So its wednesday, thus the TBT is early, but TKP never celebrated the success that was wrestling recruiting! Wrestling is one of the sports that allow athletes to sign during the early period, open from NOV 11 to NOV 18. This year we inked 5 very good recruits. I believe i have posts on all their commitments, but lets put them in one place:
Another member of the family.. Welcome home, Joey Prata! pic.twitter.com/zd8zCCXAfP— VT Wrestling (@VT_Wrestling) November 16, 2015
#HokieNation, let's give a warm welcome to Kyle Nostrem!#RaisingTheBar pic.twitter.com/sKMT5FH0Wg— VT Wrestling (@VT_Wrestling) November 13, 2015
The NLI is in! #Hokies, welcome Brent Moore to the family! pic.twitter.com/e1cXPQTxQn— VT Wrestling (@VT_Wrestling) November 13, 2015
Signed on the dotted line and it's official.. Welcome, Jarrett Degen! pic.twitter.com/defV2qc19d— VT Wrestling (@VT_Wrestling) November 16, 2015
Welcome to HokieNation, T.J. Allen!#RaisingTheBar pic.twitter.com/5gS9KFh9Ov— VT Wrestling (@VT_Wrestling) November 16, 2015
#RaisingTheBar
Go Hokies!
Comments
OP, you are rapidly becoming our resident grappling expert, thanks for cranking out quality posts.
Our team has had dramatic success over the last few years, and these commits continue to display an upward trend. Where do you see Coach Dressler taking this team in the future? Do we have a outside shot at the NCAA championship in the next few seasons?
I'm not jersey but next year will most likely be a peak year. We only lose one senior, granted a very good one, and we have a large and good junior class this year. It's hard to project much farther than that.
So a loaded answer:
In the immediate future, the goal is a trophy. The top 4 teams in wrestling take home trophies and this team probably has a ceiling of 4th. Additionally, we need an individual national champ. There are at least 3 guys on this roster who could reach the national final this year. Individual championships draw the best recruits, which we need to compete.
Long term, the established powers have a strong grip on the top spots. I was encouraging to see the buckeyes break through as they are not true blue bloods in the sport. They did however have one of the historically great wrestlers in steiber, and a massive funding and RTC advantage. If tech commits to wrestling, We will have a shot in the next 10 years, with perennial top 5 finishes.
Additionally, i think we have at least 1 if not 2 recruits in the pipeline who are national championship contenders. To avoid extra pressure i wont mention them by name, but we are poised to take a big step forward in the next 4 years.
That is interesting that the top 4 teams take home trophies. So if you finish in 4th are you considered a national champion (and get the monkey off of VTs back)? What is the reasoning in that?
No, national champs are 1st place, but the team scoring aspect recognizes 4 teams. If we take 4th, I definitely want to put it i that football case until another team wins the whole enchilada.
Well not a total expert, but have competed against Dresser's teams when he was at Grundy, but we have a way to go to really compete for an NCAA title. First of all we have to get multiple finalist, which I don't think we have ever had and more than likely win at least 3 individuals to really have a shot. Anything is possible, but I definitely think next year we have a good shot at a top 5 or so maybe higher depending on how they do this year.
Yeah, winning makes things easier
While wrestling is not something I did in HS, or have any real history with, I fully appreciate your passion and your posts to educate ignorant fools like me. Keep doin' what you're doin'.
There is always room on this bandwagon and im taking some of y'all with me come hell or high water.
thanks for providing this silver lining to an otherwise underperforming/upsetting day
p.s.--do you know enough about these new recruits to give us an idea how good they are? any review would be greatly appreciated...
So looking quickly, i have individual posts for Degen (#98) Moore (#63) and Prata. Norstrem and allen both committed as sophomores so im not sure i created posts for them.
When you discuss wrestling,you need to look at the current juniors as the senior replacements are often on campus and redshirting. Current Junior status hokies are Dance (125), Mastriani (149) and Walz (HWT). We already have andrew dunn in the system to replace walz, and he's an absolute stud. With that in mind and in 10 seconds the others are:
Dance Replacements:
Prata - Natural 125 lber, who seems to be a late bloomer, having a stellar tournament at junior nationals. Wrestles at St. Chris's, and its always important to have VA products (both to own our state, and that tuition costs so much less so partial scholarships go farther)
Norstrem - Younger brother of Kevin Norstrem, and our current best recruit. Wrestles at the meat grinder of 126lbs in HS and is ranked 3rd in that class. Has just about every accolade you can think of, and is being invited to national all star showcases, similar to All-American bowls for HS football.
Mastriani Replacement:
Degen - Really unusual situation, a montana product who followed new coach mike zadick here. He's 6'3" but wrestles at 145 lbs in HS, so no one knows if he'll maintain that weight or end up somewhere higher. Very hard to gauge true talent as HS competition in Montana isnt the highest quality, but he scored a major win in Iowa's "Night of Conflict" this summer. Was a very big deal. Could be a real diamond in the rough, and probably has a high ceiling with proper coaching.
Moore - Wrestler from the #3 HS in the country, super solid stud im very very pumped about. Wrestles with a very good technical background. Dont want to hype him up too much, but he could be very very special.
General Depth:
TJ allen - 182 Lb wrestler from Hanover Va. Very good in state pickup to add depth to our squad. Again in state wrestlers are a very good thing. Also, the upper weights are so tough to recruit because football sucks so many athletes away.
thanks to jerseyhokie29's stellar post and insight on our signed wrestlers, i decided to post the videos i watched of our newest Hokies.
Joe Prata
Kyle Norstrem
Brent Moore
Jarrett Degen
TJ Allen
looks like we've got a great crop of kids coming in!
If we already have an established wrestler at a particular weight class, how do backups/underclassmen work? Do they wrestle at invitationals or "JV" matches? Do we only have one at each class with a few extra guys that go up or down a class when needed to fill in?
You'll normally see backups and redshirting wrestlers compete at opens and other various tournaments around the country just to get mat time and adjust to the college style. As to the other part of the question of you have a top guy at a weight 9 times out of 10 he'll be your guy no matter what the only instances I can think of where it would be different is if the starter is injured or the coach is resting him during a blowout dual.
FTFY