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Wittlake

turfpoke

All-American
Dec 10, 2003
2,630
1,646
113
First NCAA tournament and he has a 4th. I expect bonus points to go up and him to join Fix and Ferrari in the finals soon. He’s a huge part of #35 coming soon. Jordan Oliver finished 4th his freshman year. Chris Perry DNP. John Smith DNP. Just for reference.
 
First NCAA tournament and he has a 4th. I expect bonus points to go up and him to join Fix and Ferrari in the finals soon. He’s a huge part of #35 coming soon. Jordan Oliver finished 4th his freshman year. Chris Perry DNP. John Smith DNP. Just for reference.
I think he has the potential, for sure
 
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He became my favorite last year but I was disappointed by his lack of aggression this year. He has the strength, quickness, and balance to win it all. He just needs that killer instinct to force his will during the match. If he can’t see that by watching AJ mentally break his opponents, he will never get his arm raised on the last night.
 
He was better last year which is odd. Would have loved to see him in last year’s tourney. To me, it’s all about confidence with him. I expect a good improvement for next year. Kid is super talented
 
He became my favorite last year but I was disappointed by his lack of aggression this year. He has the strength, quickness, and balance to win it all. He just needs that killer instinct to force his will during the match. If he can’t see that by watching AJ mentally break his opponents, he will never get his arm raised on the last night.
This is almost exactly how I feel. Last year he was by far my favorite wrestler and this year he was/is still a close second to Ferrari, this is why I was so disappointed with his performance in the Big 12 and several of his NCAA bouts (especially the 3rd place bout). I hope and believe he will overcome whatever it is that has caused him to regress from his 2020 form and become a national champion.
 
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I am super happy that he AA'd and feel that he has a bright future. That particular future is less bright if he continues to Wrestle how he did towards the end of this season.

Twice, (I missed is conso finals match) at the Big Xii's and NCAA's I watched him give up a slow footed takedown in short time during the 1st period. Going down 3-0 or 4-1 half way through a match is tough and even tougher if you don't Wrestle aggressive.

If he can keep offensive pressure going, he can be a force. Proud for him, but selfishly, I want more.
 
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I am super happy that he AA'd and feel that he has a bright future. That particular future is less bright if he continues to Wrestle how he did towards the end of this season.

Twice, (I missed is conso finals match) at the Big Xii's and NCAA's I watched him give up a slow footed takedown in short time during the 1st period. Going down 3-0 or 4-1 half way through a match is tough and even tougher if you don't Wrestle aggressive.

If he can keep offensive pressure going, he can be a force. Proud for him, but selfishly, I want more.
I think 2082 indicated that he had some injury slowing him down at Nationals but maybe at Big 12's too. He may regret not getting that victory against O'Toole who is a true freshman because he may never beat him again. Although I heard O'Toole is really a 157 but with Carr at 157 I would stay at 165.
 
I have no inside info but he had to have something wrong with him. There were simple takedowns he nailed all year long that he couldn't finish in the postseason. He was off for some reason.
 
I have no inside info but he had to have something wrong with him. There were simple takedowns he nailed all year long that he couldn't finish in the postseason. He was off for some reason.
Agreed, that miss at the Big XII looked awkward.
 
I thought I would look back at the first two season results for some of the recent greats to compare to Wittlake. Since Wittlake has had the last two seasons partially interrupted, I am listing winning percentage.

J. Thompson 93.24%
T. Lewis 85.71%
C. Pendleton 83.33%
J Rosholt 77.59%
J. Hendricks 85.33%
C. Scott 77.46%
J. Oliver 93.85%
A. Dieringer 94.37%
D. Fix 94.00%
T. Wittlake 90.91%

Assuming Wittlake wrestled well below his 4 seed at last years tournament and went 3-2, his % drops to 88.33%. His percentage would still be better than all of the upper weights other than Dieringer.

As a true freshman, Coleman Scott went 24-9 or 72.7% but did place 8th. Mastro went 15-6 or 71.43% this season.
 
I'm pretty confident that Wittlake's floor is mid AA at this point and his ceiling is quite a bit higher. Higher as in senior world team member. He's that talented IMO. Would love to see him wrestle with more aggression.

The big questions to me are about Plott. First obviously is can he stay healthy? But also, how good will he be? He beat the 174 champ Starocci at Fargo. He also beat the 184 3rd Keckeisen at Fargo. When Plott's right, he overwhelms guys with his pace and constant shooting. Kind of like Zahid Valencia, although he's not as athletic.
 
I'm pretty confident that Wittlake's floor is mid AA at this point and his ceiling is quite a bit higher. Higher as in senior world team member. He's that talented IMO. Would love to see him wrestle with more aggression.

The big questions to me are about Plott. First obviously is can he stay healthy? But also, how good will he be? He beat the 174 champ Starocci at Fargo. He also beat the 184 3rd Keckeisen at Fargo. When Plott's right, he overwhelms guys with his pace and constant shooting. Kind of like Zahid Valencia, although he's not as athletic.

It’s all about health with Plott. What type of procedure or PT is needed to get his shoulder right. If that gets figured out his ceiling is higher than anyone on the team outside of Daton or AJ IMO.

Look at his resume and it’s as good as it gets.
 
I'm pretty confident that Wittlake's floor is mid AA at this point and his ceiling is quite a bit higher. Higher as in senior world team member. He's that talented IMO. Would love to see him wrestle with more aggression.

The big questions to me are about Plott. First obviously is can he stay healthy? But also, how good will he be? He beat the 174 champ Starocci at Fargo. He also beat the 184 3rd Keckeisen at Fargo. When Plott's right, he overwhelms guys with his pace and constant shooting. Kind of like Zahid Valencia, although he's not as athletic.
I like the aggressive part but he better develop some leg defense. What's up with that in the room? Needs to be addressed IMHO.
 
It’s all about health with Plott. What type of procedure or PT is needed to get his shoulder right. If that gets figured out his ceiling is higher than anyone on the team outside of Daton or AJ IMO.

Look at his resume and it’s as good as it gets.
Had no idea he beat Starocci
 
Plott was back and forth with Ferrari as the top recruit in the class. I like the mean streak he has on top. He looks like he can be a bonus point machine.
 
How much is Plott cutting? Is he better at 184?

I'm not sure how much he's cutting. He went 182 as a HS junior and then missed his senior year with the injury. It wouldn't be the worst idea for him to go 184. As DPJ posted, he could bulk up and strengthen the shoulders.

I usually take note when John says something. While discussing Plott's challenges this year and the adversity he faced, John said "Plott will be great".
 
I'm not sure how much he's cutting. He went 182 as a HS junior and then missed his senior year with the injury. It wouldn't be the worst idea for him to go 184. As DPJ posted, he could bulk up and strengthen the shoulders.

I usually take note when John says something. While discussing Plott's challenges this year and the adversity he faced, John said "Plott will be great".
When was that quote from? If he needs a major shoulder procedure, that would probably mean a RS in 2021-22.
 
When was that quote from? If he needs a major shoulder procedure, that would probably mean a RS in 2021-22.

It was during the media session before Big12s (on youtube), but it wasn't regarding surgery. IDK if that's necessary.

Basically John was talking about Plott's challenges - being thrown into a short season as a true freshmen after missing his senior year, being tough and understanding that college wrestlers put up a fight, dealing with the shoulder concern, etc. Said it was all a learning experience for him and that "he's going to be a great wrestler for us".
 
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