Iowa State, Virginia Tech earn top recruiting classes by WIN
As a long-time wrestling recruiting analyst, I have a confession to make: I’m a college football recruiting addict as well.
And it’s not just because they’re two of the greatest and most tradition-rich college sports. Nor is it because many of the athletes I keep an eye on are being recruiting both as wrestlers and as football players. Unfortunately, the number of athletes who fit into that category has decreased significantly over the years. A decade ago, virtually every major school had at least one standout wrestler in its football recruiting class.
Now, as more and more athletes heed the short-sighted and misguided advice of the football coaches who are recruiting them, they give up wrestling altogether to concentrate on being recruited for football. Enough of that rant, however…that’s another subject for another column.
When it comes to recruiting, there are a lot of similarities between the two.
Looking for instant gratification? Look somewhere else. More than in any other sport, recruiting is strictly a futures game in football and wrestling. No other sport features the preponderance of fifth-year seniors as front-line competitors. No other sport features the majority of the freshman class being redshirted at the top schools, primarily to enhance their physical development. What that means is that the final grade of your school’s latest recruiting class may not be awarded until three to five years down the line.
An
d since recruiting is a marathon, not a sprint, here’s another key similarity: the most powerful schools always tend to catch up in the closing stages of the recruiting process. How many times has the cupboard looked bare at a school such as Florida State or Tennessee a week before National Signing Day … only to have a half-dozen top recruits commit in the final 24 hours? Year after year, schools of that caliber demonstrate that the recruiting process is never over until that signed letter of intent rolls in on the fax.This spring, the same phenomenon greatly improved the fortunes of two of college wrestling’s powerhouses: Oklahoma State and Iowa.
In our early signings report back in December, we ranked Oklahoma State’s November class No. 13. Iowa’s class wasn’t even in the top 20. But, as you’ll see in the listing of our top 25 recruiting classes below, both schools have vaulted into the top 10, at No. 7 and No. 9, respectively. No two schools did better at narrowing the gap with schools that got off to a hot November start.
Here’s our latest assessment of the top 25 classes.
1. Iowa State — with all six November recruits ranked in W.I.N.’s Top 20 — five in the top six — coach Bobby Douglas’ class remains in the top spot. The lone spring addition: state champion Joe Curran (197) from Sioux City Bishop Heelan High.
2. Virginia Tech — Coach Tom Brands also made a November splash with four-time Michigan champion Brent Metcalf (149) of Davison High leading five ranked recruits. The addition of New York champion Jon Bonilla-Bowman (157) of East Ramapo High means the middle weights should be as solid as any in the nation.
3. Nebraska — Another strong November group keeps the top three classes the same as in our December update. Coach Mark Manning added two Nebraska state champions, Andrew Wiens (133) of Beatrice High and Craig Brester (174) of Howells High.
4. Cornell — Five-time New York champion Troy Nickerson’s January announcement that he would enroll gave coach Rob Koll two No. 1 recruits — Adam Frey (133) of Blairstown (N.J.) Blair Academy is the other — and pushed the Big Red solidly into the top five. In all, four recruits are ranked.
5. Pennsylvania — All five of coach Roger Reina’s early commitments sparkled, with three-time Florida champion Cesar Grajales (141) of Brandon High and Pennsylavnia Matt Dragon (157) of Lake Lehman High leading the High School Nationals performance. Blair Academy recruit Steven Coles (157-165) adds middleweight depth.
6. Penn State — All five of coach Troy Sunderland’s November signees had fine seasons. Dan Vallimont (149) of Oak Ridge (N.J.) Jefferson Township High was particularly solid at the High School Nationals.
7. Oklahoma State — Add Mike Bizzle (125-133) of Tulsa Cascia Hall Prep, Brandon Shelton (141) of El Reno High and Jimmy Matlock (157) of Stillwell High, who won nine state titles between them, to a pair of November recruits and coach John Smith shored up the middle weights and cleaned up his home state in the process.
8. Hofstra — How good are the best of coach Tom Ryan’s top three November recruits? All three finished in the top four in the High School Nationals. The 189-pound champion, Mike Pucillo of Cuyahoga Falls (Ohio) Walsh Jesuit High, could start at 174 as a true freshman.
9. Iowa — No coach made up more ground this spring than Jim Zalesky. He won a spirited battle for National High School finalist Phil Keddy (184) of Vernal (Utah) Uintah High and also landed a real sleeper, two-time Idaho champion Dan Erekson (197), a pinning machine at 215 pounds for Eagle High. Adding depth was another National High School place-winner, Rick Loera (174) of Park Ridge Maine South High.
10. Old Dominion — With 11 recruits, coach Steve Martin mixed quality and quantity better than anyone. Catch this spring haul: National High School place-winner Braxdon Scaletta (133) of Cleveland (Ohio) Cuyahoga Heights High; state champions Cam Watkins (141) of Rockville (Md.) Magruder High and Kaylen Baxter (149) of Fairbanks West Valley High; and place-winners Bryan Koz (157) of Lakewood (Ohio) St. Edward High and David Mendoza (184) of Wyomissing High.
11. West Virginia — Having signed one Parkersburg High National High School champion, Brandon Rader (141), in November, coach Craig Turnbull added the Big Reds’ other NHS champion, Chance Litton (174-184), this spring. State champion Cody Butzer (165) of Canal Fulton (Ohio) Northwest also committed.
12. Indiana — The Hoosiers’ best NCAA finish in 15 years provided the perfect backdrop for coach Duane Goldman’s addition of No. 1 recruits Angel Escobedo (141) of Griffith High and National High School champion Matt Coughlin (157-165) of Evansville Mater Dei High.
13. Lehigh — Coach Greg Strobel’s three November recruits combined to win their final 14 state or National Prep Championships matches this season. Two-time state champion Matt Ciasulli (125-133) of Easton High came in the consolations for a hard-fought third-place finish.
14. Minnesota — Dustin Schlatter (149) of Massillon (Ohio) Perry High won the High School Nationals and Jayson Ness (133) of Bloomington Kennedy High went down fighting in the finals. Nate Matousek (165) of Glencoe-Silver Lake High, coach J Robinson’s third November recruit, finished seventh.
15. Northern Iowa — Two of coach Brad Penrith’s recruits, Brett Robbins of Bloomington (Ill.) High and Charlie Ettelson of Hudson High, met in the first round of the High School Nationals. Ettelson escaped 7-6 on his way to the finals, Robbins finished seventh. Three-time Iowa champion Kyle Anson (125-133) of Iowa City High also placed.
16. Central Michigan — All coach Tom Borrelli’s recruits do, it seems, is win. Mike Miller (165) of Uniontown (Ohio) Lake High and Trevor Stewart (174) of Redford Detroit Catholic Central High both placed in the High Schools Nationals at 160. Four recruits combined for 10 state titles.
17. Northern Illinois — Duke Burk (174-184) of Peoria Notre Dame High was a revelation at the High School Nationals and another November signee, Scott Wallace (157-165) of Darien Hinsdale South High, ruled a loaded weight class in Illinois. This spring, coach Dave Grant added two more who were impressive at Cleveland, Dan Ruettiger (141-149) of New Lenox Providence High and Robert Panayi (197) of Palatine William Fremd High.
18. Maryland — Having inked Connellsville (Pa.) High ace Steve Bell (125) and two-time National Prep champion Hudson Taylor (184-197) of Blair Academy in November, coach Pat Santoro tapped his Lehigh Valley roots this spring and came away with state champion heavyweight Bryan Reiss of Emmaus (Pa.) High and rugged Alex Krom (133-141) of Easton High.
19. Virginia — After signing highly-regarded Ross Gitomer (125) of Blair Academy and Brent Jones (197) of Fairfax Robinson High in November, coach Lenny Bernstein picked up a Western ace this spring, two-time Washington champion Mikey Sewell (157-165) of Bothell Inglemoor High.
20. Arizona State — Jason Robbins (149) of Oviedo (Fla.) High and Jake Cranford (197) of Milwaukie (Ore.) Clackamas High, two of coach Thom Ortiz’s November signees, didn’t live up to their expectations at the High School Nationals, but lead a good class.
21. Harvard — What does it say about the Ivy League when a class this good makes you just third in the league? Coach Jay Weiss landed National High School All-Americans Andrew Flanagan (157) of Bound Brook (N.J.) High and Louis Caputo (197) of Blue Springs (Mo.) High, who combined for five state titles.
22. Michigan State — National High School champion Franklin Gomez (125) will join Brandon (Fla.) teammate Rocky Cozart (165), who signed in November. Coach Tom Minkel also picked up National High School place-winner Nick Palmieri (HWT) of Mayfield Village (Ohio) Mayfield High.
23. Illinois — Not a big class, but coach Mark Johnson cashed in with a huge spring addition. Despite a subpar senior year, four-time Virginia champion Patrick Bond (197) of Chesapeake Great Bridge High has No. 1 ability.
24. Cal Poly — Coach John Azevedo got off to a good start in November and kept it going this spring with California place-winners Cory Beeson (157) and Jordan Blanchard (HWT) of Temecula Valley High. Transfers Ryan Williams (149, Missouri) and Matt Monteiro (197, Cal-State Bakersfield) also are headed to San Luis Obispo.
25. Oregon State — Based on spring additions alone, coach Joe Wells had as good a season as anyone, adding three top middleweights. Two-time state champion Bryson Gutches (157-165) of Eugene Churchill High follows brother Les to Corvallis. Ben Cate (141-149) of Burns High and Andrew DeWater (157) of Coos Bay Marshfield High also were unbeaten.
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