Sarcasm, but the truth is in recruiting philosophy we were behind the times. We started recruiting well after the other major schools a few years ago. I think just recently we figured out we had to change staff and effort recruiting.
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Our recruiting class ended up number 1 but the ratings of our wrestlers and class did not turn out unbelievable like we thought would happen with this class their senior years. Injuries were the main problem and flow indicated we had a great class that might not turn out as expected because of potential injury problems in the future. Ferrari ended up rated 10, Plott was rated 11, Mastrogiavanni was rated 13, Burks was rated 54, Surber was rated 63 and Doucet was rated 90. Before the season Ferrari was rated 1, Plott was 2 , Mastro was rated 11, Burks was rated 20, Surber was 28, and Doucet was 78. We have the best class in the Nation but I have expressed that the seasons and injuries our recruits have experienced does create some concerns. Our junior commitments did not have real good years either. Also in regards to redshirting or not next year Flow has reviewed their top programs who have the best chance to get trophy's. They have gone over the top 6 programs and we aren't 1 of them. They previewed Iowa, Penn. St., Ohio State, Michigan, Cornell and Nebraska. I am sure they will preview us soon but their review would indicate redshirt our top recruits. Burks and Surber might not be able to start 4 years and so let them fill our holes next year at 25 and 74. Maybe wrestling that year will really help develop them faster than being on the bench.
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You are right they did wrestle a lot before their senior years. Maybe the year away from wrestling will be good for them. I believe the abilities and potential of this class are great but these senior years did not make the Cowboys futures brighter. However maybe injuries will not cause us real problems down the road. Considering the last 10 years we could be due some breaks in wrestling.
I just listened to Flo wrestling talking about the recruiting classes. They did not have real good things to say about Oklahoma State and expressed concerns about our recruiting class. Askren said straight out that we have off the mat problems. It seemed like they said we have too much partying going on.
Who cares what Askren says? Dude seems to be really biased against us. Flo in general seems to be biased against us now.
I will say FLO has really lacked in their credibility and information when it comes to OSU and the big 12. Several reasons for that... Losing the streaming rights means they will put less effort into their coverage and knowledge of our program. Willie was also pretty tied in with many on our staff.
Askren might be one of the least informed wrestling “minds” on air currently.
If there is any possible concern about what on paper is a best in a decade type of class is the injury issues some of them dealt with this year. Other than that this class is filled with top tier blue chippers who have won at the highest levels nationally.
ASSkren has negative things to say about OSU wrestling? I’m shocked, talk about a little sister syndrome, that’s Mizzou wrestling.
I was wondering if the reason they ignore us and most of the Big 12 is because we signed wIth ESPN+. It also explains why they circlejerk the EIWAs so much since they have their streaming rights.
Another reason he doesn't like us as most of his college losses were to Pendleton. Otherwise, he might have been a 4X champion.
I don't know that they hate each other? Ive seen them pretty chatty in the past. I also watched Pendleton beat Max Askren, with Ben in his corner on a re-run of a last chance qualifier and they chummed it up a little at the end.
I listened to Coach Smith on a podcast and it does sound like he will put the best team possible on the mat next year. If a freshman wins a spot it sounds like he will wrestle. He mentioned a couple of freshmen may wrestle. I would suspect that would be Burks or Mastro at 25 and Plott at 74. Ferrari would have to beat Geer which would be hard but possible. If Ferrari took that position Geer would need to go down to 84 and challenge Montalvo which I am not sure who wins that but I would guess Montalvo especially if he improves like a freshman moving to a soph. should and develops a takedown off a shot. Also Coach Smith indicated he wants Fix to wrestle for the Cowboys next year and not take an Olympic red shirt. He indicated that Fix needs all these matches and competition.
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Wouldn't Ferrari first have to make 197 and when was the last time he wrestled? This will all sort itself out by January Scuffle and I'm betting will be very apparent who should be starting.
The pistol pete people just like flo indicated that Ferrari is a character based on his social media posts and. Does anyone know about his posting and what they indicate?
That he is healthy and loves to workout and lift heavy weights.
He recently said he was 210 which sure makes one think 197 is a very good possibility for him at least early in his career.
He is a top 4 contender at that weight right away so it will be interesting to watch what happens.
That’s rich coming from someone from Missouri.
Does it suck rooting for a university who isn’t good at any sport that matters? Missouri thought the Big 12 was rough... The move to the SEC has pushed them further into irrelevancy.
I think Coach Smith did not think the Olympic Redshirt was good for Daton in that he had wrestling matches this whole year that could be counted on 1 hand. Daton's results in those few matches would indicate John is right because he was slightly ahead of Gilman 1 year ago and now he is slightly behind the same wrestler who is much older than Daton. I think Spencer lee would be ahead of both Daton and Gilman. I think that is why Gilman left Iowa because Spencer is Mr. Iowa wrestling now.
Caldwell and Perry both hinting at big news on Twitter. Wonder who they're taking about
Another BIG 2021 recruit. Back to back stacked classes for what should be our next title run.
Yes, it was Voinovich! Also, Elise Brown Ton from Allen TX committed. Congrats to both of these young men!
2 wrestling commitments and hopefully a basketball one on Sunday. Great recruiting weekend!
I just saw Voinovich commitment on intermat. Great news. Brown Ton appears to be a 2020 recruit in the 65 to 74 range. Also in looking him up from Allen I found Anthony Ferrari may have been kicked off the Allen Team ( This was a forum entry and so I don't know if it is reliable at all).
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Any idea which way Cael Valencia (160 pounds) is leaning? Ness (132 pounds) from Blair is the #2 and sounds like a true stud. Folks in Texas are pretty high on Elise Brown Ton out of Allen. He is not like the Texans of a few years ago as he is in a top ranked program.
There really are not enough words to talk about the effort this staff has put into recruiting recently. This is a hell of a run.
I agree they've been killing it on the recruiting front. Hopefully things will go right and #35 will be coming in a couple years. I also like the fact that some of our best recruits have younger brothers that are very good as well
Hopefully that mizzou fan comes back to chime in. might be lucky
Voinovich is looked at as a 149 which we will need after Boo leaves. He will likely compete with Balmeceda for the 149 position. Young Mastro will likely be a 157 and take over for Sheets after a redshirt. Kyle Haas will be our Hwt likely or 197 if at some point Ferrari goes to Hwt. Teague Travis isn't as highly ranked as these 3 (56 in the class) but he likely will be a 141 or 149. The first 3 are top 15 in the country wrestler for the 2021 class.
Willie has always had much better recruiting knowledge and insight than the others who cover it.
Lot of talk about Van Ness to Princeton but his dad wrestled for Rutgers. They are the top 2 for him although you can never count out PSU.
The youngest Valencia was obviously viewed as a lock to ASU but with the situation surrounding his brother and the changes in staff might have him looking elsewhere. PSU would be very much in the mix for him if that happens.