Predictions.

[DuckBlunder]

Specifically Steen and Facundo. First Steen, 2x PIAA Champ for a perennial powerhouse. As I understand, he wasn't really ever supposed to be the guy but things happen and he got the nod. I know for whatever reason, usually motivation, sometimes success at the state level just doesn't translate. He seems like a guy that wanted to win badly though. His size got brought up a lot but as I went through his high school history he seemed pretty competitive with guys that are now holding their own on the D1 level...Ungar specifically. Mostly a confidence thing that he hasn't overcome? Just doesn't have the goods? He doesn't have much going on with his social media but I hope he comes back looking like a Mini Molinaro and gives Jersey kid a run for his money.

As far as Cujo, he never got blown out except for the end of the season but could that be attributed to the backside blues? He can obviously hang physically and skill wise having had a couple squeakers with Carr and Amine. So, will we get more of the same? Will he have made adjustments and is now finishing those shots? Does the young man just start steam rolling people? Even if he comes in markedly improved will he at best be a 2nd or even 3rd tier prospect for a championship given the literal World beaters in front of him?

 

[Cali_Nittany]

Specifically Steen and Facundo. First Steen, 4x PIAA finalist, 2x Champ for a perennial powerhouse. As I understand, he wasn't really ever supposed to be the guy but things happen and he got the nod. I know for whatever reason, usually motivation, sometimes success at the state level just doesn't translate. He seems like a guy that wanted to win badly though. His size got brought up a lot but as I went through his high school history he seemed pretty competitive with guys that are now holding their own on the D1 level...Ungar specifically. Mostly a confidence thing that he hasn't overcome? Just doesn't have the goods? He doesn't have much going on with his social media but I hope he comes back looking like a Micro Molinaro and gives Jersey kid a run for his money.

As far as Cujo, he never got blown out except for the end of the season but could that be attributed to the backside blues? He can obviously hang physically and skill wise having had a couple squeakers with Carr and Amine. So, will we get more of the same? Will he have made adjustments and is now finishing those shots? Does the young man just start steam rolling people? Even if he comes in markedly improved will he at best be a 2nd or even 3rd tier prospect?

 

[tullfan68]

I love Steen but the kid is flat out to small for 125,as for Facundo only a soph still have high hopes for him!

 

[Bosox2004]

I’m gonna answer in a different way.

Barring injuries I “believe” penn state will finish the year with 10 all Americans

To be more direct, I expect Howard at 125 and I have no expectations yet as to who starts at 165.

I think Facundo’s issues are mostly in his head and would be willing to bet a guy like Mitch is going to really help him with this . I am an optimist.

 

[GogglesPaizano]

If Howard's shoulder goes south, I expect McHenry > Steen. Just sayin. As for 165 it's looking more and more like Facundo. I think he is going to be markedly better than last year. Low AA? Probably, but the weight class is stacked and with the wrong seed he could get a bad draw.

 

[Bosox2004]

If Howard's shoulder goes south, I expect McHenry > Steen. Just sayin. As for 165 it's looking more and more like Facundo. I think he is going to be markedly better than last year. Low AA? Probably, but the weight class is stacked and with the wrong seed he could get a bad draw.

Why is it looking more and more like Facundo will man the spot at 165 ? I’ve seen that mentioned a few times but I fail to see the reason why

I’m still in the camp that the best man on the mat wins the spot and regardless of who it is , they AA at nationals

 

[slushhead]

I predict I will be annoyed by a post sometime this sesson . . . aaaaannnd, done.

Next prediction: I will be annoyed by another post sometime this season.

 

[hlstone]

I predict I will be annoyed by a post sometime this sesson . . . aaaaannnd, done.

Next prediction: I will be annoyed by another post sometime this season.

I will only be annoyed if you don't do a funny post on HR this year.

 

[slushhead]

I will only be annoyed if you don't do a funny post on HR this year.

 

[Chickenman Testa]

My prediction:

MSU158 from TheMat will somehow, someway - by conveniently having all 10 Iowa wrestlers wrestling way over their heads - end up picking Iowa to edge Penn State at Nationals

 

[GogglesPaizano]

Why is it looking more and more like Facundo will man the spot at 165 ? I’ve seen that mentioned a few times but I fail to see the reason why

Nothing is in concrete and Cael is a sinister mad scientist.

With Levi slated to go at 157 at the all-star classic, that would seem to indicate he isn't on the Cassar plan on the way up to 165. That leaves Facundo and Mitchell as possible 165s. My personal observation and eye test indicates Levi is the bigger of the two, plus the comments that Levi was growing out of 157 last year would seem to lean Levi to 165 next year. Then there was Facundo's recent interview where he is pretty jazzed for this year and has improved. No indication of a redshirt or unhappiness with PSU (a few weak portal references are out there but I give them no credence).

The first and biggest domino to fall was the first wrestler to seem to commit to a weight, and that it seems was Levi to 157. I guess the lingering question is the classic event, and if he can wrestle attached or not. If not he still could redshirt, but then that would mean Mitch to 157, hence it's still Facundo at 165.

My logic may be twisted but I think it's sound???

 

[Bosox2004]

Nothing is in concrete and Cael is a sinister mad scientist.

With Levi slated to go at 157 at the all-star classic, that would seem to indicate he isn't on the Cassar plan on the way up to 165. That leaves Facundo and Mitchell as possible 165s. My personal observation and eye test indicates Levi is the bigger of the two, plus the comments that Levi was growing out of 157 last year would seem to lean Levi to 165 next year. Then there was Facundo's recent interview where he is pretty jazzed for this year and has improved. No indication of a redshirt or unhappiness with PSU (a few weak portal references are out there but I give them no credence).

The first and biggest domino to fall was the first wrestler to seem to commit to a weight, and that it seems was Levi to 157. I guess the lingering question is the classic event, and if he can wrestle attached or not. If not he still could redshirt, but then that would mean Mitch to 157, hence it's still Facundo at 165.

My logic may be twisted but I think it's sound???

I think facundo donned his penn state attire on Instagram a few days ago which to me would also give zero credence to portal rumors.

I’ll have to go hunt down the interview you mention i will be surprised if I haven’t seen it yet.

If he does get the nod at 165 he is an easy kid to root for. In many ways I hope he gets the spot .

 

[mjmirv]

Facundo portal rumors? Hasn’t the portal window already closed for this season? The NCAA has drastically tightened up transfer rules and the timing of transfers. I don’t believe any wrestler can be eligible for this season if they haven’t already entered the portal.

 

[82bordeaux]

Facundo portal rumors? Hasn’t the portal window already closed for this season? The NCAA has drastically tightened up transfer rules and the timing of transfers. I don’t believe any wrestler can be eligible for this season if they haven’t already entered the portal.

Someone needs to up their rumor game. Speak up! I never heard them.

 

[86PSUPaul]

Done as in you want @hlstone to be annoyed or not annoyed?

 

[James P. Whitters III]

The All Star dual is a non event as far as who is going where. I'm sure Cael has a plan. I want to watch MM wrestle more than anything, but that will eventually happen.

 

[slushhead]

Done as in you want @hlstone to be annoyed or not annoyed?

Done as in it is pretty much a done deal that Iowa will do something inspiring for some comedy. I may not be able to guarantee my post will be funny, but the GIA reaction usually delivers. So there is a high likelihood @hlstone will be “not annoyed”. 😉

 

[slushhead]

My prediction:

MSU158 from TheMat will somehow, someway - by conveniently having all 10 Iowa wrestlers wrestling way over their heads - end up picking Iowa to edge Penn State at Nationals

I predict he will not, however, attempt another metallurgy analogy on GIA regarding the coaching vs. recruiting debate over Cael vs. TnT. The last one kind of became frustrating for him.

 

[mjmirv]

It would be classic Cael to send the guy who is redshirting out to the All-Star classic just to mess with the Flo people.

 

[AndEEss]

It would be classic Cael to send the guy who is redshirting out to the All-Star classic just to mess with the Flo people.

That would be great.

 

[86PSUPaul]

That would be great.

Just for him to show how great the redshirt guy is! Lol, that would be awesome. Of course he came in second, so we kind of know how good he is already.

 

[Chickenman Testa]

I predict he will not, however, attempt another metallurgy analogy on GIA regarding the coaching vs. recruiting debate over Cael vs. TnT. The last one kind of became frustrating for him.

Give me the Cliffs Notes

 

[js8793]

If Howard's shoulder goes south, I expect McHenry > Steen. Just sayin. As for 165 it's looking more and more like Facundo. I think he is going to be markedly better than last year. Low AA? Probably, but the weight class is stacked and with the wrong seed he could get a bad draw.

Such an under-talked about thing on both boards. Look at PK's run last year. Deserving 6 seed. Loses a rematch to 3x AA, ends up with Ramirez and Griffith in his path to AA.

At a weight that deep, you're one upset on the other side away from having to beat a national champ to place.

 

[johnstownsteel]

Such an under-talked about thing on both boards. Look at PK's run last year. Deserving 6 seed. Loses a rematch to 3x AA, ends up with Ramirez and Griffith in his path to AA.

At a weight that deep, you're one upset on the other side away from having to beat a national champ to place.

After being recruited over, I predict within a year Grandma Kennedy will be trading in her Hawks sweatshirt for another school.

**Apologies, gonna start drawing a check again next week so I need to start knocking off the rust with my Hawkeyes hate...

 

[Bosox2004]

Such an under-talked about thing on both boards. Look at PK's run last year. Deserving 6 seed. Loses a rematch to 3x AA, ends up with Ramirez and Griffith in his path to AA.

At a weight that deep, you're one upset on the other side away from having to beat a national champ to place.

On the iowa boards they were having a good exchange about PK vs caliendo on this very same subject .

My general feeling seems to be people are way over confident of certain people winning which I guess is what you get from boards heavily skewed towards team participation . Damn it I’m rambling again .

 

[Bosox2004]

It would be classic Cael to send the guy who is redshirting out to the All-Star classic just to mess with the Flo people.

Ugh ! I need nothing else to second guess my fantasy selections for this weekends draft . Hoping to pick up Levi in the second round would really nice bode well for me to have him redshirt.

As for the question you posed about the portal I hope someone better informed than I answers it.

My limited understanding has it that for wresting the portal is a window most likely that opens in March but there’s a few exceptions to this one being grad students , another being coach leaves and I’m sure there are others .

Flo has a listing of all the portal entries from last year but when I have perused that in the past it sure doesn’t seem to sync up with the rules . Even the window that opened in March didn’t seem to be 45 days but maybe I just can’t count .

 

[McScoreley]

Facundo has shown an ability to beat Top 10 level guys (Cam Amine, Matt Olguin) He has the ability to wrestle close matches. Can he put it together on a given weekend? As @CSauertiegPSU said, there was a hard regression to the mean at the wrong time 3-4 in the postseason (7th at B1G, 0-2 BBQ) last year. But more than anything, Facundo's progression since he was considered a phenom sophomore year of high school is not good. It's been the same thing for years essentially. Still no noticeable signs of setups despite extensive time with Casey and the room. It works in high school and lower level competition but you see the issues show big time when he is wrestling a NQ level guy (not even Top 15 necessarily, just any guy you consider a strong D1 starter).

For the record, Alex is a phenomenal kid who does it the right way. Extremely hard worker and wants it and is extremely coachable. But you never know how anyone adjusts in match with the pressure on. At this point, I understand the skepticism with him but if he is our 165, I'm rooting for his success in the biggest way (beyond just the fact he is a Penn Stater)

 

[82bordeaux]

It would be classic Cael to send the guy who is redshirting out to the All-Star classic just to mess with the Flo people.

Cael and the B1G coaches...

 

[a_mshaffer]

Facundo has shown an ability to beat Top 10 level guys (Cam Amine, Matt Olguin) He has the ability to wrestle close matches. Can he put it together on a given weekend? As @CSauertiegPSU said, there was a hard regression to the mean at the wrong time 3-4 in the postseason (7th at B1G, 0-2 BBQ) last year. But more than anything, Facundo's progression since he was considered a phenom sophomore year of high school is not good. It's been the same thing for years essentially. Still no noticeable signs of setups despite extensive time with Casey and the room. It works in high school and lower level competition but you see the issues show big time when he is wrestling a NQ level guy (not even Top 15 necessarily, just any guy you consider a strong D1 starter).

For the record, Alex is a phenomenal kid who does it the right way. Extremely hard worker and wants it and is extremely coachable. But you never know how anyone adjusts in match with the pressure on. At this point, I understand the skepticism with him but if he is our 165, I'm rooting for his success in the biggest way (beyond just the fact he is a Penn Stater)

as a freshman he wrestled great. Lots of good things, almost TDs that would have changed matches, etc. These are all great signs for a frosh. Only eyebrow raised for me was his match against Iowa. Thought he was pushed/muscled and didn't think he was really in that match from a control perspective. Of course that can easily change a well and as noted, lot of good things here. Happy to have him on our team

 

[GogglesPaizano]

Alex's credentials out of highschool were as strong as any recruit we have had in the past. His style at times and results last year didn't meet our expectations which have been severely skewed by our decade of insane success. The kid has the potential to be a national champ, let's see what happens this year.

 

[El-Jefe]

Done as in it is pretty much a done deal that Iowa will do something inspiring for some comedy. I may not be able to guarantee my post will be funny, but the GIA reaction usually delivers. So there is a high likelihood @hlstone will be “not annoyed”. 😉

Is that anything like Mike Evans being Not Impressed?

 

[NittanyLion84]

Is that anything like Mike Evans being Not Impressed?

I sure hope not and hlstone, don’t even think about doing what Evans did to a helmet, to a cheesecake! 😉

 

[hlstone]

I sure hope not and hlstone, don’t even think about doing what Evans did to a helmet, to a cheesecake! 😉

Well, I am looking for a sous chef. Maybe Mike is available. 🤷‍♂️

 

[slushhead]

Give me the Cliffs Notes

MSU was basically saying Cael wins because he forges swords with the highest quality steel while other coaches are working with aluminum or other inferior metals. I think @98lberEating2Lunches and I kinda tag-teamed him in overanalyzing the analogy like we were actually taking it seriously.

It was the same thread in which you ripped out bnicolls larynx with a bare hand.

What a disaster for GIA that thread was.

 

[El-Jefe]

MSU was basically saying Cael wins because he forges swords with the highest quality steel while other coaches are working with aluminum or other inferior metals. I think @98lberEating2Lunches and I kinda tag-teamed him in overanalyzing the analogy like we were actually taking it seriously.

It was the same thread in which you ripped out bnicolls larynx with a bare hand.

What a disaster for GIA that thread was.

Here's a direct link to that massive dumpster fire: https://iowa.forums.rivals.com/thre...ng-similarly-at-least-every-other-year.405974

Credit to @PD4thespawn for baiting the trap.

@slushhead and @98lberEating2Lunches basically engaged MSU with the metals equivalent of Steiner Math.

And a special Shut Up Because Sandusky award to @Chickenman Testa. Nicolls suffers from Ped State Tourette's, and it went haywire in that thread.

 

[johnstownsteel]

Here's a direct link to that massive dumpster fire: https://iowa.forums.rivals.com/thre...ng-similarly-at-least-every-other-year.405974

Credit to @PD4thespawn for baiting the trap.

@slushhead and @98lberEating2Lunches basically engaged MSU with the metals equivalent of Steiner Math.

And a special Shut Up Because Sandusky award to @Chickenman Testa. Nicolls suffers from Ped State Tourette's, and it went haywire in that thread.

Can I start creating and dishing out avatars just like mine to those worthy enough by doing God's work over there? With their usernames in the belt of course....

The checks will have to come from PSU wrestling tho..

 

[District four]

I predict I will be annoyed by a post sometime this sesson . . . aaaaannnd, done.

Next prediction: I will be annoyed by another post sometime this season.

As opposed to hr where the statement would be "there will be a post sometime this year that won't annoy me" lmfao.

 

[PD4thespawn]

Here's a direct link to that massive dumpster fire: https://iowa.forums.rivals.com/thre...ng-similarly-at-least-every-other-year.405974

Credit to @PD4thespawn for baiting the trap.

@slushhead and @98lberEating2Lunches basically engaged MSU with the metals equivalent of Steiner Math.

And a special Shut Up Because Sandusky award to @Chickenman Testa. Nicolls suffers from Ped State Tourette's, and it went haywire in that thread.

Hey, I do what I can. I'm surprised they picked up on it.

 

[PAHURDLER]

What a disaster for Iowa Wrestling GIA is.

FIFY

 

[slushhead]

Here's a direct link to that massive dumpster fire: https://iowa.forums.rivals.com/thre...ng-similarly-at-least-every-other-year.405974

Credit to @PD4thespawn for baiting the trap.

@slushhead and @98lberEating2Lunches basically engaged MSU with the metals equivalent of Steiner Math.

And a special Shut Up Because Sandusky award to @Chickenman Testa. Nicolls suffers from Ped State Tourette's, and it went haywire in that thread.

Thanks for the assist, as I see I botched the attempt to embed a link. I would say I guess I have some rust to shake off, but maybe it’s something else, because I would have sworn that thread happened in April ‘23. I’m losing a step.