I agree with most of this.
Overall, the team has really improved their top work over the past few seasons, but it has seemed to disappear this year. I think the large amount of young guys in the lineup really has a lot to do with this.
125:Zanetta hasnt wrestled to expectations thus far this season. Now losing to Megaludis is nothing to be ashamed of, but Z wrestled Nicos match. Tie up and do nothing. Z is a high-pace wrestler and he is not good when he gets slogged down into the one-takedown matches like this. He is a little bit of a head-case; if he didnt put so much pressure on himself and opened up like we have seen him do in the past then he is an easy All-American. Wrestling like this he might not make the podium, which would be a shame considering what caliber wrestler, worker and person the kid is.
133:Shelton has wrestled really well following the Clarion Open tournament. He is another wrestler I would really like to see open up more though. When he made R12 at Nationals two years ago, he was constantly moving, faking and shooting, and guys couldnt keep up. Now, he is content to score one double leg a match and win. IMO, he is at his best when he is constantly attacking.
141/149:Bright is going to be scary good when he finds his gas tank. He did miss some time early w/ injuries and off the mat stuff, so I think he is still finding his groove. When Mikey supplements his great scrambling ability with some actual moves, he is going to be very tough to beat.
157:Garbo's ability to score points will be a huge upgrade over Sheptock when he gets back into the lineup. Sheptock has terrific defense, but I dont know if he has scored a takedown yet in a dual meet.
165: Morelli: Like Sheptock, he has a lot of upside but needs to be more active. Obviously you cant judge anyone against Taylor, but he just doesnt do much on his feet even though he is a fairly athletic wrestler.
174:Thought Wilps and Brown would be more competitive. This is the first time where you could tell Tyler was up a weight class, Brown is huge (and he is like 26 years old or something).
197:Thought Bono shot a lot more at 174. He should have won that match, the locked hands was bogus, but still he got an easy takedown at the beginning of the match and then make a serious attempt after.
285: This is where I disagree with you. I have read the various posts about Rizzo. Kid is a legit recruit and a solid heavy. But why is everyone so quick to think he will be better than Tasser? Because he is bigger? Because he won 3 state titles?
We are talking about a guy who hasnt been on a mat in at least 8 months, who is not in wrestling shape and has not been exposed to college wrestling yet. And everybody wants him to get adjusted and get in shape and be a top 15 wrestler right out of the shute? I dont think so. Tasser just took a former All-American to double ot and got screwed by the ref, then turned around and lost on a last second takedown to the No12 guy in the country, who didnt do anything the entire match.
Rizzo is by all means the jewel of next years recruiting class. I have no doubt that he could be a very good heavy. The Pitt coaches have a great track record with heavies over the past few years - Scheaffer, Tomei, Thomusseit, Tasser. But just because he was successful in hs doesnt mean anything. If he had been on campus since July like the rest of the freshman then he would probably be starting by now. But dont discount the learning curve of a college wrestling room. Its naive to think he will come in and dominate; you need more than a blast double to win at heavyweight in college.
To illustrate my point better: both Lehigh heavies PJ beat were considered blue-chip recruits. Wessell was even a junior national champ in judo as well. Emerick from Lock Haven was the PA hs Schalles winner last season, went undefeated and pinned like 36 of 42 wrestlers at heavy. Tasser has beat all three. Heavyweight is probably the hardest weight class to predict college success based on hs school accolades, because most heavies in hs dont know how to wrestle. In college, everybody can.