Can Robie continue to build on what Dresser created? Will be interesting to see what assistants he can keep and hopefully he is able to limit any possible transfers.
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Fantastic
Those ears are the only qualification you need to know.
Where is NJHokie to tell me if this is good for the program?
Seems he likes it based on his Twitter.
I think I like this move, I'll like it even more if he can keep Zaddick as I really like the intensity he seems to bring. Hopefully there will not be any transfers, but you never know especially with the younger recruits. I don't feel like any of the returning starters will go so that should bode well for the near term.
I'm not NJHokie, but my brother who wrestled locally and was coached by Dresser and Robie LOVES the move. For what that's worth ;)
Anyone else annoyed they misspelled 'mettle' in the quote from Whit? Just me? I'll see myself out...
This is the right move. He build a lot of relationships which will help with continuity and hopefully keep our existing squad together.
I think it's good in the short term, but he needs to prove himself quickly as a HC to keep the program anywhere near the level dresser got it too. I just don't see robie being able to sell recruits over dresser when it comes to head-to-head recruiting so hopefully we don't run into too many of those battles. Also it was mentioned zadick got offered a ton of money to be an assistant HC somewhere else so retaining him is a must.
I like the move. The next step is figuring out who the assistant coaches will be. I'm hoping we can keep Zadick around, but I worry that he might be under consideration for a head coaching gig somewhere. Derek St. John will almost certainly (my opinion, not based on any #sauces) follow KD to Ames. So, by my count, we're going to have two, if not three assistant coaching spots to fill. Let's keep this momentum going, Coach Robie!
Keeping one (if not both) of Zadick/St. John would be huge. Out of the two, I would hope to retain Zadick, so I'm hoping that the wheels are turning to make that the case.
It sounds like Derek St. John has, not surprisingly, agreed to follow Dresser to Iowa State. We now have two assistant spots to fill. Still no news on Zadick's employment status. Will he stay? Will he go to Ames as well? Is he being considered for a head coaching vacancy somewhere else? Only time will tell.
Link to story on St. John's hiring
More worried about the recruits!
Yeah I wasn't surprised by the St. Johns news, pretty much thought he would follow Dresser as soon as it was announced that he was leaving. I was hoping to hear what Zadick's intentions were by now. Still hoping he stays on board as I think he's a great coach first and foremost with the added bonus of keeping a little more stability in the program. But if he is indeed getting head position looks its hard to blame him if he wants to give one a shot.
Zadick appears to be Dresser's new right-hand man in Ames. (Flo article on Zadick joining ISU staff )
It looks like we now have all 3 assistant spots to fill. Rumor mill says we should have an announcement tomorrow on two of those coaches. I haven't seen any names yet, but those claiming to know say we'll be very happy with them.
Brent Metcalf? That sure is ironic. Brent was one of the Brands-Iowa transfers that went on to win 3 national championships.
Frank Molinaro new assistant coach at VT. This is actually a huge get, a big name, with an impressive resume. Our lower weights have struggled in recent years, and this should be big boost for that section of the team!
As someone who lives (and grew up) in NJ and followed wrestling here, Frank Molinaro is a huge get for us. This will continue to help us recruit the NJ and Eastern Pa grounds really well.
We hired Jared Frayer as the second assistant coach, and Ty Walz as the volunteer coach . We have two coaches with International experience. Frayer competed in the 2012 Olympics at the age of 34. Frayer is a 3 time All American with his best finish of 2nd place at the NCAAs. Molinaro competed at the last Olympics at the age of 27 and placed 5th. He is one of Penn States most decorated wrestler finishing is collegiate career with a 33-0 record and an NCAA title. Both of these guys have good coaching experience, especially Molinaro under Cael Sanderson. To cap it off, we will keep Ty Walz for a year or so. He will be a great sparring partner for the heavyweights.
https://twitter.com/vt_wrestling/status/856635867271704577
Zach Epperly is graduating and leaving for a job in real estate. Big loss.
Huge loss.
Yeah hate this for the team, but good luck to him in his future career as wrestling isn't the place if your hearts not totally in it.
Mike Barber wrote a nice little bio of the new assistant coaches
Virginia Tech's new wrestling coach put together a staff of Olympians
There are also interviews on the Inside VT wrestling podcast which can be found here. I would highly recommend them.
Also there is this
Senior Night A VT tonight!
Wrestlers are ranked @ #9 for the Cheaters match tonight.
When: 6:00 on WatchESPN.
I am sure they will make up for that BB game earlier.
I'm expecting a mid 20s-6 beat down. The talent level of the top 10 compared to the rest of the teams makes It almost impossible to even come close to the top 10 teams.
You are probably going to be disappointed. We have some injuries and guys working through some issues so it could easily be closer than normally expected.
Edit: nevermind. we picked up some huge upsets and are dominating. Gustafson, Moore, Blees, and Bolen were all toss ups or underdogs and won.
very close with a 21-9 win. Robie has the team in the right direction
A lot of freshman and redshirt freshman were very impressive recruits and I believe the incoming class is even more impressive. I am not sure if we can overcome a top 3 finish in the NCAAs, but Robbie has is tracking for consistent success.
I like Robie and the staff he brought in but Dresser elevated the program to this point so we'll have to see how Robie does moving forward. The ACC looks to be improving and NC State is pushing to be a top 5-10 program as well.
Duke, UVA, and UNC have upped their game too. However, there is a huge gap between the top 10 teams and the rest of the field, and an even bigger gap between the top 3 and everyone else. I don't think Tech will ever challenge for a natty title. The talent disparity is just too huge.
Yeah that's what I meant by the ACC improving. Just that VT and NC State still appear to be a step ahead for the time being. Unfortunately I agree that the chasm between the elite teams and top 10 is so huge that winning a national title would seem nearly impossible. Penn State has backups that would be top 5 wrestlers at certain weight classes. It's ludicrous.
Penn State's backup at 197 just went out and dominated the #1 at 197, it's crazy.
I missed the occasional wrestling updates/ prematch threads this year.
Seeing big Ty walz dressed as a coach was weird. I'm used to him knocking around heavyweights like a grizzly playing with its food.
I really miss watching Walz this year. Not only was he a stalwort in our lineup, he was a very entertaining heavyweight and always on the offensive. Dunn started well as far as wins but he's more of the traditional low scoring heavyweight and hasn't scored a takedown in weeks, which makes for very boring matches.