Toggle sidebar

Willie's Crystal Ball picks has Penn State with 7 NCAA champions and 185 team points

M

McScoreley

All-Conference
Oct 31, 2021
345
1,765
93
I never got the "Sean Kinney will wrestle for PSU narratives and be a champ level heavyweight" takes (not many people said it but I've seen a few talk about it)

I'd be shocked if Cael would allow any expected contributors to do a double sport. The reality is it's not possible to do it and be effective at either. I'm sure he'll allow a Jan Johnson arrangement because Kinney would be a great body to have in the room during the season but I doubt he'd ever pencil Kinney in as a starter then.

Before people point out Ben Kueter, has he really played football at Iowa? He played for half a season as a true freshman (and didn't get time even) before being allowed to skip a football season then medshirting while recovering from offseason hip surgery.

The kids first love is clearly football, he made it clear when he chose to play FCS at Lafayette rather than wrestle for Cael.

His potential was once sky high but after being away from the sport so long and still clearly intending to play football, I think if he ever did wrestle, it would look an awful lot like Nash Hutmacher's 1 season at heavyweight. His physical talent alone might make him a NQ but not reasonable to expect anything more after that.

Wish the kid the best at Colorado.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BriantheLion, creamery freak, SandBuff and 1 other person
W

Wrestleknownothing

All-Conference
Oct 30, 2021
1,685
4,480
113
Psalm 1 guy said:
Willie's NCAA tournament Crystal Ball picks as of this point in the season: It sounds like his full picks are up now on his Rokfin channel, but I am not subscribed to Rokfin: Luke 1, Marcus 2 (Crookham 1 and Jax 3), Mendez 1, Echemendia 2, Davis blood round, SVN 1, Duke 1, Mitchell 1, Levi 1, Rocco 1, Barr 1, Bastida 1, AJ 2, Trumble 3, Feldman 4, Cole AA (Willie didn't specify his exact placing). So, Willie has Penn State with 9 AAs and Braeden losing in the blood round. Willie has Penn State scoring 185 team points.



0:00 - Intro
06:42 - Updated Crystal Ball Rankings
09:38 - 125lbs
15:20 - 133lbs Gonna Be Wild
27:50 - 141lbs
34:50 - 149lbs
43:25 - 157lbs
46:10 - 165lbs & 174lbs
49:20 - 184lbs - 285lbs
57:00 - Predicted Team Scores at NCAA’s
01:19:00 - Iowa/Nebraska Preview
01:28:30 - Iowa’s Lineup… No Angelo?
01:55:30 - Rest of the Weekend Slate
Click to expand...

With Crookham now out for the season presumably Willie bumps the crystal ball team point score to 189.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sir Pin Alot and SlipperyPete
J

jack66

All-Conference
May 29, 2001
3,408
3,456
113
mjmirv said:
I agree. I think Crookham’s injuries aren’t just “bad luck”. It sure seems like he puts his knees in very awkward positions as a defensive tactic to get a whistle/ potentially dangerous. That’s a long term strategy that rarely works out well.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it seems that his knees are not as rubbery as we thought.

I remember Verk putting his knees in awkward positions, but I don't recall any serious knee issues.
 
  • Like
Reactions: The Pitchfork Rebel and SlipperyPete
El_Jefe

El_Jefe

Heisman
Oct 11, 2021
3,310
13,105
113
McScoreley said:
I never got the "Sean Kinney will wrestle for PSU narratives and be a champ level heavyweight" takes (not many people said it but I've seen a few talk about it)

I'd be shocked if Cael would allow any expected contributors to do a double sport. The reality is it's not possible to do it and be effective at either. I'm sure he'll allow a Jan Johnson arrangement because Kinney would be a great body to have in the room during the season but I doubt he'd ever pencil Kinney in as a starter then.

Before people point out Ben Kueter, has he really played football at Iowa? He played for half a season as a true freshman (and didn't get time even) before being allowed to skip a football season then medshirting while recovering from offseason hip surgery.

The kids first love is clearly football, he made it clear when he chose to play FCS at Lafayette rather than wrestle for Cael.

His potential was once sky high but after being away from the sport so long and still clearly intending to play football, I think if he ever did wrestle, it would look an awful lot like Nash Hutmacher's 1 season at heavyweight. His physical talent alone might make him a NQ but not reasonable to expect anything more after that.

Wish the kid the best at Colorado.
Click to expand...
Agreed on Cael's position here.

Disagree on a couple points about Kinney. IMO his potential was never "sky high," it was always Seth Nevills -- which is good but Seth never made the podium.

Cael's offer was a co-offer with Franklin. So yes, football was the priority. That's also why he chose Lafayette. Because he could play there immediately, vs hoping to maybe play someday at Beaver Stadium. If he were higher up the PSU Football depth chart, we would've seen him in Lorenzo.

We might land him eventually anyway. He has 2 years + shirt remaining, and Colorado is a dumpster fire. Won't be surprised at all if he portals again next year.
 
  • Like
Reactions: McScoreley
M

McScoreley

All-Conference
Oct 31, 2021
345
1,765
93
El_Jefe said:
Agreed on Cael's position here.

Disagree on a couple points about Kinney. IMO his potential was never "sky high," it was always Seth Nevills -- which is good but Seth never made the podium.

Cael's offer was a co-offer with Franklin. So yes, football was the priority. That's also why he chose Lafayette. Because he could play there immediately, vs hoping to maybe play someday at Beaver Stadium.

We might land him eventually anyway. He has 2 years + shirt remaining, and Colorado is a dumpster fire. Won't be surprised at all if he portals again next year.
Click to expand...
Come to think of it, I think that's a good comparison. I think Sean was a bit more athletic than Seth, maybe closer to Nick (who did get on the podium twice and would have been a third time if it wasn't for Cassar moving up)
 
  • Like
Reactions: El_Jefe
El_Jefe

El_Jefe

Heisman
Oct 11, 2021
3,310
13,105
113
McScoreley said:
Come to think of it, I think that's a good comparison. I think Sean was a bit more athletic than Seth, maybe closer to Nick (who did get on the podium twice and would have been a third time if it wasn't for Cassar moving up)
Click to expand...
Mostly agreed but to me the big difference between Nick and Seth was weight.

Nick was optimal at 255. When he got up to the 262-265 range, he was noticeably slower. Seth was pushing 285 from the start and wasn't as quick as Nick.

Kinney would also have to cut to make HWT in college. More athletic than Seth? Maybe. Enough to place?

It's weird because I think he would've been better than Nathan Taylor. But Taylor is baaically the lone skilled XXL in an ocean of lighter heavies, who doesn't sniff the podium in a year with a volume of skilled 255+ guys like Kerk, Steveson, Hendrickson, Parris, Schultz, etc. (Then again, the seas once parted for Tate Orndorff to make 8th.)
 
Fatwoodchuck

Fatwoodchuck

Senior
Oct 19, 2023
396
573
93
El_Jefe said:
Agreed on Cael's position here.

Disagree on a couple points about Kinney. IMO his potential was never "sky high," it was always Seth Nevills -- which is good but Seth never made the podium.

Cael's offer was a co-offer with Franklin. So yes, football was the priority. That's also why he chose Lafayette. Because he could play there immediately, vs hoping to maybe play someday at Beaver Stadium. If he were higher up the PSU Football depth chart, we would've seen him in Lorenzo.

We might land him eventually anyway. He has 2 years + shirt remaining, and Colorado is a dumpster fire. Won't be surprised at all if he portals again next year.
Click to expand...
Lafayette gotcha thanks
 
S

Sir Pin Alot

All-Conference
Jun 25, 2025
393
1,104
93
OldMatCoach said:
How's this returning roster look...
  • 125 – Luke Lilledahl (So.)
  • 125 – Nate Desmond (Fr.)
  • 133 – Masanosuke Ono (Jr.)
  • 133 – Marcus Blaze (Fr.)
  • 133 – Kyison Garcia (So.)
  • 141 – Braeden Davis (Jr.)
  • 141 – Aaron Nagao (Jr.)
  • 141 – Cael Nasdeo (R-Fr.)
  • 141 – Hayden Cunningham (R-Fr.)
  • 149 – Shayne Van Ness (Jr.)
  • 149 – Connor Pierce (Jr.)
  • 149 – Dalton Perry (Fr.)
  • 149 – Brock Weiss (R-Fr.)
  • 157 – Tyler Kasak (Jr.)
  • 157 – PJ Duke (Fr.)
  • 157 – Joe Sealey (R-Fr.)
  • 165 – Mitchell Mesenbrink (Jr.)
  • 165/174 – Sean Degl (Fr.)
  • 165 – Ty Watson (R-Fr.)
  • 174 – William Henckel (Fr.)
  • 174/184 – Asher Cunningham (Fr.)
  • 184 – Rocco Welsh (So.)
  • 184/197 – Mason Ellis (Fr.)
  • 197 – Josh Barr (So.)
  • 197 – Connor Mirasola (R-Fr.)
  • 285 – Cole Mirasola (R-Fr.)
  • 285 – Dawson Bundy (R-Fr.) Incoming ... Sidum, Herring, Burnett, James, Shepard, Brown etc. Kinney ... Hwt. Transfer
Click to expand...
Gosh that roster is scary good.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Nitlion1986
Psalm 1 guy

Psalm 1 guy

All-Conference
Nov 3, 2019
1,158
4,434
113
Flo's JD Rader just came out with his NCAA tournament predictions like Willie did. He has Luke 1, Blaze 2 [Davino 1], Braeden R12, SVN 1, PJ 2 [Shapiro 1], MM 1, Levi 1, Rocco 3 [Sinclair 1], Barr 1, Cole 8. He has Penn State at 153 team points (bonus not included). Earlier in this thread I laid out my guesstimate for Penn State bonus points at 42.5. This along with Rader's team points prediction would give Penn State a team total of 195.5 points.

For final P4P predictions he has MM1, Levi 2, Josh 4, Blaze 7, Rocco 14, Duke 18, and Luke 20.

www.flowrestling.org

P4P

The top 20 pound-for-pound best NCAA D1 wrestlers in the country!
www.flowrestling.org www.flowrestling.org
 
D

Dogwelder

All-Conference
Aug 1, 2013
804
2,731
93
mjmirv said:
… It sure seems like he puts his knees in very awkward positions as a defensive tactic to get a whistle/ potentially dangerous. That’s a long term strategy that rarely works out well.
Click to expand...
That reminds me of the time early in RBY’s career at Penn State, when an upperclassman, I think Hall, remarked that RBY should not be putting his knee in so much danger, and within a couple of weeks (?) RBI hurt his knee by being overly brave during a scramble.
 
O

orange nole

Sophomore
Mar 29, 2002
5,915
180
58
Psalm 1 guy said:
Flo's JD Rader just came out with his NCAA tournament predictions like Willie did. He has Luke 1, Blaze 2 [Davino 1], Braeden R12, SVN 1, PJ 2 [Shapiro 1], MM 1, Levi 1, Rocco 3 [Sinclair 1], Barr 1, Cole 8. He has Penn State at 153 team points (bonus not included). Earlier in this thread I laid out my guesstimate for Penn State bonus points at 42.5. This along with Rader's team points prediction would give Penn State a team total of 195.5 points.

For final P4P predictions he has MM1, Levi 2, Josh 4, Blaze 7, Rocco 14, Duke 18, and Luke 20.

www.flowrestling.org

P4P

The top 20 pound-for-pound best NCAA D1 wrestlers in the country!
www.flowrestling.org www.flowrestling.org
Click to expand...
I don’t understand how SVN isn’t on that list. But all that is pretty incredible
 
A

AgSurfer

All-Conference
Aug 9, 2013
616
1,899
92
El_Jefe said:
Mostly agreed but to me the big difference between Nick and Seth was weight.

Nick was optimal at 255. When he got up to the 262-265 range, he was noticeably slower. Seth was pushing 285 from the start and wasn't as quick as Nick.

Kinney would also have to cut to make HWT in college. More athletic than Seth? Maybe. Enough to place?

It's weird because I think he would've been better than Nathan Taylor. But Taylor is baaically the lone skilled XXL in an ocean of lighter heavies, who doesn't sniff the podium in a year with a volume of skilled 255+ guys like Kerk, Steveson, Hendrickson, Parris, Schultz, etc. (Then again, the seas once parted for Tate Orndorff to make 8th.)
Click to expand...
FYI - I think something happened to Seth's confidence when he got to Penn State. When he was in HS, he pinned almost every guy he wrestled in his last two seasons and his only loss was by one point to Shultz in the finals of the Doc B. And that happened only when Seth temporarily lost his grip on Shultz which let him score a takedown. He still did OK as a Hwy, but we all know that you're looking at a different level of competition in college. I never asked about it because I felt it was too sensitive of a subject. He's doing fine now. Married and living in Northampton, PA.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Danoftw, Hlstone, Nitlion1986 and 1 other person
WexfordWarrior

WexfordWarrior

All-Conference
Jun 3, 2025
399
1,000
93
AgSurfer said:
FYI - I think something happened to Seth's confidence when he got to Penn State. When he was in HS, he pinned almost every guy he wrestled in his last two seasons and his only loss was by one point to Shultz in the finals of the Doc B. And that happened only when Seth temporarily lost his grip on Shultz which let him score a takedown. He still did OK as a Hwy, but we all know that you're looking at a different level of competition in college. I never asked about it because I felt it was too sensitive of a subject. He's doing fine now. Married and living in Northampton, PA.
Click to expand...
 
El_Jefe

El_Jefe

Heisman
Oct 11, 2021
3,310
13,105
113
AgSurfer said:
FYI - I think something happened to Seth's confidence when he got to Penn State. When he was in HS, he pinned almost every guy he wrestled in his last two seasons and his only loss was by one point to Shultz in the finals of the Doc B. And that happened only when Seth temporarily lost his grip on Shultz which let him score a takedown. He still did OK as a Hwy, but we all know that you're looking at a different level of competition in college. I never asked about it because I felt it was too sensitive of a subject. He's doing fine now. Married and living in Northampton, PA.
Click to expand...
His biggest issue was being the same year as NCAA Champion Greg Kerkvliet.
 
A

AgSurfer

All-Conference
Aug 9, 2013
616
1,899
92
El_Jefe said:
His biggest issue was being the same year as NCAA Champion Greg Kerkvliet.
Click to expand...
Well everyone knew he wasn’t going to beat Kerk for the position once he transferred to PSU, but there’s more to it than that. Part of the problem was not being able to participate in live competition as often as he was used to doing. It can affect your psychological edge and you can fall into the mode of wrestling to not lose. I’ve been through that myself so I know how it can affect your performance.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom