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I'm sitting here looking at recent results of recent transfers and new recruits across DI wrestling and it has me reflecting on the plight of being a lifelong fan of the Illini. It definitely can be quite the roller coaster ride. We've certainly had our fair share of exciting wrestlers who accomplished great things over the years. However, as of late, it seems like most years end up with more letdowns than things to be exited about. Last year, we had extremely pleasant surprises in how Byrd and Duncan finished. On the flip side, we had other wrestlers peaking way early like Luffman and the Braunagels, and others like Cardani that seemingly regressed after a promising frosh campaign. Sprinkle in a few wrestlers who just seem to be filling spots and it makes it really hard to see the team finishing in the top half of a very tough Big Ten any time soon.
So, usher in the offseason where we see Heff hang it up and a new-ish regime come in. Poeta gives us something to get "excited" about with his high energy, likability and early big moves he made in both recruiting (Carroll, Webster, etc.) and hiring (Ruth). Now the season comes along and the excitement wanes a bit. There are no Carr or Duncan sightings, although we see that they are on the roster. Will they compete? If so, will it be at the level that we hope to see them at? Nobody really knows. Cardani has provided some reason to be hopeful with a first place finish in a very weak 125 field at the Matmen Open. After a slow start, Byrd appears to be on track. Our transfer at 157 appears to be mediocre at this level at best. Danny Braunagel at 165 seems more like the version that finished the season going 2-6 in the final 2 tournaments of last year than the one who started last season 6-0. There is not much to go on in looking at Zach Braunagel other than a good win over a quality NIU opponent, 2 losses against a quality Cal Poly opponent and some uncomfortably close matches against very unproven wrestlers. Look across the nation and you see a sick, strong weight class that Zach will compete in that appears even stronger with the additions of wrestlers like Myles Amine, Kaleb Romero and Abe Assad. At 197 there is Matt Wroblewski who showed some promise with an early season win over Cam Caffey on the same day he lost to Caffey's backup and a transfer NU wrestler who was never able to crack Michigan's lineup in his previous 4 years. The 197 field is deep and talented. Where does MW fit in the field? Who really knows? Luffman returns to an incredibly tough 285 weight class. Yes, the Luffman who got us excited last year with close wins over Hilger, Orndorff and Lance, only to not be able to duplicate these results when it counted most. 285 is tougher than last year, with the addition of an NU wrestler who moved up a weight and handled Luff early on, as well as a healthy Kerkvliet in PSU, and other talented transfers who have found their way back in to lineups (gas tank Gary Traub, AJ Nevills).
All that to get to what I want to see from my Illini under Coach Poeta. I want to see competition in the room. I want to see recruiting that is hyper-focused on building that. I want to see recruiting that has a focus on constantly upgrading the talent in the room at every part of the lineup. I want to see a recruiting mentality of "yeah, we're pretty good at this weight class, but I think we can do better". I know this is easier said than done, but that needs to be the focus. I LOVE that Edmund Ruth committed. That is the kind of move that I want to see more of. Yes, it likely would not have happened if it were not for the fact that his brother was on staff, but you have to use all kinds of front-channels, back-channels, etc. to build the talent that you need to be competitive in the Big Ten. It didn't matter that we have a DJ Shannon and Trey Sizemore who have both won matches at 174. Winning some matches is not enough to keep your spot safe....at least it's not at programs like Iowa, Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan....heck even Purdue. Purdue had the chance to bring in Matt Ramos and they did it....even though they had Jake Rundell who showed promise at that weight last year. You need to look for opportunities to upgrade up and down your lineup.
If you adopt that kind of mentality, you don't wait around for guys who show promise to finally put it all together. You solidify your spot by executing when it counts the most. Lucas Byrd solidified his spot. Every other spot in the lineup is ripe for an upgrade. THAT is what I hope to see from my Illini under Coach Poeta. Of course that doesn't happen overnight. But Ruth coming in (assuming that it happens as intended) is a great first step. How do Shannon and Sizemore respond. Do they battle harder in the room? Do they fight and claw and brawl to get into the lineup? I want to see how they respond. Then you replicate that across other parts of the lineup. I think it's a shame that we have not brought in a another highly talented 197/285 pounder to push our 2 big guys and try to steal their spots. Same goes for 149/157. That is what needs to happen for us to challenge for that upper half/upper third finish in the Big Ten.
So, usher in the offseason where we see Heff hang it up and a new-ish regime come in. Poeta gives us something to get "excited" about with his high energy, likability and early big moves he made in both recruiting (Carroll, Webster, etc.) and hiring (Ruth). Now the season comes along and the excitement wanes a bit. There are no Carr or Duncan sightings, although we see that they are on the roster. Will they compete? If so, will it be at the level that we hope to see them at? Nobody really knows. Cardani has provided some reason to be hopeful with a first place finish in a very weak 125 field at the Matmen Open. After a slow start, Byrd appears to be on track. Our transfer at 157 appears to be mediocre at this level at best. Danny Braunagel at 165 seems more like the version that finished the season going 2-6 in the final 2 tournaments of last year than the one who started last season 6-0. There is not much to go on in looking at Zach Braunagel other than a good win over a quality NIU opponent, 2 losses against a quality Cal Poly opponent and some uncomfortably close matches against very unproven wrestlers. Look across the nation and you see a sick, strong weight class that Zach will compete in that appears even stronger with the additions of wrestlers like Myles Amine, Kaleb Romero and Abe Assad. At 197 there is Matt Wroblewski who showed some promise with an early season win over Cam Caffey on the same day he lost to Caffey's backup and a transfer NU wrestler who was never able to crack Michigan's lineup in his previous 4 years. The 197 field is deep and talented. Where does MW fit in the field? Who really knows? Luffman returns to an incredibly tough 285 weight class. Yes, the Luffman who got us excited last year with close wins over Hilger, Orndorff and Lance, only to not be able to duplicate these results when it counted most. 285 is tougher than last year, with the addition of an NU wrestler who moved up a weight and handled Luff early on, as well as a healthy Kerkvliet in PSU, and other talented transfers who have found their way back in to lineups (gas tank Gary Traub, AJ Nevills).
All that to get to what I want to see from my Illini under Coach Poeta. I want to see competition in the room. I want to see recruiting that is hyper-focused on building that. I want to see recruiting that has a focus on constantly upgrading the talent in the room at every part of the lineup. I want to see a recruiting mentality of "yeah, we're pretty good at this weight class, but I think we can do better". I know this is easier said than done, but that needs to be the focus. I LOVE that Edmund Ruth committed. That is the kind of move that I want to see more of. Yes, it likely would not have happened if it were not for the fact that his brother was on staff, but you have to use all kinds of front-channels, back-channels, etc. to build the talent that you need to be competitive in the Big Ten. It didn't matter that we have a DJ Shannon and Trey Sizemore who have both won matches at 174. Winning some matches is not enough to keep your spot safe....at least it's not at programs like Iowa, Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan....heck even Purdue. Purdue had the chance to bring in Matt Ramos and they did it....even though they had Jake Rundell who showed promise at that weight last year. You need to look for opportunities to upgrade up and down your lineup.
If you adopt that kind of mentality, you don't wait around for guys who show promise to finally put it all together. You solidify your spot by executing when it counts the most. Lucas Byrd solidified his spot. Every other spot in the lineup is ripe for an upgrade. THAT is what I hope to see from my Illini under Coach Poeta. Of course that doesn't happen overnight. But Ruth coming in (assuming that it happens as intended) is a great first step. How do Shannon and Sizemore respond. Do they battle harder in the room? Do they fight and claw and brawl to get into the lineup? I want to see how they respond. Then you replicate that across other parts of the lineup. I think it's a shame that we have not brought in a another highly talented 197/285 pounder to push our 2 big guys and try to steal their spots. Same goes for 149/157. That is what needs to happen for us to challenge for that upper half/upper third finish in the Big Ten.
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