By Mike Finn, W.I.N. Editor

Don’t say you weren’t warned.

              Less than two years ago, Tom Brands announced that he had two goals in mind when he returned to Iowa City as Iowa’s new head coach:

            • to return the Hawkeyes to the top of the Div. I wrestling world, a place the program had not been since 2000;

            • to unite a program that had been torn apart by fans and wrestlers who were divided on the direction of the program that finished as low as eighth place in 2003.

            “There was no place I wanted to coach other than at Iowa,” said Brands, April 5, 2006, the day the former three-time NCAA champion and assistant coach was introduced as Iowa’s head man. “I don’t like saying it’s a dream come true because I don’t believe in dreams. I believe in going after it.”

            In less than two years, Brands and his Hawkeyes — a mixture of wrestlers recruited by both his predecessor, Jim Zalesky, and  Brands — reached the summit for a 21st time in Iowa history, March 22, in St. Louis’ Scottrade Center, the same location the Hawkeye program won its previous championship.

            Among the Iowa fans cheering on the Hawkeyes that March in St. Louis was Jay Borschel, the current Iowa wrestler who claimed one of seven All-American honors by the 2008 Hawkeyes when the sophomore finished third at 174 pounds.

            “I used to watch all those guys like the (Joe) Williams and (Mark) Ironside and (Lincoln) McIlravy dominate and win,” recalled the native of Marion, Iowa, located 30 minutes to the north of the Iowa campus. “That’s what we want to do.”

            Borschel, of course, is part of the group of wrestlers who were first recruited by Brands, when he took the Virginia Tech job in 2004. Borschel then followed Brands to Iowa in 2006, but had to sit out because of NCAA transfer rules.

            Of that “Virginia Tech” group, Brett Metcalf won the 149-pound weight class this March, while Joey Slaton finished second at 133 pounds.

            Brands said he did not worry about losing their winning attitudes even if it meant they sat out of competition for two years.

            “We weren’t concerned on whether he was going to be OK or not,” Brands said. “It’s not a crap shoot. From the beginning, we knew that we could talk to him and how he needed to be talked to.”

            Brands’ message from the beginning to these recruits was that he would “leave no stone unturned” in helping them reach their potential, whether it was at Virginia Tech or Iowa.

            “It’s a philosophy that travels with us,” Brands said.  “It’s the Gable philosophy. It’s timeless. It’s biblical in nature. It’s infinity.”

            And some critics think Brands’ philosophy is crazy and the 39-year-old of Sheldon, Iowa, is all too familiar with that skepticism.

            “A lot of guys rolled their eyes,” Brands admitted. “Fanatics and lifestyles are one in the same. When I talk about lifestyle, that’s what these guys are doing.

            “I’m talking about them buying into themselves and buying into the belief that they have to live that lifestyle and become fanatics about a certain standard.”

            Brands also had to convince Hawkeyes who preceded him of what his philosophy was towards winning. Some of these guys were Mark Perry, who won both of his titles the last two years at 165 pounds, and heavyweight Matt Fields, who ended his career with a fifth-place finish in St. Louis for his first All-American honor.

            Most of them have finished their careers, leaving behind a mindset they adopted from Brands.

            “I feel good about the program,” said Brands, who was not ready to relax after all but clinching the team title after the semifinal round.

            “We don’t feel any pressure is off,” he said. “We have to get ready for the future. We will enjoy this a little bit and then we will go on.” 

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