we were recruiting him. Howie is correct about being aggressive, but pretty confident he will get that back. He has been very defensive, but I am sure he has worked out with Plott and Olenyk and gets his face stuffed in the mat everytime he shoots. I bet that changes next year.
Let me say I really hope BT develops a shot and becomes what we all hope he can be. We've def bet the farm on him. But I have no clue what BT you watched in HS because he has never been a big points guy in HS or wherever. Aggressive? Maybe, but always low scoring.
There has been plenty of consternation/frustration express about Thompson. It certainly hasn’t been all one sided one way or the other. Plenty of the concerns seem to have been valid.
That said, he’s made steady progress this year. The two biggest things he has going for him is exceptional strength and superior defense. He does struggle to generate offense and is better at this point at Mat wrestling and using others aggression against him. He’s extremely difficult to score on.
I’m definitely more optimistic than I was at the beginning on the season, bordering on getting excited. If he makes the total commitment to year round development, OSU should be fine at 174 with him.
That said, he’s made steady progress this year. The two biggest things he has going for him is exceptional strength and superior defense. He does struggle to generate offense and is better at this point at Mat wrestling and using others aggression against him. He’s extremely difficult to score on.
I’m definitely more optimistic than I was at the beginning on the season, bordering on getting excited. If he makes the total commitment to year round development, OSU should be fine at 174 with him.
I don’t ever expect him to be a prolific scorer but I think him getting shut out on takedowns is a mental block at this point. He has a decent duck under and he does really well working an elbow, just needs to be more aggressive with it to develop a snap into a high single or even a pull into a far ankle. Feel like we saw it some early and now it’s not there because mentally he is wrestling guys more physical than ever before. He is such a positionally strong wrestler defensively his brain is telling him it’s not there and he will expose himself. Just my guess (and hopes), without trying to make excuses for him.
So if he doesnt score any points at NCAAs should the staff look to recruit over him or not? Its a big if as to whether he gets some real offense going and waiting another year to get another hammer at 74 is risky. The staff was so all in on BT they completely passed on Gabe Arnold. Big miss there.
He also has to commit to staying 174. He wants to be 84 and Plott has another year and Robb may be the guy in waiting for that spot. Robb has showed way more promise/potential wrestling up a weight than Thompson has so far.
FWIW, John said that right now Thompson would major the CKLV version of himself -- that's how much he's improved in the last 2 months.
He's always been a stingy defensive wrestler with limited offense, primarily a throw-by and a duck. The staff is looking to add some more attacks. They also want him to trust his conditioning and wrestle at a higher pace the first 2 periods.
He's always been a stingy defensive wrestler with limited offense, primarily a throw-by and a duck. The staff is looking to add some more attacks. They also want him to trust his conditioning and wrestle at a higher pace the first 2 periods.
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I agree with majoring himself from Vegas because I was shocked how horrible he looked in his 2 matches there. I believe he could tech the CKLV version of himself at the end of his junior year because he did well at Senior Nationals also. I have yet to figure out an explanation of how poorly he wrestled at CKLV. He wrestled close matches with the top high school guys in the country who went to Penn. St and Ohio State but seemed to always come up with the win ( a takedown in the 3rd period or overtime, or win in overtime by escaping or riding a little longer than his opponent. He does need to get more takedowns.
Thrilled about Jersey Robb - that seems like a stretch to suggest he’s outperformed Thompson. Thompson has some solid results, and has handled the pressure of being a starter.
Gabe Arnold is a stud. That said, it seems like it would be a challenge to recruit over Thompson.
He was ranked #3 & #6 coming out of HS. Seems a little too early to want to cut bait.
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Just a guess, but it could be the weight cut.
I don't think he cut at all in HS. Chris Perry said he was around 185 when he wrestled 86 KG in freestyle, but maybe dropping those 10 lbs were an adjustment for him.
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You might be correct in saying it’s a stretch that Robb has outperformed BT. But I wonder how well Robb would be wrestling if he had as many matches? Not to mention Robb is giving up weight every match. He’s so much more active and maybe that’s what I was focusing on?
And it might be a challenge to recruit over him but if he goes 0-2 in March then you have to try. That goes for anyone underperforming. Psu wouldn’t and doesn’t hesitate to replace and upgrade. We can’t either. Our problem is we don’t really have anyone else at 74 right now.
He’s not cutting any weight he needs to grow up in his life be committed to Wrestling and his weight and he will be fine
I don't want to see OSU go full PSU on recruiting over guys if they don't reach the podium as a true freshman. That's the kind of disloyalty that Carroll called out as a reason not to go there and is just a crappy way to treat people. I'm not saying give everyone a full 4 years of starting regardless of their performance and growth... but one season isn't enough IMO.
I agree that guys need a little more time than one year of their true freshman campaign for anyone to analyze their performance and future success. BUT given the quickly changing environment of college wrestling and HS seniors coming in ready to start you need to figure it out quickly and cant give too much leeway for a true freshman. Then there is still a time-lapse from when a recruit gets on campus which would leave at least another year for someone like BT to prove himself. If you don't take this route you are potentially leaving yourself with a big hole in the lineup if you don't go out and get a transfer.
I get that. I really do. There are current starters Im rooting for that I would hate to see sitting nest year. But we probably arent catching psu or even Iowa if we dont. We need at the very least to produce an environment that brings in more top guys (depth) that gives us plenty of viable options. Guys that dont mind sitting an extra year if need be. We might be heading that way but still have a ways to go. If you look at psu 57-74 they have current and incoming of PJ Duke, Haines, Sealey, Henkel, Messinbrink and Facundo. Thats insane. They have a trio of great 125s as well. So we can do it our way but be prepared to keep the current title of this forum for a good long while.
I see this also. So do you think the staff needs to be looking for more viable options at 74 soon in case he doesnt come around or just be patient?
Yeah, there is a point when you want to be committed to these athletes and give them the best opportunity to actuate themselves. I remember the heavy weight PSU had a few years ago (I think it was Seth Neville’s). He was pretty highly ranked and and he had a pretty good record, as well as developing well and they recruited right over him with kerkvliet. I thought then that it was a crappy move. Yes, kerkvliet is a stud but I thought Nevills was a heck of a wrestler and was doing everything PSU was asking. Cael will do what ever it takes to win, no matter who he has to climb over.
They also got Dean when they had Beard.Its called D1 athletics get the best guys possible. You gotta have depth and the portal has made that difficult. Years ago you stayed and battled now you hit the portal and leave. The coaches should be recruiting depth regardless of who they currently have. If kids feel they're being recruited over they probably don't have the right mindset.
A true freshman 174 pounder. He is doing very well. There are three freshman ranked ahead of him and my gut feeling is they are redshirt freshman. The only problem I see with his development is he did not get to redshirt his freshman year. Most of the highly ranked guys at 174 are juniors and seniors. The highest ranked freshman at 165 is the # 12 that Olenyk slaughtered in a dual. I hope we are keeping an eye on Noah Mulvaney for recruiting. He is a true freshman. I think we can find some UIL money for him!
I feel like if you do not recruit the best and bring the best in, that makes the current team complacent and makes them feel that their spot is safe. If you do not have a competitive wrestling room, no one gets better. And honestly over the last four or so years, that has been the biggest issue. No one gets better, and because of that many teams have passed OSU in the rankings. A big portion of the job coaches do at this level is to recruit the best. If that means "over" recruiting, well so be it. Ultimately that is up to the wrestler to decide with hard work and showing the hard work they put in when they take the mat!
You want the best wrestlers you can get. I will not pay for any UIL money for a 174 pounder, but will for a 165 pounder.
I'm continually looking like a bad guy here but I'll disagree on the "doing well". Any wrestler in the OSU line up that is on a trajectory to go 0-2 at NCAAs cant be overlooked. Mulvaney is someone that could definitely have a high ceiling but he's an Askren guy. For those of you that dont know, getting one of his guys would be like pulling teeth. Ben hates OSU.
I'm pretty sure he wrestled at Askren's club AWA in Wisconsin. Ben's club has been putting out some great wrestlers lately. Howie is right, it's no secret Ben isn't a fan of OSU or Wisconsin for that matter.
Besides Kerkvliet & Max Dean, PSU also brought in Mesenbrink after Facundo went 0-2 at Nationals.
125 is another example. True freshman Braedan Davis is currently undefeated. Davis was ranked around top 30 in the '23 class when he committed to them in Dec '21. He had taken an official visit to OSU and didn't even have PSU listed in his top 5. But they got involved after top recruit Robbie Howard suffered another injury. They also brought in AA transfer Drew Hildebrandt at that time. And they flipped Gary Steen from Pitt in Jan '21. Steen was top 30 in the '21 class. Not to mention Lilledahl in the '24 class and Desmond in the '25 class.
They have the resources and they don't sit still.
125 is another example. True freshman Braedan Davis is currently undefeated. Davis was ranked around top 30 in the '23 class when he committed to them in Dec '21. He had taken an official visit to OSU and didn't even have PSU listed in his top 5. But they got involved after top recruit Robbie Howard suffered another injury. They also brought in AA transfer Drew Hildebrandt at that time. And they flipped Gary Steen from Pitt in Jan '21. Steen was top 30 in the '21 class. Not to mention Lilledahl in the '24 class and Desmond in the '25 class.
They have the resources and they don't sit still.
What’s the story there. He seems to promote his guys well and doesn’t just funnel them to Mizzou. Why are we special
Maybe he's still salty about Pendleton whipping his butt 😁
I have seen nothing out of Thompson this year to show me he may even be an All American at some point let alone "be a badass"
