Witcraft is done. And I can see what youre saying about DT wanting to build his own but beyond that HE WANTS TO WIN! Do not underestimate the drive to win with this guy. It's all he's ever known. Even Cael constantly looks for upgrades even when its questionable if he needs them. DT was not happy last night, you could see it in his face several times. Getting quality transfers the first few years does nothing to diminish what he eventually wants to do long term.
Next Years Lineup
- Thread starter Cowboy1989
- Start date
Only way Rin is getting in the lineup is if he goes 133.
Witcraft is finally out of eligibility lol.
157 should be Travis
Would like to see Routledge get a RS but wouldn’t surprise me there.
Not sure any of us are excited about BT 2.0 but if he figures it out I’m all for it.
285 - transfer please but I do think Doucet is an AA probably
It's just not going to be some 4-6 transfers like some guys are asking for. You don't need it. Sure DT wants to win, but he also wants to win the right way, and he's not going to "pay" for a bunch of portal guys.
And I honestly think a bumped up Hughes and Jamison solves more than a couple problems.
Not to be too dramatic, but this weekend needed to be an alarm bell of sorts for DT imo. The foundation of next years lineup is precarious at best and we lose both of those duals without the transfer hammers. I don't want to get in the Iowa situation NIL/Portal wise but we need some strategic gets and no one should be safe... That or we have to start seeing sustained development. No more 1 step forward and 2 steps back from the lower weights. I also don't know what to truly expect from 184. Merrill is the only one I feel really good about over the next 2 years.
All that said the portal is not where we want to live so as Howie said, this '26 class is an absolute must. And we may be in the situation where we take more than we had originally planned. I also wouldn't be against trying to steal some really good '24 and '25 guys if we don't feel like we can count on guys to live up to their potential. I'd love to see us make a run at some guys like Davino or Norman. Hell maybe Minnesota will let us make a trade at 184
Agreed. Would still like to strongly consider transfers at 165 and heavy if they’re out there. Taking 2 transfers right now is not living/dying by the portal.
I'd agree if it still only took 100 points or so to win NCAAS. Nowadays it takes 80 plus just to finish top 3. Also, DT knows how the guys in waiting really look (we only get glimpses) and if he's not satisfied I think we could absolutely see 4plus out of the portal.
You don't want to be like "Iowa" but yet name 3 transfers you would like. The portal is a thing and if you don't use it you will fall behind. It will take years of development before you won't need the portal. And after reading the posts here most want to win nowNot to be too dramatic, but this weekend needed to be an alarm bell of sorts for DT imo. The foundation of next years lineup is precarious at best and we lose both of those duals without the transfer hammers. I don't want to get in the Iowa situation NIL/Portal wise but we need some strategic gets and no one should be safe... That or we have to start seeing sustained development. No more 1 step forward and 2 steps back from the lower weights. I also don't know what to truly expect from 184. Merrill is the only one I feel really good about over the next 2 years.
All that said the portal is not where we want to live so as Howie said, this '26 class is an absolute must. And we may be in the situation where we take more than we had originally planned. I also wouldn't be against trying to steal some really good '24 and '25 guys if we don't feel like we can count on guys to live up to their potential. I'd love to see us make a run at some guys like Davino or Norman. Hell maybe Minnesota will let us make a trade at 184
No I don’t long term. I’d rather build through recruiting. And I don’t want to be paying kids 500k to leave schools.
Definitely don’t wanna spend our money that way, but if there’s a hammer who wants to be here and be a part of what DT is building then I’m all for the portal. Sad part is even if that’s the case people will spin it as buying/poaching like Iowa.
Iowa isn't the only one doing it FYI. Hell Hamiti left NCAAs and went directly to Stillwater on Sunday and entered the portal on Monday. So conversations were had prior
Oh for sure Iowa isn’t the only ones. They’re just the only ones where the laundry has been laid out more.
Hoping we attempt at Stanford’s 174 kid. He’s a monster and DT loves him.
This thread has turned into a joke.
Cleveland State is the first of many dominoes to fall because of funding and this is the kinda **** that gets talked about.
I hope we don’t tamper and grab any kid that competes for another school. The ones we’ve got are situations that aren’t bothersome.
Fish, wanted a change.
Amine, needed and wanted a change.
DJ wasn’t being utilized how he thought he should be weight wise.
Hendrickson was out of eligibility at his current spot.
Those guys were leaving and we didn’t steal them from a fledgling Program. Going and grabbing guys to bolster your own situation is going to end this sport.
Cleveland State is the first of many dominoes to fall because of funding and this is the kinda **** that gets talked about.
I hope we don’t tamper and grab any kid that competes for another school. The ones we’ve got are situations that aren’t bothersome.
Fish, wanted a change.
Amine, needed and wanted a change.
DJ wasn’t being utilized how he thought he should be weight wise.
Hendrickson was out of eligibility at his current spot.
Those guys were leaving and we didn’t steal them from a fledgling Program. Going and grabbing guys to bolster your own situation is going to end this sport.
One person mentioned going after a kid….dont turn it on the whole thread man!
I would love to be strong enough to not need a transfer, and that time is coming. Until it’s here though I trust DT to only go after kids that have entered the portal or reached out to him (same thing right).
Yes that was a ridiculously quick reaction. DT is man of honor. It’s not about poaching. We can have our wish list on this board. But I trust DT to handle ethically.
The issue is it's not illegal. Some may not like it morally but it's legal. I don't like it either personally. But if the best are doing it and you're not then the gap will widen.
Everyone who leaves a school has a reason. So are you saying taking guys from a program if that program is on solid ground is ok? And I mean having a 3rd party reach out to that athlete before he hits the portal (because that's legal)
Yes, like it or not, (I'm not a fan either) it's here to stay. Your job as a coach is to put the best team on the mat and win, if you're not using the portal to your advantage you're not doing your job. These are the times we're in unfortunately.
I have no problem with it if a kid is leaving on his own.
If he’s given a bright and shiny carrot to enter the portal, I’m not a fan.
I don't know if you guys follow football recruiting/portal news. It makes wrestling tampering seem like a church social.
Pretty sure this is how we all feel and no one has really implied differently. Hence why I didn’t get your hate on the thread!
Pretty sure you mentioned not going after a kid and not starting a thread which is where this all came from bud.
As a sponsor I can pay to an athlete what I want to. I can even sponsor students at other universities. The school does not coordinate how much I pay to whom I want to sponsor.
That surprises me, Sakamoto is one of the best light weight wrestlers in Japan. How can he not be able to compete with Troy for 125, especially since he is working on folkstyle full time. Could you tell us how you know that?
I never deal in absolutes lol. Apologies it came off that way.
I think a top ranked 125 pounder who has wrestled folkstyle for years and is going into his 4th year of college experience would be hard to almost impossible to knock off. If Rin can do it then more power to him, but it would mean he is gonna be a phenom potential 4 timer. Which I’m all for, but that’s unlikely.
I know Rin fits better at 125 but he has wrestled 61kgs when necessary. Maybe time in the USA will bulk him a little bit and he will be just as good at 133. Makes more sense to me unless he is clearly better than Troy.
I give my opinion on things all the time and so there is no problem. I just remember Coach Smith stating that Sakamoto and Merrill were really special and would make a big impact on our program. I seem to remember Coach Smith say that Sakamoto was really quick, that his quickness was special. I look forward to seeing him wrestle.
I’d like to hear how you think Wolbert’s junior year has been poor specifically?
You don't know Harley very well do you?
Yes, I tend to be a person who sees the glass half empty as Chase indicates. I watched several of his matches on video after he committed and thought he is a solid recruit but I questioned if he would ever be 1st team for the Cowboys. On flow he is rated 18th at 144 as a junior with 7 other juniors rated ahead of him. I had remembered a poster in December who was watching a tournament where Wolbert won by major in the semi's but had really gassed later in the match and then got way up in the match in the finals and then ran out of gas and got beat 12 to 11 by an unrated opponent. When I think about it poor was not the description I should have used. I hope that he becomes an all- time great in Stillwater and jumps many levels.
Personally, I don’t think the sky is falling. Did we underperform? Yes. We still won. Our lower weights have struggled. We still have until March to figure things out. DT can’t be compared to any other coach. Give it 3-5 years, then we can start to see how his plan rolls out. We are a top 3 team. Penn state has done things right and deserves to be top of the heap. Like it or not, iowa is, and has been, a strong team year in and year out. They have done a great job at firing up their base. It’s now our turn to lay our foundation and knock these two off their perches. Go pokes!
You talking about the 12-11 match that he was on his way to teching the dude in the first, gassed, lost, learned from it and that dude didn’t touch his legs when Kellen hammered him at the Cheesehead two weeks later? That match? How many of his matches have you watched? What is your specific critique of his game?
And please don’t come at us with the effing Flo rankings. Flo!?! Flo. You’re rolling out Flo and ignoring that MatSouts has him at 8th.
Good info. I had seen he lost, but didn't see he beat the same kid 4-0 later on