Well I thought I would give up some of my thoughts on the future of Iowa Wrestling and some other random stuff. Looking to the future I want to comment on some of the guys we will be counting on next year. I know many other fans throughout the nation think we are going to fall off this year, but I think many of those fans are going to be disappointed.
First off I will start of with Tony Ramos. As many of you know Tony was dealing with a serious knee injury when he first arrived which set him back a bit. Since then he has been full speed ahead and has made some big strides in the room. I know there have been remarks about him being as good as Steel, but that is just not the case. Make no mistake he has a ton of upside, but he is still a year away from contributing, especially with Steel at 125. Tony, like most young guys needs to improve his mat wrestling and while he has gotten better he still needs some significant work.
Nate Moore is another guy we are going to count on next year in a big way and it is time for him to start living the lifestyle so to speak. He looked solid in his opportunity to be the guy while Dennis nursed an ankle injury, then he was dealt a setback with a nasty infection that took him a couple of months to recover from. Nate uses solid positioning and a strong head and hands defense to keep opponents from scoring. His high crotch has developed nicely since coming into college and he starting to look for leg attacks. He has always had a great snap to front headlock series, but against the top guys he will have to go to other options. Still needs to work on getting out, but he has made great improvements there too. I think the biggest thing holding him back is weight control, he needs to keep his weight under control and do it the right way.
Dylan Carew has created a lot of buzz around the room and rightfully so. Dylan is very dangerous and is a hammer on top. He has improved steadily from his feet and has continued to develop from the top position which is bad news for 149 lbers next year. Like Ramos, Dylan came in with a knee injury that kept him out most of the early part of last year so he had some catching up to do. He has a very slick slide by and has developed some nice leg attacks. Although he is stronger than he looks he needs to continue to build his body as he is a bit injury prone, which brings me to his latest injury, a torn meniscus, which kept him out of FILA Juniors last weekend. Dylan also does a poor job with weight control and really needs to dedicate himself, but the sky is the limit for him.
Derek St. John is an ultra talented kid who is solid in all aspects. He still needs to add strength which he will do over the summer. It's hard to describe Derek other than just saying he has an incredible feel and excellent positioning. He will be a force next year and has already had some nice results, but is capable of much more.
Ethan Lofthouse is going to be a stud. He is very stout and hand fights with the best of them. He has a very solid base and is technically sound in all areas, he could still grow a little into the 174 weight class but he will be fine. He has great push/pull setups and rarely get extended on his leg attacks. He is tough to score on because he keeps such great position and much like Moore has a great short offense.
Grant Gambrall is a little bit of an enigma. He has shown flashes of being a great wrestler, but also has shown that he may not be as ready as we need him to be. Grant is limited athletically, but tries to make up for it with great hip action and solid positioning. He needs to work on setups and diversity in his leg attacks. He likes to use the head to the inside single and if he can't get that than he has trouble generating offense. He still needs to work on developing his body and adding strength and with that it will help with his finishes. IF he develops mentally he will have a chance at having a great career as a Hawkeye.
One other thing to note, Marion had a bit of a setback with a shoulder injury. Not sure how bad it is, but he has been in a immobilzer.
As for the UNI job, I can tell you with certainty that Greg Randall is a strong candidate for the job and there is interest from both sides.
First off I will start of with Tony Ramos. As many of you know Tony was dealing with a serious knee injury when he first arrived which set him back a bit. Since then he has been full speed ahead and has made some big strides in the room. I know there have been remarks about him being as good as Steel, but that is just not the case. Make no mistake he has a ton of upside, but he is still a year away from contributing, especially with Steel at 125. Tony, like most young guys needs to improve his mat wrestling and while he has gotten better he still needs some significant work.
Nate Moore is another guy we are going to count on next year in a big way and it is time for him to start living the lifestyle so to speak. He looked solid in his opportunity to be the guy while Dennis nursed an ankle injury, then he was dealt a setback with a nasty infection that took him a couple of months to recover from. Nate uses solid positioning and a strong head and hands defense to keep opponents from scoring. His high crotch has developed nicely since coming into college and he starting to look for leg attacks. He has always had a great snap to front headlock series, but against the top guys he will have to go to other options. Still needs to work on getting out, but he has made great improvements there too. I think the biggest thing holding him back is weight control, he needs to keep his weight under control and do it the right way.
Dylan Carew has created a lot of buzz around the room and rightfully so. Dylan is very dangerous and is a hammer on top. He has improved steadily from his feet and has continued to develop from the top position which is bad news for 149 lbers next year. Like Ramos, Dylan came in with a knee injury that kept him out most of the early part of last year so he had some catching up to do. He has a very slick slide by and has developed some nice leg attacks. Although he is stronger than he looks he needs to continue to build his body as he is a bit injury prone, which brings me to his latest injury, a torn meniscus, which kept him out of FILA Juniors last weekend. Dylan also does a poor job with weight control and really needs to dedicate himself, but the sky is the limit for him.
Derek St. John is an ultra talented kid who is solid in all aspects. He still needs to add strength which he will do over the summer. It's hard to describe Derek other than just saying he has an incredible feel and excellent positioning. He will be a force next year and has already had some nice results, but is capable of much more.
Ethan Lofthouse is going to be a stud. He is very stout and hand fights with the best of them. He has a very solid base and is technically sound in all areas, he could still grow a little into the 174 weight class but he will be fine. He has great push/pull setups and rarely get extended on his leg attacks. He is tough to score on because he keeps such great position and much like Moore has a great short offense.
Grant Gambrall is a little bit of an enigma. He has shown flashes of being a great wrestler, but also has shown that he may not be as ready as we need him to be. Grant is limited athletically, but tries to make up for it with great hip action and solid positioning. He needs to work on setups and diversity in his leg attacks. He likes to use the head to the inside single and if he can't get that than he has trouble generating offense. He still needs to work on developing his body and adding strength and with that it will help with his finishes. IF he develops mentally he will have a chance at having a great career as a Hawkeye.
One other thing to note, Marion had a bit of a setback with a shoulder injury. Not sure how bad it is, but he has been in a immobilzer.
As for the UNI job, I can tell you with certainty that Greg Randall is a strong candidate for the job and there is interest from both sides.
Last edited:
