Howard commits to . . .

[josephe 26]

Did Rutgers have a shot at getting Howard, did they recruit him hard?

Another loss of a top NJ wrestler to a school other than RU.  Granted they've made great strides over the years but their recruiting is fair at best.  Lucky Ashnault wanted to stay right down the road from home and Suriano coming back home was a gift.  

They have 2 AA's this year and maybe 1 or 2 more.  They're going to get rolled in their big10 matches.

I'm a  fan and pull hard and admire the work put in thus far but tired of seeing them lose out on the best NJ wrestlers.  And they're not even landing the McFadden's, Lewis, etc - solid AA contenders.  They need at 5-6 solid AA's to compete in b10 and finish 4,5,6 spot.

 

 

[custom fitch 48]

Penn State is starting to get dull to be honest. I'm not sure if there has ever been a college sports program that was able to recruit so much blue chip talent, its a bit ridiculous.  

[Ogalthorpe Haywood 303]

OK st and Iowa had these runs as well in their respective hay days. 

[TBar1977 3,689]

26 minutes ago, Ogalthorpe Haywood said:

OK st and Iowa had these runs as well in their respective hay days. 

Minus the hue and cry, of course. 

[Husker_Du 538]

over the last decade Ohio St. has the same average recruiting class rank as PSU.

[custom fitch 48]

31 minutes ago, TBar1977 said:

Minus the hue and cry, of course. 

I think it goes without saying that the issue most people have with Penn State's run is what I referred to in my post; they get so much ridiculous talent that it's basically a foregone conclusion that they will win. I was thinking that after Nolf/Nickal/etc. graduates things would level out a bit but I just don't see it happening, some other blue chipper will get plugged in, and the cycle gets repeated. 

 

I wish there was some footage of their practice room. The stuff that goes on in there must be just unreal with all those guys going at it. Honestly, the day to day activity in that room is probably better than anything from any tournament throughout the year, nationals included. 

 

[custom fitch 48]

1 minute ago, Husker_Du said:

over the last decade Ohio St. has the same average recruiting class rank as PSU.

Yet somehow Ohio State can't put it together. Penn State seems to excel most at staging their guys at each weight so that just when one animal graduates, the next one is ready and slots right in with seemingly no significant downgrade.  Their timing with getting guys into the lineup is unreal.

[Bigboi Trained 18]

9 minutes ago, custom fitch said:

I think it goes without saying that the issue most people have with Penn State's run is what I referred to in my post; they get so much ridiculous talent that it's basically a foregone conclusion that they will win. I was thinking that after Nolf/Nickal/etc. graduates things would level out a bit but I just don't see it happening, some other blue chipper will get plugged in, and the cycle gets repeated. 

 

I wish there was some footage of their practice room. The stuff that goes on in there must be just unreal with all those guys going at it. Honestly, the day to day activity in that room is probably better than anything from any tournament throughout the year, nationals included. 

 

That is exactly what it was like when Iowa won their 9 in a row. 

[TBar1977 3,689]

22 minutes ago, custom fitch said:

I think it goes without saying that the issue most people have with Penn State's run is what I referred to in my post; they get so much ridiculous talent that it's basically a foregone conclusion that they will win. I was thinking that after Nolf/Nickal/etc. graduates things would level out a bit but I just don't see it happening, some other blue chipper will get plugged in, and the cycle gets repeated. 

 

I wish there was some footage of their practice room. The stuff that goes on in there must be just unreal with all those guys going at it. Honestly, the day to day activity in that room is probably better than anything from any tournament throughout the year, nationals included. 

 

This is all likely accurate. 

[WillieBoy 712]

Good for Penn State. Yep, I'm a Sanderson fan. He came into the school and suddenly they are Title contenders. It is his coaching - with a lot of credit to his staff. The kids buy into what he is feeding them and it works.

A full slate of top talent is harder to coach than many believe - a lot of stars thinking they are the one deserving all the attention. Hard to keep a group like that pulling together rather than getting jealous of each other. In a lot of sports "all star" lineups just don't perform as well as people expect. Somehow Sanderson & Co are getting his guys to do a good job of it.

Hope they keep it up.

[TBar1977 3,689]

31 minutes ago, WillieBoy said:

Good for Penn State. Yep, I'm a Sanderson fan. He came into the school and suddenly they are Title contenders. It is his coaching - with a lot of credit to his staff. The kids buy into what he is feeding them and it works.

A full slate of top talent is harder to coach than many believe - a lot of stars thinking they are the one deserving all the attention. Hard to keep a group like that pulling together rather than getting jealous of each other. In a lot of sports "all star" lineups just don't perform as well as people expect. Somehow Sanderson & Co are getting his guys to do a good job of it.

Hope they keep it up.

It looks to me like Cael coaches a lot of guys up. They arrive really good, and he makes them even better. They win big matches, they win big duals even against some long odds (see tOSU last year) and they win team titles. The constant rips from opposing fans seems almost counterproductive for them at this point. 

Edited December 7, 2018 by TBar1977

[Billyhoyle 1,948]

2 hours ago, Husker_Du said:

over the last decade Ohio St. has the same average recruiting class rank as PSU.

Taking an average of the compiled recruiting rankings is a misleading way to judge quality of recruits. Much better is to take the starting lineup of each team and look at the wrestler's overall recruit rank.  Also, look at the number of cadet/world medals won by a recruit prior to joining the team.  

[1032004 737]

4 hours ago, custom fitch said:

Penn State is starting to get dull to be honest. I'm not sure if there has ever been a college sports program that was able to recruit so much blue chip talent, its a bit ridiculous.  

 

Uconn women’s basketball says hi

[custom fitch 48]

3 minutes ago, 1032004 said:

 

Uconn women’s basketball says hi

 I'm not a huge college women's basketball fan so maybe I will have to take your word for it on that one. 

[custom fitch 48]

52 minutes ago, TBar1977 said:

It looks to me like Cael coaches a lot of guys up. They arrive really good, and he makes them even better. They win big matches, they win big duals even against some long odds (see tOSU last year) and they win team titles. The constant rips from opposing fans seems almost counterproductive for them at this point. 

I'll agree with you, except that beating Ohio State was long odds. At least in my mind. I had a feeling Penn State would wrestle slightly above their capability on paper, and Ohio State would wrestle slightly below theirs. 

Most of the guys in that practice room have no direction to go but up, based on the competition they face in it every day and the variety of knowledge and skills guys of this caliber can share with each other but what I would want to know is how they manage stay so injury free wrestling each other every day. Penn State guys just seem to be freakishly healthy almost all the time.

[TBar1977 3,689]

2 minutes ago, custom fitch said:

I'll agree with you, except that beating Ohio State was long odds. At least in my mind. I had a feeling Penn State would wrestle slightly above their capability on paper, and Ohio State would wrestle slightly below theirs. 

Most of the guys in that practice room have no direction to go but up, based on the competition they face in it every day and the variety of knowledge and skills guys of this caliber can share with each other but what I would want to know is how they manage stay so injury free wrestling each other every day. Penn State guys just seem to be freakishly healthy almost all the time.

I only said long odds because Nolf was out and the prevailing thought among the so called experts is that tOSU could/would win. It took an upset on paper for PSU to pull it out. Personally, I always believe they will win. They'll eventually drop one but until shown otherwise they are the smart bet. 

[scribe 1,655]

I just hope carl has enough scholarship money to get the other 9 top recruits.

[ScarletKnight 66]

On 12/5/2018 at 8:00 PM, swoopdown said:

That's what stood out for me ..... Two awesome talents. Choosing to recruit one over the other would be tough based on that match.

Sent from my moto e5 play using Tapatalk
 

Howard is 16 and Mininno 19

[headshuck 2,142]

I think it goes without saying that the issue most people have with Penn State's run is what I referred to in my post; they get so much ridiculous talent that it's basically a foregone conclusion that they will win. I was thinking that after Nolf/Nickal/etc. graduates things would level out a bit but I just don't see it happening, some other blue chipper will get plugged in, and the cycle gets repeated. 
 
I wish there was some footage of their practice room. The stuff that goes on in there must be just unreal with all those guys going at it. Honestly, the day to day activity in that room is probably better than anything from any tournament throughout the year, nationals included. 
 

When do the tickets go on sale?

[headshuck 2,142]

I just hope carl has enough scholarship money to get the other 9 top recruits.

Scholarships are so... 90’s.

[steamboat_charlie v2 939]

17 hours ago, Husker_Du said:

over the last decade Ohio St. has the same average recruiting class rank as PSU.

Sure, but simply taking an average of recruiting class rankings over the course of a decade isn't the best predictor of success.  For a number of reasons. 

I liked your article though, good work on that one.  

[1032004 737]

Laughing at himself about his loss at Beast of the East

https://mobile.twitter.com/Robbie__Howard/status/1076894430186082304

[NJDan 541]

Let's face it: If you are an a A++ recruit, why NOT go to Penn State. They have the biggest crowds and the best team.  I say this thought I am not a fan of Penn State. The only reason not to go is if you care about academics-- then you might go to Cornell or Michigan or even Stanford or Harvard (if you can get in). If you want warm weather, maybe you'd look at Arizona State. But if the coaches tell you that you can start at Penn State and you really thin you can, it's going to be Penn State 9 times out of 10.

[headshuck 2,142]

Steveson is an obvious exception. Nothing was keeping him from continuing the HWT tradition at Minnesota.

[Housebuye 2,023]

17 hours ago, NJDan said:

Let's face it: If you are an a A++ recruit, why NOT go to Penn State. They have the biggest crowds and the best team.  I say this thought I am not a fan of Penn State. The only reason not to go is if you care about academics-- then you might go to Cornell or Michigan or even Stanford or Harvard (if you can get in). If you want warm weather, maybe you'd look at Arizona State. But if the coaches tell you that you can start at Penn State and you really thin you can, it's going to be Penn State 9 times out of 10.

There are other reasons too. For example, an upper weight will have better training partners at tOSU. As good as Jake Varner is, the combination of Snyder, Tervel, Moore, Martin and the various training partners Snyder brings in is the best.

Also, they may have an affinity to a certain style of coaching. As good as Cael is, and he is the best coach in the country, he isn't the right fit for literally every recruit. 

Some people also take geography into account. Some take existing friendships. Half of OSU's lineup grew up together. There are never a doubt where Fix, Joe Smith, Gfeller, and Kaid Brock were going.

Scholarship money is a thing too. With how many top recruit go to PSU, they are not handing out full rides. In fact, I doubt anyone on the team has one. there just isn't enough to go around. Guys like Robbie Howard come from wealthy families, so it isn't an issue for him to turn down a full ride at a dozen other schools when PSU is offering 50% (I have no idea if that is true - just an example). 

Academics, as you said, should matter. It isn't just Cornell/Michigan/Stanford etc. Some lesser ranked schools have excellent individual programs. Northwestern has some programs ranked above Harvard's, even though Harvard is a better ranked school overall. 

Many of the wrestlers also don't just take 1 item into account. They might want excellent wrestling, a warm climate and a good engineering program. PSU might be the best team, but they hate the cold, so (insert school) might sound more tempting