Wrestling recruiting
- Thread starter thom67
- Start date
... Gulp. It's nice the ACC is bringing in well regarded talent, but the Krivus departure was softened some by thinking they'd get this kid. And that was before Drew's return. I'm not expecting Pitt go three deep with studs, but we had Drew & Ethan... like, what? Unless he knows something about Pletcher coming, I wonder how much more successful he'd be there than at Pitt.
With the Franklin Regional kids and the Central Catholic kid all but out on Pitt, let's hope they get Stout and that our current promising guys stay healthy.
I will say I'm intrigued by the Siepel kid they pulled from Ohio power St. Paris Graham, though. 2x State finalist, 1x champ it appears. That school has been good to Pitt with the Thommuseit boys. Roberts, Forys, Gromacki, Price, and now Siepel. There should be some good competition there for a few years.
This post was edited on 9/28 6:25 PM by singregardless
This post was edited on 9/28 6:53 PM by singregardless
With the Franklin Regional kids and the Central Catholic kid all but out on Pitt, let's hope they get Stout and that our current promising guys stay healthy.
I will say I'm intrigued by the Siepel kid they pulled from Ohio power St. Paris Graham, though. 2x State finalist, 1x champ it appears. That school has been good to Pitt with the Thommuseit boys. Roberts, Forys, Gromacki, Price, and now Siepel. There should be some good competition there for a few years.
This post was edited on 9/28 6:25 PM by singregardless
This post was edited on 9/28 6:53 PM by singregardless
Even better.
Just in the last few articles I've read about him, Coach Peters just glows about the kid.
Just in the last few articles I've read about him, Coach Peters just glows about the kid.
Bently ? from Ohio commits to Pitt, Anyone, know about him?
This post was edited on 10/10 1:15 PM by CaPAPITT76
This post was edited on 10/10 3:40 PM by CaPAPITT76
This post was edited on 10/10 1:15 PM by CaPAPITT76
This post was edited on 10/10 3:40 PM by CaPAPITT76
L.J. Bentley is:
* The 3rd commit for the Class of 2015
* A kid from the same school as Edgar Bright and, for football fans, former OL Joe Thomas.
* Wrestled at 113 last year, finishing 4th at states. Appears to have finished with 28 wins on the year. Intermat projects him as a 125/133-type.
---
Brief videos with the kid can be watched here.
* The 3rd commit for the Class of 2015
* A kid from the same school as Edgar Bright and, for football fans, former OL Joe Thomas.
* Wrestled at 113 last year, finishing 4th at states. Appears to have finished with 28 wins on the year. Intermat projects him as a 125/133-type.
---
Brief videos with the kid can be watched here.
Eli Siepel (from Ohio power St. Paris Graham) & Cameron Jacobson (Pittsburgh City League kid out of Allderdice).
Siepel is a 125-133 type. 1x Ohio State champion, 2x Ohio State finalist. From the same school as the Thomusseit's - among other talented products.
Jacobson is a 149-157 type. Lone city league representative to make states last year. Finished 32-5 overall, 1-2 at states. Wrestled at 152 last year.
Siepel is a 125-133 type. 1x Ohio State champion, 2x Ohio State finalist. From the same school as the Thomusseit's - among other talented products.
Jacobson is a 149-157 type. Lone city league representative to make states last year. Finished 32-5 overall, 1-2 at states. Wrestled at 152 last year.
Really a lot unfortunately. The locker room, field house, and wrestling room need a lot of work. All the renovation did was take us from terribly inadequate to mediocre. We still have some of the worst wrestling facilities of the power conferences. If you want to compete for elite recruits you have to be on same level as the other teams recruiting them facilities-wise.
We just did a new wrestling room within the last few years. I was at the grand opening. Before that we redid the locker room. I donated $1000 for my name to be on a new locker. I don't think Pitt is going to redo this all over again. They spent a million on the project.
I can not remember another year when the WPIAL has been as loaded as it is this year in wrestling, with so many kids ranked nationally and with five national champions at the recent tournament in Greensboro. And, it looks like we are going to get none of them.
I can understand losing the Central Catholic kid to PSU. But losing both Franklin Regional wrestlers and Headlee is disturbing. And, we lost Krivius to Virginia, another one to UNC and another to Arizona State.
The first class Peters landed gave us all a lot of hope, although only two of them wrestled regularly last year. His second class was a major disappointment, and this class appears to be the same. But, my view is it sends up a big danger flag because of the WPIAL being so loaded this year. The Ohio school has been a recent HS wrestling power, but neither of the kids from there are top 100 nationally. The City League kid is from my alma mater, but he appears to be a major project. Last year, UVA, Virginia Tech and UNC all had top 20 classes; this year at least UVA and UNC appear to be headed for top 20 classes again. I am not sure that VT can take more than one wrestler this year because of scholarship numbers. We apparently have four scholarships to give, and the first three have been very disappointing. I just hope Peters doesn't turn out to be Rande redux.
I haven't seen the facilities in years, and I don't know how they compare to Oklahoma State or tOSU. But, when you are competing with UVA and UNC for WPIAL wrestlers, there are things that Pitt has over them which can't be made up for by having a nicer locker room: Tradition, tradition and tradition. I know all of us who post on wrestling are diehard Pitt wrestling fans, but I am really tired of Pitt fans making excuses for recruiting in every sport. If thjere is any sport where we should be a perennial power, it is wrestling. We should expect -- and should demand -- better from the staff. Even if they get the one uncommitted WPIAL standout, this is a very disappointing class by any objective measurement.
On other somewhat related issues:
I assume we will have no shot with Spencer Lee, the top sophomore in the nation. He won the Greensboro tournament by pinning the Ohio state champion in 26 seconds. He is an absolute beast. He still is wrestling at 113, so I have no idea what weight he will reach in college. But, whether at 125 or 133, he is going to be awesome -- and he is a pinner, which means bonus points.
Our last transfer from OSU (Oklahoma State in that case) didn't work out very well. Let's hope that Roberts from the other OSU turns out better.
I am shocked that Yahner might beat out Rizzo at HWT. Can someone explain that?
Solomon didn't do so great last year wrestling unattached in tournaments. Does anyone know how he looks this year?
I assume that Cody has all of his personal issues straightened out because he is listed on the roster this year. He was a frequent poster on Twitter, but has pretty much gone silent the last few months. I hope that means he is focused on wrestling.
I can understand losing the Central Catholic kid to PSU. But losing both Franklin Regional wrestlers and Headlee is disturbing. And, we lost Krivius to Virginia, another one to UNC and another to Arizona State.
The first class Peters landed gave us all a lot of hope, although only two of them wrestled regularly last year. His second class was a major disappointment, and this class appears to be the same. But, my view is it sends up a big danger flag because of the WPIAL being so loaded this year. The Ohio school has been a recent HS wrestling power, but neither of the kids from there are top 100 nationally. The City League kid is from my alma mater, but he appears to be a major project. Last year, UVA, Virginia Tech and UNC all had top 20 classes; this year at least UVA and UNC appear to be headed for top 20 classes again. I am not sure that VT can take more than one wrestler this year because of scholarship numbers. We apparently have four scholarships to give, and the first three have been very disappointing. I just hope Peters doesn't turn out to be Rande redux.
I haven't seen the facilities in years, and I don't know how they compare to Oklahoma State or tOSU. But, when you are competing with UVA and UNC for WPIAL wrestlers, there are things that Pitt has over them which can't be made up for by having a nicer locker room: Tradition, tradition and tradition. I know all of us who post on wrestling are diehard Pitt wrestling fans, but I am really tired of Pitt fans making excuses for recruiting in every sport. If thjere is any sport where we should be a perennial power, it is wrestling. We should expect -- and should demand -- better from the staff. Even if they get the one uncommitted WPIAL standout, this is a very disappointing class by any objective measurement.
On other somewhat related issues:
I assume we will have no shot with Spencer Lee, the top sophomore in the nation. He won the Greensboro tournament by pinning the Ohio state champion in 26 seconds. He is an absolute beast. He still is wrestling at 113, so I have no idea what weight he will reach in college. But, whether at 125 or 133, he is going to be awesome -- and he is a pinner, which means bonus points.
Our last transfer from OSU (Oklahoma State in that case) didn't work out very well. Let's hope that Roberts from the other OSU turns out better.
I am shocked that Yahner might beat out Rizzo at HWT. Can someone explain that?
Solomon didn't do so great last year wrestling unattached in tournaments. Does anyone know how he looks this year?
I assume that Cody has all of his personal issues straightened out because he is listed on the roster this year. He was a frequent poster on Twitter, but has pretty much gone silent the last few months. I hope that means he is focused on wrestling.
I don't disagree with most of what you said. This program should be heard from nationally in a more emphatic way. That Pitt & Duke are the only schools without a top 50 kid in the current class does puzzle me.
I'm wary to say 14 was a disappointment. They landed Rizzo, which matters, even if he wasn't coming from HS. Forys made a heck of a statement to those who just sort of figured that he'd keep the spot warm til' January. Noah Wilps didn't shine at the Clarion Open, but I don't know how you could write him off knowing what they've done with both Wilps boys. He actually had a better senior finish than Tyler did. McMullan & Gromacki are (intriguing) depth pieces, minimum. 15 - I'd have to see how they finish, but I give them credit for Roberts during this cycle.
The more I think on last year from a distance, the more I think Peters is the victim of a very poor close to the year. He was in Jock Sutherland win% territory before the late, painful flameout with back-to-back Edinboro/Michigan home losses followed by both tournament underperformances. He returns his top guys from last year and has some talented new pieces entering the picture - year 2 could be a heck of a ride, once everyone returns from injury.
As far as Lee goes, we couldn't even convince FR's 4*-type guys to look at Pitt. I find it hard to see things going any differently with their prodigy. The Young Guns affiliated kids are largely allergic to this program, for reasons I could only guess at. Here's to hoping Pletcher snaps that streak.
Roberts is certainly nice insurance, but I don't see Forys yielding easily.
I'm wary to say 14 was a disappointment. They landed Rizzo, which matters, even if he wasn't coming from HS. Forys made a heck of a statement to those who just sort of figured that he'd keep the spot warm til' January. Noah Wilps didn't shine at the Clarion Open, but I don't know how you could write him off knowing what they've done with both Wilps boys. He actually had a better senior finish than Tyler did. McMullan & Gromacki are (intriguing) depth pieces, minimum. 15 - I'd have to see how they finish, but I give them credit for Roberts during this cycle.
The more I think on last year from a distance, the more I think Peters is the victim of a very poor close to the year. He was in Jock Sutherland win% territory before the late, painful flameout with back-to-back Edinboro/Michigan home losses followed by both tournament underperformances. He returns his top guys from last year and has some talented new pieces entering the picture - year 2 could be a heck of a ride, once everyone returns from injury.
As far as Lee goes, we couldn't even convince FR's 4*-type guys to look at Pitt. I find it hard to see things going any differently with their prodigy. The Young Guns affiliated kids are largely allergic to this program, for reasons I could only guess at. Here's to hoping Pletcher snaps that streak.
Roberts is certainly nice insurance, but I don't see Forys yielding easily.
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