Thanks for a respectful response. I don't think it's really debatable that Nick would have a better room (and coaching?) at Penn State, but he's going to do what he feels is best for him in the end and probably doesn't want to consider my opinion.
As a realistic matter, I think it's really hard to leapfrog teams in the next tier in college wrestling. As you note, the 2018 recruiting class has what, a #48 or thereabouts guy as the top recruit? Basically every team that is ahead of Rutgers now has a better recruiting class. The class of 2019 is starting to fill in and the schools getting top guys are all ahead of Rutgers on the ladder. It's just really, really hard to move up that ladder. To consider it some kind of inevitability based on the results so far is a bit premature.
I don't have any disrespect for the Rutgers program and I'd like to see it improve (and to have the pre-match music *eliminated* haha) but man, it's a hard row to hoe to pass other programs - especially ones that have been at that second tier or at the top for a bit. Look at Penn State in the 1990s. Always knocking at the door and it just wouldn't open. If Cael hadn't come to State College, honestly, it's likely Penn State would still be stuck in the second tier and knocking at that door.
Yeah, I said that in reference to silly stuff being posted on message boards because, frankly, it was ridiculous. The "but" part bolded above I agreed with until we got into the "feel" stuff. That sounds like Goodale talking. Feeling does nothing. RU will be top ten when it actually *is*, not when it "feels" it is. Goodale has "felt" the program in top ten for years now and has "felt" he has multiple national champs in the room for YEARS. And I haven't demeaned the program, I am just giving a realistic assessment.
Agree with the tier analysis. But you can't really "average" over a severely limited number of years (like two). The last 4 years, there have been 6 AA finishers, and Ashnault has been 3 of them. And the finishes have been 8, 8, 4, 8, 6 and 7. And zero before the last four years since Tanis in 2002. 4-5 is a quantum leap in the # of AA's but I guess it could happen. We'll see.
We'll leave Suriano this year in the highly unlikely category given B1G and its pretty inflexible approach to its rules.