Thomas Gilman quote from February.

[Factory51]

“I would love to wrestle for Iowa,â€￾ Gilman said. “I love the intensity the wrestlers and coaches bring to their program. And I love the approach (coaches) Tom and Terry Brands bring. They are World class coaches who I think can take me to the next level.â€￾


Reading this and as good as he has been (even proven on the national level) we have to land this kid. Unless there is some unknown academic type issue then to not get him on board is a big miss IMO.

 

[iowahawkeyes89]

Thats why I was so surprised about the Topher Carton deal

I figured Gilman and Clark would be near the top of the list for 125/133

No offense to Carton, I just don't think he's at the level of Clark or Gilman.

 

[fulsaasfan]

I would not hold my breath on Gilman guys. I won't divulge too much but to this point it is not going to happen. Hopefully a lot changes in the coming days/weeks.

Clark is no guarantee either but a strong possibility. Carton will come for less money and is a probable career 125 while Clark will grown to 133 or maybe even 141.

 

[USAFhawk]

This staff needs to really capitalize on the instate and national talent this year because it falls off dramatically next year. There is obviously the glaring need at 197 and also the need for a 125/133 type and also a HWT to add some depth. The coaches will also like to get a 149 and 174/184 if the right guy comes along for the right price. It is going to be interesting because they don't have a bunch of money, but there are quite a few impressive recruits.

I know the coaching staff felt really good about Guilbon so to lose out on him hurt. Clark seemed like a lock just a short while ago, but now it seems he wants to look more at all of his options, mainly Iowa State and Nebraska. Gilman grew up a Hawkeye fan and had expressed a strong desire to be a Hawkeye, but there has been a lack of interest on the Iowa side of things. Gilman's grades are fine and has gotten plenty of interest from all over the country. With Guilbon going else where maybe there will be more interest on Iowa's part, if not he has some very attractive offers to choose from. Laux, Devos, and Peters have all gotten some interest will Laux probably being the one with the most national attention. I fully expect the Carton situation to be acknowledged to the public sooner than later. Some would see Jack Hathaway here, but there has been no contact between the two parties and I expect to see Jack end up at UNI, but he has some big programs knocking at his door. Programs like Illinois, Ohio State, Oklahoma, OK St., and Iowa State have expressed interest. I see Jack growing into a 141 lber before his career is over.

In the middle weights the top recruit in the country can be found in Taylor Massa, but he seems destined to stay in Michigan. Justin Koethe has been contacted and there is definite interest there. Justin wrestled 160 last year, but he could wrestle 152 this year. So he would already be in a crowded area, the topic has been brought up by a few schools of him leaning out to 149, it certainly is not out of the question.

Alex Meyer and Willie Miklus fit in the upper weights, but are not big enough for 197. If the price is right they would be great to have in the room. The top dog right now for 197 is Devin Peterson, he did verbally commit to Wisconsin last year, but has been open about his college destination even before Pritz and Frayer left. After Peterson there are not many top flight 197 lbers out there, one name to keep an eye on is Gage Harrah from Illinois. HWT's are going to be hard to come by in this class especially since most will go the football route, but expect Iowa to sign one late.

 

[AFHawk86]

USAF - sounds like everything's on the table. Must be a stressful time for the staff as they juggle the many different and ever changing list of recruiting options. I'm excited and nervous to see how things unfold. Have to admit I'm a bit surprised that Iowa doesn't hold a stronger sway over some of the top recruits. I would think they would desire to be the best by wrestling for the best. Maybe this is how it has always been, but I'm surprised nonetheless.

 

[AustinMNHawk]

USAF,

Any word on Austin Georgan. Hear good things and could use the HWT in the room for sure. Of course not a spot you can spend a lot on with Teleford already in the fold.

 

[Factory51]

This staff needs to really capitalize on the instate and national talent this year because it falls off dramatically next year. There is obviously the glaring need at 197 and also the need for a 125/133 type and also a HWT to add some depth. The coaches will also like to get a 149 and 174/184 if the right guy comes along for the right price. It is going to be interesting because they don't have a bunch of money, but there are quite a few impressive recruits.

I know the coaching staff felt really good about Guilbon so to lose out on him hurt. Clark seemed like a lock just a short while ago, but now it seems he wants to look more at all of his options, mainly Iowa State and Nebraska. Gilman grew up a Hawkeye fan and had expressed a strong desire to be a Hawkeye, but there has been a lack of interest on the Iowa side of things. Gilman's grades are fine and has gotten plenty of interest from all over the country. With Guilbon going else where maybe there will be more interest on Iowa's part, if not he has some very attractive offers to choose from. Laux, Devos, and Peters have all gotten some interest will Laux probably being the one with the most national attention. I fully expect the Carton situation to be acknowledged to the public sooner than later. Some would see Jack Hathaway here, but there has been no contact between the two parties and I expect to see Jack end up at UNI, but he has some big programs knocking at his door. Programs like Illinois, Ohio State, Oklahoma, OK St., and Iowa State have expressed interest. I see Jack growing into a 141 lber before his career is over.

In the middle weights the top recruit in the country can be found in Taylor Massa, but he seems destined to stay in Michigan. Justin Koethe has been contacted and there is definite interest there. Justin wrestled 160 last year, but he could wrestle 152 this year. So he would already be in a crowded area, the topic has been brought up by a few schools of him leaning out to 149, it certainly is not out of the question.

Alex Meyer and Willie Miklus fit in the upper weights, but are not big enough for 197. If the price is right they would be great to have in the room. The top dog right now for 197 is Devin Peterson, he did verbally commit to Wisconsin last year, but has been open about his college destination even before Pritz and Frayer left. After Peterson there are not many top flight 197 lbers out there, one name to keep an eye on is Gage Harrah from Illinois. HWT's are going to be hard to come by in this class especially since most will go the football route, but expect Iowa to sign one late.

Great insite as usual USAF.

Gulibon is a talented wrestler but I'm not sure how fruitfull it was to focus on trying to grab a guy from PSU's back yard when there are so many good guys like Gilman and Clark in our backyard. It almost seems like they were trying to prove some macho point. I'm really dumbfounded at the Gilman situation and I hope they wake the heck up and get after him. The fact they are not sitting pretty for him and Clark is plain shocking. PSU is landing #1 at their weight and #1 in their class type guys left and right and we need both Clark and Gilman to keep pace. We have great coaches but trying to beat a team loaded with top ranked guys is not going to happen without getting comparable talent level guys. As for the other guys, Laux seems too small and not someone to spend much on, Devos, Carton and Peters are probably about a toss up at this point as to which is better but I have all 3 a notch behind Gilman and Clark. I like Peters but he is on the small side and I still question some that he will not be an undersized 125. I like Hathaway as well and if he could grow to 141 is a guy we really need to look into as well, especially with Dziewa having a bad shoulder. 197 obviously is an big issue and they really need to land either Peterson or Harrah. Depth at both 197 and 285 are critical as well. With the log jam we have at 157 through 174 I just can't see the logic in spending much on a guy in that weight range. 149 even has 2 young guys in Carew and Jake Ballweg. I like Meyer and he has been coming on but he projects in a crowded area. Miklus is at a less crowded weight in 184 and if he could maybe get up to 197 eventually he is a good looking prospect. Maybe we should have passed on Rhoads or Grothus this year if we wanted to go after guys like Koethe, Miklus and Meyer in the next class, I don't know. It seems planning out weight projections and planning ahead on who they are going to target as a recruit could be improved some. We have studs battling for spots at some weights and nobody or next to nobody at others.

My ideal situation coming into this class was get a 197 plus Gilman and Clark for sure and then maybe Peters, Devos or Carton to add some depth and Hathaway if he is a 141 plus depth at 285. Looks like a lot of work is needed to come up with that senario.

 

[USAFhawk]

I hope I didn't make it sound gloom and doom because that was not my intent. I still think we get Clark even though he is open to other schools. I think the class will shape up nicely, but they need to address 197 in a big way and there is only one way to do that in the HS ranks. As far as Georgan, I have only seen him wrestle a few times and he is the type of HWT Brands likes being he is pretty mobile and active, I am not sure of the interest level.

 

[AFHawk86]

I check this site and TOS multiple times per day for any recruiting updates. Does that make me an addict? I'm not a bad person...right?

 

[TheGreatTobini]

THANKS FOR THE INFO USA!!!! Between USA and FF we are pretty lucky to have them around to feed us info that they can anyway!!! Add my name to the list of questioning why they never went after Gillman. My personal opionion is I would have taken him over Guilbon anyway. But I trust Tom and the staff to get what we need and coach them.

 

[falcon1]

Is there a red flag or something we are not seeing with Thomas Gilman? I mean here is a kid who has won almost everything he has entered in the past couple years, wrestles an aggressive physical style, lives and breathes wrestling for what I understand and most assume he will be a career 125. He is also from Council Bluffs so he will have in state tuition despite going to skutt catholic and is a fan of the program.
I'm also interested why we are so interested in Topher Carton so early. I understand he has won two state titles in Illinois and one in Iowa, but he wasn't very impressive this year in Iowa. He also has struggled nationally with not placing this year at super 32 and getting 7th at NHSCA juniors. I believe I also saw where he wrestled 140 this offseason at NHSCA duals. It makes since that he would our program since he is a big hawkeye fan, but not sure why we would immediatley target him as most people believe there are 4 or 5 kids around that weight in the state of Iowa better then him.
Also interested in the Gulibon situation as everything he has said indicates he wasn't never really interested or had a relationship with Iowa other than wrestling for Strittmatters club.
Really hoping we can bring in a top notch 197 and add depth there and heavyweight

 

[AFHawk86]

I second Tobini's comments. Also, I think it's ok to have questions AND trust the staff at the same time. It's part of being a fan and part of being human.

 

[USAFhawk]

I don't know why they were not pursuing Gilman hard from the very beginning. I have been around him a lot and he is a great kid who is very humble, but is an animal when he steps on the mat. He has good grades, never been in trouble and comes from a great family. at FILA's there were many D1 Coaches saying he may be the best wrestler pound for pound in the class and they certainly felt he had the highest ceiling. He has some high dollar offers from the nations best programs so we will see what he does. As far as another guy I would like to see Iowa goo after is Hathaway, but there is absolutely no contact between either side. Hathaway is tough to project as far as weight because is is slender at this stage. I believe once he gets into a dedicated weight program he will eventually grow into a 141. He is a fierce competitor and is a mat rat, although he will not compete at Fargo this year. He has only won one state title, but his losses were to Clark. He also has always like the Olympic Styles best so it will be interesting to see what he can do if he puts his heart and soul into folkstyle. As far as Guilbon he definitely had more of a relationship with Iowa then he has come forward with, but obviously it doesn't matter now. As far as Carton they see something they like, he has been described as a winner and that goes a long way. I will say one thing, I am fortunate enough to be around many of the best HS wrestlers and their families and I will say that there have been comments on how much different Iowa approaches athletes. They definitely do not "press" recruits or over recruit and that can be good, but could also be taken as a lack of interest. Losing Doug was a hit to recruiting for this staff as Doug was very well received at the homes of these recruits, he was key to landing the class a couple of years ago. I think you will see UNI do very well on the recruiting trail and like I said if they get a couple of guys like Hathaway and Peters to go along with Krumwiede, Colon, Wolfy, Bonin and Loder you are looking at a pretty good lineup in a couple of years.

 

[Factory51]

Sounds like they may want to press a bit more. With the new rules allowing earlier contact coming they will be behind the game if they wait too much. It is possible to be it contact and express interest without being pushy and obnoxious. Ferentz and his staff are known for this. All these lighter weight guys are winners, I don't see Carton as any more of a winner that others. He is unbeaten but has not really had much for signature wins vs national caliber kids and has competed on the smaller school level so he is more of an unknown IMO. I don't think being a "winner" differentiates him in any way from the other guys. I agree Doug was a main recruiting guy for the team and I'm guessing Tom is going to need to take ownership for that with Doug gone as I don't see Zadick having the same effect that Doug had.