Being in the top 20 in wrestling is not comparable to being in the top 20 in football. So many schools have given up wrestling due to Title 9 concerns that Pitt should always be in the top 20. In fact, IMO, with a top-notch coach, Pitt would always be in the top 10. You can recruit a top 10 team without driving farther than you can get on one tank of gas from Oakland. The highest number of great HS wrestlers in the country are in PA, NJ and Ohio, with an occasional few in NY and MD. Missing out on every WPIAL kid rated in the top 5 nationally in his weight class (and Wentzel is not) is inexcusable -- especially when only one of those kids went to PSU.
This year, NC State already has 4 commits from top 100 national recruits -- 2 in the top 25. That is NC State, a school with ZERO national wrestling reputation. I don't care if Peters is the greatest guy since Jesus Christ. His last two recruiting classes have been terrible because he has missed out on all of the big local names. And, this year is following the same sad scenario. Sometimes, nice guys do finish last. And, those kinds of nice guys can't be the wrestling coach at Pitt.[/QUOTE