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AgSurfer said:

Not sure what, if anything, he’s attempting to prove, but consider this. When I was a HS Jr, I was somewhere between 115 to 120 lbs after the season was over. I put 600 lbs on a bar on the squat rack and got under it with my knees about 45 degrees. I lifted the weight and was standing straight with it on my shoulders. A friend took a picture so I could show it to another friend who wasn’t there.

That’s not BS. Unfortunately, I lost the photo a long time ago or I would post it. However, my real point here is that I never considered myself to be a powerhouse at my weight. There were other guys who were stronger than me. I think I managed to do that 1/4 squat mainly because I believed that I could do it. AJ is almost double what I weighed back then and more physically mature. So I don’t think his squat achievements are really all that impressive.

And BTW, I’m 74 now and yes, I do have some issues with my lower back.

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My friend, like me I'm thinking the years might be shaking up your memory a bit. I'm 60, spent 24 years in the Army, a perpetual gym rat and power lifter, with problems with my back, knees and hips, but still make it to Gold's Gym here in Nashville at least 5 times a week. And I see some pretty solid, often times roided men put up some pretty big weight. That said, none of the smaller guys (full grown 120ish-pound adults) are touching the weight you're talking about. They’re not holding it, not moving it, not even looking at it or thinking about looking at it. In fact, currently the world record for a 62kg (136.4-pound man) for the squat is 247kg (543.4 pounds). Link provided below. That said, you say you weren't considered a powerhouse as a HS junior weighing 115-120 pounds, 55 plus years ago when humans with very few exceptions were considerably weaker than they are today, yet you had 50 pounds more on the bar than the world record weight for the current strongest 136-pound man in the world and did a 45-degree squat. I'm thinking that's not possible. And if you research high school records for a 120-pound kid it's nowhere near that 600 number (off by a couple hundred plus). And I know you were doing 45 degrees vice full but that's still a huge margin. I'm not implying that you weren't a badass, and by all counts it seems that you were quite a powerhouse as a 120-pound junior, but I think the weight might be a bit off.


As for Ferrari, I'd love to think there's something that can be done to bring him into the fold and make him a Hawk, but I don't see that dog huntin. I think he's got a few too many screws loose for even the greatest zen masters in college wrestling to fix. But I guess we'll see. I just hope we don't lose the other two, especially the younger one coming in.

Phantom of the Palestra said:

How come God gets all the credit when a wrestler wins a match, but none of the blame when a child gets bone cancer?

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Well, if Adam and Eve hadn't F'd up in the garden, no one would have any disease. So, apples and oranges.

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ryoder1 said:

Winning records vs top ten? Heck just give me a win vs the top 10. Franklin can't do this. Or he barely does it like once vs OSU in almost 10 years.

You try to paint this scenario that it is Smart and then no one else now that Saban and Harbaugh are gone. Like you really believe James Franklin is the second best coach in the country?

Another poster said it. If we are happy as a #10 type team every year with 2 losses then Franklin is our guy. There are other guys who can go beyond what Franklin has done because Franklin rarely beats a top ten team yet he has a ton of NFL talent. So I would say Rhule could do it with PSU talent and no Nebraska talent. Leipold, the guy at A&M now. There are coordinators out there on and on. I don't get paid to come up with coaching candidates who could replace Franklin but for sure Pat Kraft has a list. When would he seriously think about activating that list? Who knows. Not now but maybe 2 or 3 years from now.

Is it a lock a replacement could come in and be better than Franklin? No. But the bar is simply at this point to beat OSU more than once a decade not 6 of 10 like you are saying. Would I like to win 6 of 10 from OSU? Yes but let's start with 2 of say 8 which Franklin can't even do yet you think he is irreplaceable. To sit there smugly and say no one can do better than Franklin so let's just accept rarely beating a top ten team is ridiculous.

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False. He does have wins vs the top ten.

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Cowbell Man said:

Funny thing about that first paragraph is now that the zebra has shown his stripes, no one has have that wish. No one.

Wrestling, like most things, is a privilege and not a right. His salute proved that his past behavior is likely to continue.

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I’m confused by the phrasing you use after the comma in the first graph? What do you mean? I think it’s a typo or an extra word thrown in but it’s definitely clouding your reasoning from me.

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AgSurfer said:

Don’t forget that Smith pulled in some good PA guys. Oliver and Marstellar for sure, and there were some others who I don’t remember off the top of my head.

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Teague Moore

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voltz99 said:

It is a perfectly reasonable to require the replacement has a winning record or at least projects a winning record vs the top ten or even Michigan and OSU when that is the main criticism Franklin.

Do you think the criteria is unreasonable for a new head coach? It is the same criteria the naysayers use for Franklin.

You can name anyone you want on the planet. You can pic a D2, d3, NFL coach, or college assistant. Name a someone! We will see how they do as a college HC. We will see if they outperform Franklin at this level.

You can even pick an existing top coach and we can debate if they would come here. Saban, dabo and smart are not taking pay cuts to come here. Urban turned down the job.


There are only about 5 coaches a year with winning records vs the top 10. That is usually the top 5. The field is usually about 10-110 vs the top 10 during the regular season. The top 5 then knock off 6-10 at the end of the year.

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Winning records vs top ten? Heck just give me a win vs the top 10. Franklin can't do this. Or he barely does it like once vs OSU in almost 10 years.

You try to paint this scenario that it is Smart and then no one else now that Saban and Harbaugh are gone. Like you really believe James Franklin is the second best coach in the country?

Another poster said it. If we are happy as a #10 type team every year with 2 losses then Franklin is our guy. There are other guys who can go beyond what Franklin has done because Franklin rarely beats a top ten team yet he has a ton of NFL talent. So I would say Rhule could do it with PSU talent and no Nebraska talent. Leipold, the guy at A&M now. There are coordinators out there on and on. I don't get paid to come up with coaching candidates who could replace Franklin but for sure Pat Kraft has a list. When would he seriously think about activating that list? Who knows. Not now but maybe 2 or 3 years from now.

Is it a lock a replacement could come in and be better than Franklin? No. But the bar is simply at this point to beat OSU more than once a decade not 6 of 10 like you are saying. Would I like to win 6 of 10 from OSU? Yes but let's start with 2 of say 8 which Franklin can't even do yet you think he is irreplaceable. To sit there smugly and say no one can do better than Franklin so let's just accept rarely beating a top ten team is ridiculous.

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