Future of Iowa Wrestling

[CAARHawk]

Hey everyone. I don't know much about wrestling. I follow Iowa during the season, but don't really follow the sport beyond Iowa. Last year was a drop-off, because of attrition from the prior team.

What is the likelihood that Iowa jumps back up this year? What is the likelihood that they return to long-term dominance?

 

[goiahawks]

So last year was a drop off? Last time I checked they are still have a pretty good streak of unbeaten dual meets...and finished third at nationals. I understand that if we don't win the whole thing then people panic, but can you really expect to win it every year? Trust me I'm a huge fan, but I can still get out of bed the next day if they don't win the whole thing. As long as we're in the mix (top 3-4) then I'm cool.

 

[pin2win]

totally agree goiahawks

yea it sucks we didn't win but iowa doesn't win it EVERY year if they did it wouldn't actually be good for the sport in my eyes.

i like the position we are in at this point we have the best coach in the land and the recruits will follow. penn state won't be a dynasty ppl will soon see cael can't coach and just recruit

 

[CRwrestling]

totally agree goiahawks

yea it sucks we didn't win but iowa doesn't win it EVERY year if they did it wouldn't actually be good for the sport in my eyes.

i like the position we are in at this point we have the best coach in the land and the recruits will follow. penn state won't be a dynasty ppl will soon see cael can't coach and just recruit

Depending on the definition of dynasty... Wrestling has for a long time only had two names, Iowa and Okie St. For the foreseeable future PSU will be the third name. I agree that we have the best coach, but Cael has the best recruiting grounds. Brands will be able to pull in the best midwest wrestlers, but unfortunately it seems that if the midwest recruiting base has some weak weights then Iowa will too. Ie. our 197 hole. With Cael in the east he's able to recruit more to specific weights than Brands is. The big thing is that Iowa and Okie St. have stood the test of time, PSU needs to implode soon or that ball could really get rolling I fear.

 

[pumpdog20]

I'm not scared. How long as the Penn, Ohio, NY, NJ area been a hot bed for wrestling recruits? I'm guessing for a while; and prior to last year, when was the last NC team from east of the Mississippi? They can only put 10 guys in the lineup. They might be the it thing now, but they were able to use the "let's beat Iowa" motto to get a good group of guys. After a recruiting class or two they won't be able to get top guys to wait their turn.

That's the thing, a lot of the east coast guys go to a lot of tournaments and therefore get a lot more attention recruiting wise. When you're told you are the #1 wrestler, you don't want to wait your turn. Iowa will recruit a guy who is a known stud in our minds, but is over looked by the recruiting services. This allows them to stack their lineup with studs that are willing to wait.

One last thing... wrestling is one of the only sports where you can be made into a champion. In basketball, baseball, and football, you have to have a lot of natural talent. For this simple reason, I know we are in good hands and are at a good place.

 

[dyerhawk]

totally agree goiahawks

yea it sucks we didn't win but iowa doesn't win it EVERY year if they did it wouldn't actually be good for the sport in my eyes.

i like the position we are in at this point we have the best coach in the land and the recruits will follow. penn state won't be a dynasty ppl will soon see cael can't coach and just recruit

You are right. Cael can't coach. He just sits there with his head in his hand during the matches. Brands and Zadic are up out their seats yelling at the wrestler and motioning to him on what to do!

 

[DesMoinesHawki]

I think we have to give Cael some credit for winning a national title in only his second (or is it third) season. That is quite an accomplishment. I agree Brands is a better coach, but if Cael keeps pulling in these top recruiting hauls and is a decent coach, I can see PSU being a team to reckon with for quite some time.

 

[dyerhawk]

I think we have to give Cael some credit for winning a national title in only his second (or is it third) season. That is quite an accomplishment. I agree Brands is a better coach, but if Cael keeps pulling in these top recruiting hauls and is a decent coach, I can see PSU being a team to reckon with for quite some time.

I'll take Brands hands down! If Brands can take a young team who in preseason rankings out of the top ten. At the end of the season competing for the title and finish third. He's like Ferentz he doesn't need the best recruits to compete. He'll make them the best! Don't get me wrong though good recruits help alot but a good coach will make them better!