The Fix/Pic situation is a conundrum. Pic is a natural 125 pounder and his build is not conducive to packing on weight. Fix has been wrestling at 125.66 in freestyle which is 57 kg. He is short and I have been told he does not have trouble making this weight and his performance bears this out. Both are excellent at 125 but if we let the "best man" wrestle 125 IMO we force Pic to go to 133 and while he would win the bulk of his matches there he most probably would not be an All-American. This is no knock on Pic he is just too small for 133. Daton on the other hand can and should place high at either weight. We need both in the lineup so my bet is that Fix will move to 133.
Next years roster
- Thread starter Stew920
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During the Italy trip, Flo interviewed Gary C about Derek White's move from 197 to heavy (the Cowboy bulk job). Gary said Picc was on the same strength program last summer and that he needed to taper off as the preseason approached so that he could still certify at 125. Hopefully that's a positive that he can add the size and strength for 133.
After seeing Pic in Vegas no doubt that's the plan he's already put on some size up top
Edinboro seems like it will die-Geer, Lugo,(Iowa), Miller and Myers (VT), Russel (Minny). That may possibly be their top 5 wrestlers gone.
Maybe they saw the light when they lost Baumgarner?
I think Flynn would have stayed had Bruce still been AD. Apparently Edinboro is also in big trouble financially.
Abe Assad decommited from Army West Point. He just won Cadet greco & freestyle (will be teammates with Kerkvliet and Ferrari at World's). #13 overall in the class of 2019 and projects to 174/184.
He would be a great pickup for us and we certainly will have the scholarship $ available. Out of Illinois, which hasn't been fertile ground for us recently, but I would make a big push for him.
He would be a great pickup for us and we certainly will have the scholarship $ available. Out of Illinois, which hasn't been fertile ground for us recently, but I would make a big push for him.
Are we in on Ferrari or is it wishful thinking on this board? Proximity should help us as we are the only competitive team within driving distance for his parents.
Assad sounds like a stud and a stud in the heavier weights is much more of a sure thing than 157 or below.
Assad sounds like a stud and a stud in the heavier weights is much more of a sure thing than 157 or below.
Checking out some comments on instagram and it looks like Michigan will be going after Assad. Hopefully Tyler Caldwell convinces him to visit Stillwater and then hits him with a full scholly offer.
I'm no insider but it appears like we have the lead with Ferrari at this point. Besides the wrestling piece, AJ also wants to get into MMA at some point after international wrestling, which should bode well for us. That said, every power program will be going after him. Dustin Myers comments on his instagram. He's the Ohio State RTC S&C coach (yes, the tOSU RTC has $ to fund a separate S&C coach).
My rants about RTCs are nothing new, but if we lose out on Ferrari or Kerkvliet, it will be because of the RTC. Ryan will be pushing that tOSU offers Kyle Snyder as a training partner and NC State could say the same thing to Kerkvliet about Nick Gwiazdowski. A few weeks back, Pokes2010 posted that improved facilities are the most important thing for recruiting. I just don't see that. Ask Daton if he would rather train in a shiny new building with an NCAA qualifier or in an old building with a World Team member.
That is good to hear on Ferrari. I really like the idea of having two very high quality larger wrestlers in the room. A top recruit at the lower weights likely means a multiple time AA where a top recruit upper weight generally leads to a higher place on the podium for the wrestler. There are rarely multiple top 20 recruits in the heavier weights.
That would be a good get except I would prefer Plott who likely would be a 74 and Whitlake at 65, and Montalvo at 84.
Harley, Assad is a better prospect than Montalvo. He would start at 184 over him.
Wrassler, I watched a bunch of his matches last night and he could be a better prospect than Montalvo at 84 if he grows a little more. I watched a match against Ramirez, Foca and Starocki and he beat Staroci but lost to the other 2 ( I believe he did not win state). He is improving and that is likely why he has decommitted from the Army. I don't know if he is better at freestyle than folkstyle. Montalvo could be a diamond in the rough. I could be wrong but Montalvo didn't seem chiseled and maybe doesn't lift a lot of weight. He could really develop here or maybe not. Time will tell.
Harley, all good points. I agree that Montalvo is underrated. He is very tough on top and I think he ends up being a multiple time AA. And Assad is from Illinois, which is known for its Greco & Freestyle success. But I watched his Fargo final against Ferrari from last year and he gave AJ a good match. Then he won that loaded 80 kg freestyle bracket this year.
You pointed this out before. We have Derek, Preston, Jacobe, Chandler, Geo, Jonce, and Mike Magaldo all graduating this year. Then we have Picc, Kaid, Boo, Joe, Tristan, and Andrew graduating the following year. My feeling is that if a high end guy is still available in the 2019 class then we have to grab him and let the wrestlers determine who ends up starting. We are all banking on a huge 2020 class, which hopefully happens. But there's risk there too if we end up missing out on some of our targets.
Keeping up with some of our 2018 class...
Travis Wittlake and Anthony Montalvo graduated this past weekend and have made their way to Stillwater already. Jalin Harper too I think. Probably taking classes and training for Fargo.
Jalin recently won the Southern Plains Regional freestyle and greco at 160. He beat Rodrick Mosley of HH along the way and Mosley ended up taking 3rd. Gavin Stika won Ohio State freestyle last month. He wrestled 160, up from 152 at state a few months ago. Interesting thing about him, he has a brother that's a 220 lb football player. He might grow into an upper weight at some point.
Travis Wittlake and Anthony Montalvo graduated this past weekend and have made their way to Stillwater already. Jalin Harper too I think. Probably taking classes and training for Fargo.
Jalin recently won the Southern Plains Regional freestyle and greco at 160. He beat Rodrick Mosley of HH along the way and Mosley ended up taking 3rd. Gavin Stika won Ohio State freestyle last month. He wrestled 160, up from 152 at state a few months ago. Interesting thing about him, he has a brother that's a 220 lb football player. He might grow into an upper weight at some point.
Patrick Kennedy out of MN verbals to Iowa. #8 recruit in the 2020 class, projects to 174.
Is it just me or are we the only school that seems to not get any early verbals? Kerkvliet did I guess, but that was only after he outgrew 197 and decommitted from Minny. Even Daton verballed at the last moment.
Is it just me or are we the only school that seems to not get any early verbals? Kerkvliet did I guess, but that was only after he outgrew 197 and decommitted from Minny. Even Daton verballed at the last moment.
I think Daton verballed publicly last minute. I know it is a small distinction but I think Daton verballed to the staff long before he made it public.
Daton probably told the coaches before he announced in November, but he was still taking official visits into October (including PSU).
I don't blame guys for taking their visits or considering all their options. I think that's smart. But it sure would be nice if we got an early commit once in a while. How great would it be if Dustin and AJ announced tomorrow that they were committing to us?
AJ and family are moving to New Jersey and attending Blair Academy. That's probably not a good thing for us. They did thank the OSU RTC, though.
Yeah that would seem to be very not a good thing for us.
does not bode well at all. PSU has the lead an this move may solidify that speculation. i wonder if john tried to maybe have them move to stillwater like a couple of our past recruits.
Sorry, I just got nauseous.
Well, I hope not. But if it happens I can't really blame him. He would have elite upper weight training partners in Taylor, Nickal, and Cael, plus a "guaranteed" job after graduation. Same with Ohio State, who's sure to make a big push now. Disappointing.
We have had Esposito and Ryan Davis from there, as well as Mocco (by way of Iowa). I know Buxton was the coach for all of those but it shouldn't be looked at such a bad thing. More OSU wrestlers have came from Blair than Allen.
FWIW, Joe Smith recently changed his instagram handle from 157 to 165. So maybe Chandler and Jacobe will both be bumping up also as we speculated.
I just hope Jacobe is healthy and will be able to wrestle with no lingering effects. Lots of potential there.
Jacobe knee will have lingering effects due to the type of injury. jacobe and chandler will wrestle off for 174 (jacobe will probably be the odd man out)
even though dayton stated he will go 125 it hasn't been decided who will go where.
as mentioned on the board the first two weights will be picc and dayton
brock is going 41 along with Gfeller (brock will be a very small 41).
even though dayton stated he will go 125 it hasn't been decided who will go where.
as mentioned on the board the first two weights will be picc and dayton
brock is going 41 along with Gfeller (brock will be a very small 41).
I’d be a little surprised if a healthy Jacobe lost more than he won against Chandler. And I’d give Chandler a chance against Joe. Until/unless he chooses to dedicate himself to wrestling Joe will just be very good, not great. I’m not sure he’s any better at his weight than many others on the team are at theirs.
i wish chandler or jacobe would challenge joe but it seems like he will have a free weight with no competition.
I think what you're hearing are some insiders or those who have heard from some insiders. JoJo is quite clearly supremely talented and ready, but I've heard the same, that, for all his success he isn't totally committed. While that speaks to just how good he is, it also paints a picture that he may not be as successful with the move up in weight.
It could be commitment but he has also dealt with injuries since he has been here which for a guy with his build is killer. I think Joe is in for another big year at a better weight for him.
it's not negativity it's just facts that although he has had some injuries he has also had some challenges with his commitment level. this is a new year and i hope he comes out storming like he did his freshman year but only time will tell.