A Word on Meredith

[Cowbell Man]

3 wins. 0 falls.
24 wins
22 Falls


That is Bryan Pearsall’s RS Freshman year win total. Then his Sr Year win total. And his career falls.

Some on this board seem to give Meredith a raft of shit...for no good reason.

Meredith did not win PIAA states. But as a freshman who was NEVER expected to start....won a dozen D1 matches. Along the way he beat two two top ten wrestlers. In his first big ten tournament after winning 0 big ten matches on the year he beat 3rd seeded McKee. In his last match last night against Aguilar.....incidentally the 11th ranked wrestler by coaches and RPI.....lost by 1 point again.

Most know I have coached: HS, MS and ES It’s very clear that with literally a tweak or two in that match he would have won. He didn’t. I feel badly for him but his progression during the year, despite the mounting losses and likely confidence issues, he kept getting better. A little straight in his stance and on his heels, yes, but was rather good to the outside ankle. Finish? Could be better but he did get better.

Other stuff too, but the joke about him not improving is simply unwarranted and unfair.

Is he ready to take on the top 5. No....and likely get overwhelmed today. But he has top ten wins and that....and yesterday’s performance showed what he might do.

A restart for next year? I’d put money on being considerably better and an NCAA qualifier. He could contribute points, and most every year every team would take 4-6 points from a qualifier because once in a while it matters.

Cheers to Brandon Meredith

 

[JTNPSU84]

That is a refreshing post - thanks Cowbell

 

[86PSUPaul]

Yes, cheers to Brandon! He stepped in when we needed him and continued to improve. His first bout yesterday was awesome.

 

[johnstownsteel]

That is a refreshing post - thanks Cowbell

It was certanly grade A shaming for sure.

He went Roar1 level against some of us on that one..... lol

 

[jrd23psu]

Meredith goes out and battles. He has definitely improved this year. That's what you want from any kid, whether it's Meredith or Cenzo, or Nick Lee or AB or anyone on the team.

 

[joypa]

Agree. Put on a bit of weight and strength and he's good to go.

 

[PSUcup1]

Yep. He gives it a full 7 minutes every match.

As cowbell stated his biggest issue has been finishing his shots. And what’s killed him is not only hasn’t he been able to finish with a TD, often times he gives up the TD on the scramble.

Clean that up and he wins much more than he loses. Great learning experience for him

 

[Dogwelder]

Meredith goes out and battles. He has definitely improved this year. That's what you want from any kid, whether it's Meredith or Cenzo, or Nick Lee or AB or anyone on the team.

I want Mary and KrispyKreme to improve.

 

[matter7172]

Last night he was every bit the equal of a California state champ and three times finalist who is also a redshirt freshman. He'll be fine.

 

[El-Jefe]

I want Mary and KrispyKreme to improve.

I want them to get beaten out and lose their spots.

 

[Cowbell Man]

I want them to get beaten out and lose their spots.

I’m just mad I didn’t consider that option.

 

[Kale_yeah]

Pedigree enough said, welcome to happy valley mr.howard.

 

[Fatmarc]

Meredith is one of my favorites. I look forward to watching him wrestle every match. He battles the entire time. PSU has been someone spoiled in recent years with some generational guys- video game guys- and yeah that was fun. But I've really enjoyed this season... Much more stressful but man great battles... Cheers Brandon- Cheers PSU on to Nats...

 

[Mat Burn]

He gives you everything he has that is all you can ask for.

 

[Conewago]

Yep. He gives it a full 7 minutes every match.

As cowbell stated his biggest issue has been finishing his shots. And what’s killed him is not only hasn’t he been able to finish with a TD, often times he gives up the TD on the scramble.

Clean that up and he wins much more than he loses. Great learning experience for him

In fairness, I'm convinced that finishing a shot on a collegiate wrestler is one of, if not the hardest thing to do in all of sports.

 

[dsites52]

Maybe its "fatigue" from watching the likes of the slew of National Champs we've had in the past decade or so, from Davis to Nickal, but I always find myself a little bit more excited to watch kids like Meredith or Verk. They are surrounded by known commodities on a daily basis. That type of pressure alone would be too much for many of their doubters to handle. Yet, these young men come out and battle hard. Which is why many of us get upset at people's fandom disappearing after our hammers. We love and are fans of Penn State wrestling. That means every wrestler from Mark Hall to Austin Clabaugh.

 

[RoarLions1]

I like the original post, and will add that similar comments could be made about every wrestler in the room. Brandon earned his way into the starting line-up, just doing what all the wrestlers do -- work hard every day to improve his wrestling, and be the best version of himself on the mat. His day just came unexpectedly.

Did you know he's balancing wrestling with an engineering course load (he's in Aerospace Engineering)? Tough for any reasonable person to criticize the kid. He'll never have Nolf-like talent, few do, and that's ok, Cael's "process" is the same for everyone in the room.

 

[Dunkindonuts]

Are you saying he beats Howard? If so then he really is improving a ton

 

[dsites52]

Are you saying he beats Howard? If so then he really is improving a ton

Who is this Howard? I don't see him on the current roster. There's still 2 weeks of wrestling.

 

[Dunkindonuts]

Who is this Howard? I don't see him on the current roster. There's still 2 weeks of wrestling.

Robbie Howard. He will be on the roster next year and wrestling at 125. And the season is over for Penn State at 125 this year. There will not be 2 more weeks at that particular weight.

 

[McScoreley]

I like the original post, and will add that similar comments could be made about every wrestler in the room. Brandon earned his way into the starting line-up, just doing what all the wrestlers do -- work hard every day to improve his wrestling, and be the best version of himself on the mat. His day just came unexpectedly.

Did you know he's balancing wrestling with an engineering course load (he's in Aerospace Engineering)? Tough for any reasonable person to criticize the kid. He'll never have Nolf-like talent, few do, and that's ok, Cael's "process" is the same for everyone in the room.

That I did not know. Kid might end up being more famous than any of our other wrestling alumni

 

[Pizzaboy2]

In fairness, I'm convinced that finishing a shot on a collegiate wrestler is one of, if not the hardest thing to do in all of sports.

Harder than hitting a 104 mph fast ball?

 

[west2east]

Robbie Howard. He will be on the roster next year and wrestling at 125. And the season is over for Penn State at 125 this year. There will not be 2 more weeks at that particular weight.

He could still RS next year.Hes good but might not be ready right away.

 

[TangSoo]

Harder than hitting a 104 mph fast ball?

Astros or non-Astros?

 

[WildTurk]

I hope he is your starter next year!

 

[CowboyUp61]

I like the original post, and will add that similar comments could be made about every wrestler in the room. Brandon earned his way into the starting line-up, just doing what all the wrestlers do -- work hard every day to improve his wrestling, and be the best version of himself on the mat. His day just came unexpectedly.

Did you know he's balancing wrestling with an engineering course load (he's in Aerospace Engineering)? Tough for any reasonable person to criticize the kid. He'll never have Nolf-like talent, few do, and that's ok, Cael's "process" is the same for everyone in the room.

If he and Coon are ever in the same spacecraft, there will need to be a serious shifting of ballast to compensate.

 

[Dunkindonuts]

He could still RS next year.Hes good but might not be ready right away.

Absolutely. However, nothing i have heard so far would hint he is not ready. In fact I believe if I am not mistaken there is another thread on here started by a different poster claiming "help is on the way next year at 125"

 

[Dunkindonuts]

I hope he is your starter next year!

Most folks feel Robbie Howard is next year's starter.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Maybe its "fatigue" from watching the likes of the slew of National Champs we've had in the past decade or so, from Davis to Nickal, but I always find myself a little bit more excited to watch kids like Meredith or Verk. They are surrounded by known commodities on a daily basis. That type of pressure alone would be too much for many of their doubters to handle. Yet, these young men come out and battle hard. Which is why many of us get upset at people's fandom disappearing after our hammers. We love and are fans of Penn State wrestling. That means every wrestler from Mark Hall to Austin Clabaugh.

I agree. For the past two years we have watched two different young men represent PSU very well on the mat. The lost more 125# matches than they won but they fought their guts out in every match. Whether a bit undersized, not having world class talent or lacking the experience and muscle a few years on campus bring, they still did us proud.

I'd have loved to have a AA at 125 this and every year. I wish AC didn't have the injury and be in play at HWT, that Shak was completely recovered and back to form and on and on. This year it was not to be. We are spoiled from all the success over the past decade. Success we never witnessed in the past. We always suspected the program was on the cusp of glory since we sit in the middle of the best wrestling talent and competition in the nation.

I really enjoyed the Big 10 tournament. Great wrestling and the finals were outstanding. Win or lose we were privileged to see some breathtaking action. No conference, top to bottom compares, none.

Wait till next year!

 

[razpsu]

Does he practice with rby. He should if he doesn’t. Talk about a learning curve going against the likes of rby

 

[Cowbell Man]

He could still RS next year.Hes good but might not be ready right away.

Here is a fact, Brandon’s improvement and likely jump from this year to next DOES give the coaches an option to redshirt Howard. Some may not consider it the right thing but it is a real option.

 

[Cowbell Man]

Does he practice with rby. He should if he doesn’t. Talk about a learning curve going against the likes of rby

Why wouldn’t he? No wrestling room improved by same pairing. He probably goes with Nick too.

 

[James P. Whitters III]

You guys have hit the nail on the head. We often let fandom dictate our thoughts instead of slowing down and realizing just how hard this sport is. I won two state titles in high school and had a damn fine high school career. I wrestled at the D1 level on a very good team, but by team standards I was not very good at all. I could always do very well at tournaments where redshirts and lower division guys made up the bulk of the bracket, but had my head kicked in more often than not against the top 10 type guys from other D1 schools or my own. I remember feeling like my parents were embarrassed after I was beaten 14-3 in a dual I was a fill in. I sheepishly hinted to my dad after the dual that I wish he didn't have to take heat from my failure. He set me straight with one of his best speeches of all time. The short version is that "anyone good enough at this sport to beat you like that would kill me" Remember just how hard this thing is when you judge a young man giving every piece of himself to chase an improbable dream. I was Meredith with less success.

 

[Dunkindonuts]

Here is a fact, Brandon’s improvement and likely jump from this year to next DOES give the coaches an option to redshirt Howard. Some may not consider it the right thing but it is a real option.

cowbell I respect your opinion... what do you consider worthy enough improvement to warrant a shirt for Howard? Please define in terms of wins and losses because we both know that you can't advance to Nationals unless you can win.

 

[District four]

I like the original post, and will add that similar comments could be made about every wrestler in the room. Brandon earned his way into the starting line-up, just doing what all the wrestlers do -- work hard every day to improve his wrestling, and be the best version of himself on the mat. His day just came unexpectedly.

Did you know he's balancing wrestling with an engineering course load (he's in Aerospace Engineering)? Tough for any reasonable person to criticize the kid. He'll never have Nolf-like talent, few do, and that's ok, Cael's "process" is the same for everyone in the room.

Very well put

 

[razpsu]

You guys have hit the nail on the head. We often let fandom dictate our thoughts instead of slowing down and realizing just how hard this sport is. I won two state titles in high school and had a damn fine high school career. I wrestled at the D1 level on a very good team, but by team standards I was not very good at all. I could always do very well at tournaments where redshirts and lower division guys made up the bulk of the bracket, but had my head kicked in more often than not against the top 10 type guys from other D1 schools or my own. I remember feeling like my parents were embarrassed after I was beaten 14-3 in a dual I was a fill in. I sheepishly hinted to my dad after the dual that I wish he didn't have to take heat from my failure. He set me straight with one of his best speeches of all time. The short version is that "anyone good enough at this sport to beat you like that would kill me" Remember just how hard this thing is when you judge a young man giving every piece of himself to chase an improbable dream. I was Meredith with less success.

Well put. I was not at same level as you but i wrestled against rob koll in practice at state high and I always wondered at what point and in what way would he pin me. Lol.

 

[west2east]

cowbell I respect your opinion... what do you consider worthy enough improvement to warrant a shirt for Howard? Please define in terms of wins and losses because we both know that you can't advance to Nationals unless you can win.

Not sure how many college rooms you've been in but your mistaken if you think Meredith isn't gonna be beating Howard right away.The handfight and pace are totally different.You just can't shoot when you want like high school you've to win the handfight and move a guy before you can attack.Everyone thought Teske was gonna be the guy as well

 

[SRATH]

You guys have hit the nail on the head. We often let fandom dictate our thoughts instead of slowing down and realizing just how hard this sport is. I won two state titles in high school and had a damn fine high school career. I wrestled at the D1 level on a very good team, but by team standards I was not very good at all. I could always do very well at tournaments where redshirts and lower division guys made up the bulk of the bracket, but had my head kicked in more often than not against the top 10 type guys from other D1 schools or my own. I remember feeling like my parents were embarrassed after I was beaten 14-3 in a dual I was a fill in. I sheepishly hinted to my dad after the dual that I wish he didn't have to take heat from my failure. He set me straight with one of his best speeches of all time. The short version is that "anyone good enough at this sport to beat you like that would kill me" Remember just how hard this thing is when you judge a young man giving every piece of himself to chase an improbable dream. I was Meredith with less success.

Brandon May yet beat top 10 guys.

 

[impalanut]

Coliaocco #9 and McKee #11 in intermat

 

[Dunkindonuts]

Not sure how many college rooms you've been in but your mistaken if you think Meredith isn't gonna be beating Howard right away.The handfight and pace are totally different.You just can't shoot when you want like high school you've to win the handfight and move a guy before you can attack.Everyone thought Teske was gonna be the guy as well

Who won in the room, teske or Meredith?