Ed Ruth to Illinois
- Thread starter railbirrd
- Start date
I wish he would come back to PSU to compete again. So much talent, I really think he could of been something special if he focused on Freestyle longer.
I’ve always kind of thought that he’s talked about very infrequently on this board relative to how truly great he was. I feel like the lack of discussion on this post is kind of proof.
Wish him the best in his coaching endeavors.
Respectfully disagree. I think he's been considered by many around here to be in the Top 5 of All time PSU greats. I, for one, would definitely agree. He's awesome. Maybe the lack of responses in this thread is because we're not surprised, and because he's just another in a very recent group of our guys to get picked up to go coach somewhere else, which is an awesome feat. Congrats to him and wish him the best.
Could it be because he so dominated his weight class that it appeared he had no challenges? Our other "greats" had rivals who presented challenges that hey overcame in epic bouts. I can think of nobody who so challenged Ed. He was Easy Ed because it all looked so easy when he wrestled. The one year he didn't win a national championship, he clinched the team title as a freshman taking third on a hobbled leg.
Or maybe the years have dimmed my memory.
what a great great wrestler; sometimes i wish it was like football when you have a ton of coaches.
PSU has lots of consistency and not a lot of turnover of coaches. PSU now has several former
wrestlers coaching across the country. What a great program. I am sure some of
the young coaches will advance over the years.
PSU has lots of consistency and not a lot of turnover of coaches. PSU now has several former
wrestlers coaching across the country. What a great program. I am sure some of
the young coaches will advance over the years.
Wonder if Ed comes back to Central PA and recruits hard. Illinois is definitely soft and could use some PA kids.
Be tough, Ed has been out of PA for a long time. Not sure how many connections Ed has maintained. How did his MMA career end up? Curious why he quit fight game , I know it’s not meant to be long term but that seemed super quick, hope not health related
I agree. Not sure the connections either. But he knows how tough this area is. You are right tho
Ed is a PA stud and a 3 time National Champ and 4 time team member of National Champions. Having him recruiting anyone in PA is a plus for Illinois. If Ed can sell the fact he knows what it takes to be a National Champ and that he wants to help the kid he's recruiting to be one, I think he'll be successful.
Ed may get PA kids but he ain’t getting the kids Cael wants , not too worried. We wish him well, maybe Cael will toss him a lower level recruit or two
As long as Champaign is a roadblock instead of a speed bump on the way to Iowa City, everything's OK.
I loved watching Ed wrestle. He made it all look so easy. His ability to get to a leg, pull it in and cleanly finish was just remarkable. My guess regarding why Ed isn't spoken of as much on this Forum as some of the other Penn State greats is that he didn't compete too long in freestyle before he left the wrestling scene to go to MMA. His NCAA Finals matches against Hamlin and Amuchastegui are so impressive as are his two matches against Mack Lewnes as a freshman. What other Ed matches are your favorites? Ruth vs. Hamlin Ruth vs. Amuchastegui Ruth vs. Lewnes 2011 NCAA 3rd place match Ruth vs. Lewnes 2010 Southern Scuffle
Last edited:
Pa and the NE has plenty of talent to go around.
They need to lock down the home turf, mine in minny and then have success pulling from the west coast and south.
Ed as a recruiter I'm a wait and see. Accolades and accomplishments sure but he was a freak of nature. which is hard to translate to top 75 kids who need to work to get to the podium. I dont know about him at kitchen table with mommy's pride an joy. Wrestling aside there are many other things to consider and I dont know if ed can motivate a family to come to champagne outside of just wrestling.
As a room guy can he teach, can he break down film and translate that to the room??? I dont know.
I dont think he makes an earth shattering change. I hope I'm wrong because we need a mid west wall to blunt iowa and ok state.
They need to lock down the home turf, mine in minny and then have success pulling from the west coast and south.
Ed as a recruiter I'm a wait and see. Accolades and accomplishments sure but he was a freak of nature. which is hard to translate to top 75 kids who need to work to get to the podium. I dont know about him at kitchen table with mommy's pride an joy. Wrestling aside there are many other things to consider and I dont know if ed can motivate a family to come to champagne outside of just wrestling.
As a room guy can he teach, can he break down film and translate that to the room??? I dont know.
I dont think he makes an earth shattering change. I hope I'm wrong because we need a mid west wall to blunt iowa and ok state.
See, this is what perpetually peeves me off. The perception that Ruth‘s success was all genetics. Be willing to bet that his coaches and teammates would vouch for the amount of hard work that he put in to make it look that easy.
As for the unanswered questions about his coaching and recruiting abilities, they’re the same ones that will apply to Retherford, Nickal, Nolf, etc. if they ever go the coaching route.
Not saying your wrong....but....the law firm didnt have have taco bell and other issues to deal with.
Wrestling is too small a community to not have that thrown back at him.
Also again ed was a great kid as a wrestler, what's he like as a table recruiter, I dont know. Could be marvelous. Could be mediocre.
I think he will go a long way to bring in African American talent to U of I. These days with all the BLM stuff and other racism accusations, ( I am not saying I agree with it or that I think they are a true representation of the USA) I think a lot of blacks will feel an extra bit of comfort knowing one of the coaches is black. And I think it will go a long way to ease the concerns of many black mothers on the other side of the table.
Also, U of I has a stellar reputation as a university and that will also help, besides being a place to wrestle. If the program makes some strides,, it will not be any harder together a kid to go there than it is to go almost any other place.
Also, U of I has a stellar reputation as a university and that will also help, besides being a place to wrestle. If the program makes some strides,, it will not be any harder together a kid to go there than it is to go almost any other place.
If this gets the thread nuked so be it....
But if a black coach recruiting black athletes is all that was needed PSU football would be unstoppable. Psu basketball would have been top 20 under dunn..... It's not and it wasnt because that is not what the overwhelming population of folks look at.
We have a long way to go. And when we stop focusing on skin color as a judge of anything well all be better off.
I agree with everything you say, but not everyone else does. Some people really look at skin color and if I had a white son and every coach and wrestler on the team was black, I would probably scrutinize that school a bit closer than others to be sure it was a good fit for him. I am not saying that I would not choose it, but I would look carefully at it.
Look at Iowa and OSU and Cornell and many other teams. They are mostly white. A black kid looking at U of I now, may very well say, "hey, I think this is a better fit". I have no idea if that is true or not, but it is possible.
To me it is similar to Covid. Some people thought it was/is the greatest crisis of our lifetime and others thought it was/is a total hoax. Whether either is true or the truth is somewhere in the middle does not take a way from the fact that you have to deal with each person's perspective when engaging with them.
Maybe the best way to put my original post would have been to say that "being black will help Ed Ruth as a recruiter and it may enhance the desirability of attending U of I to some athletes and mothers."
I don't believe there is anyone short changing Ed Ruth's college career........ever. He might not get the discussion others get for the following, fair or unfair.
1) Leaving wrestling.........nuff said.
2) Lack of signature, defining victory as an underdog or peril. Cenzo/IMAR, Nolf/IMAR, Rutherford/Stieber, Hall/Jordan. I was going to add Nickal/MM (that's what we do) Heck, Taylor and Frank the Tank will be remembered for their losses ( Pinned plus Dake ) and "I'll take down"
3)Correct me if I am wrong but Ed Ruth rarely posted on social media. Plus he was on teams with some really outgoing guys...DT, Q, Frank the Tank. Always easy to talk to and engaging at matches etc. but it wasn't his style to be out there.
1) Leaving wrestling.........nuff said.
2) Lack of signature, defining victory as an underdog or peril. Cenzo/IMAR, Nolf/IMAR, Rutherford/Stieber, Hall/Jordan. I was going to add Nickal/MM (that's what we do) Heck, Taylor and Frank the Tank will be remembered for their losses ( Pinned plus Dake ) and "I'll take down"
3)Correct me if I am wrong but Ed Ruth rarely posted on social media. Plus he was on teams with some really outgoing guys...DT, Q, Frank the Tank. Always easy to talk to and engaging at matches etc. but it wasn't his style to be out there.
1) It’s not as if Jiu-jitsu & MMA are ping pong & baseball.
2) Seriously. His success on the mat is a sure fire hinderance?
3) It’s a good thing that Cael is such a social media monster.
None of these things are indicators either way for Ed’s coaching future.
I think you missed Sraths point. I t didn't have to do with how successful Ed would be as a coach, just why he wasn't talked about as much here. Personally Ed is one of my all time PSU favorites just because he was Easy Ed and because he destroyed pretty much everyone he wrestled and just made it look so "easy".
So we are clear, none of my comments had anything to do with Ed's potential as a coach, but were related to the discussion regarding how Ed's career might be remembered vs other PSU greats. I believe Ed will be solid as a coach and mentor for young men. I hope someday all the best programs are run by ex-PSU guys.
Ed will go down in PSU wrestling history as an all time great. He had one lapse in judgement that stained his senior year. But who among us is ready to cast the 1st stone because we are sinless?
I wish Ed all the success in the world as he steps into his coaching career. He has always come across as a class act on and off the mat. Skin color is not an issue for me and I believe most people in the wrestling community. His accomplishments speak for themselves and again I wish Ed the very best at Illinois.
I wish Ed all the success in the world as he steps into his coaching career. He has always come across as a class act on and off the mat. Skin color is not an issue for me and I believe most people in the wrestling community. His accomplishments speak for themselves and again I wish Ed the very best at Illinois.
Oh no! Curt Is Slow* is turning your language skills into Slow mush.
* = copyright Stand With Pride
Cha-chingOh no! Curt Is Slow* is turning your language skills into Slow mush.
* = copyright Stand With Pride
Ed was a big fan favorite at Rec Hall------RUUUUUU!! But I always wondered why a 4XAA, 3X champion never won the Hodge. Seems like he was less appreciated nationally.
Winning the Hodge isn't just about how good you are, but also what other wrestlers are competing for the Hodge. The Hodge winners the years Ed won NCAA titles were some all-time greats--4x winner Dake and David Taylor. You could make a case for Ed's Sr year (over Taylor), but Ed did have a loss to Gabe Dean that year, which probably put him out of the running that year. Bad luck for Ed who he had to compete against for the Hodge. His career would certainly have merited a Hodge!
Winning the Hodge requires pleasing the masses mainly. It has it’s “criteria”,sure, but in the end it’s just a subjective popularity contest.
Ed Ruth only won because he had long arms. Another gem from HR. 🙄
By the three rational posters that are left on HR.
