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Discussion Topic: On Tom Ryan and the Buckeyes' current situation
Dan Cosimi added to this discussion on December 21, 2010
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When I saw the result of the Ohio State v. Penn State dual, I knew a backlash of negativity would soon follow.
Before jumping to drastic conclusions, let's analyze the situation.
Tom Ryan has been the head coach at Ohio State for four years. In those four years, the Ohio State wrestling team has finished in tenth, second, second and eighth place at the national tournament. Let me reiterate that: four years, four top ten finishes (with two of them being in the top two). In those four years, the Ohio State wrestling team has had years of four, four, four and three All-Americans. That's an average of 3.75 All-Americans per year in a lineup where you start only ten wrestlers.
Some will point out that J.D. Bergman, J Jaggers, Reece Humphrey and Lance Palmer were all recruited to Ohio State by Russ Hellickson, which is absolutely a testament to the kind of lineup Hellickson was building at the time. It shouldn't be a knock on Ryan because... regarding Palmer, a true senior last year, we are talking about a wrestler from the high school senior class of 2006 being Hellickson's recruit, so any of Ryan's Ohio State recruits wouldn't have had a full five-years at Ohio State until not THIS season but NEXT season is over. Note: "is over," not "is through the first Big Ten dual of the year."
Mike Pucillo was recruited by Tom Ryan, albeit to Hofstra before both came to Ohio State, he was a three-time All-American and a national champion at Ohio State.
Nikko Triggas was recruited by Tom Ryan and was an All-American after his third year in a college room (most would be redshirt sophomores, he was a true junior).
If it is true that Collin Palmer and Tony Jameson are no longer on the wrestling team at Ohio State, that is unfortunate. I am 100% against blaming Tom Ryan for "missing" by recruiting them. If Palmer and/or Jameson had gone to Penn State, Michigan, Iowa, Oklahoma State, etc. and not gotten injured and had done well, the fans would be up-in-arms screaming, "HOW COULD TOM RYAN HAVE MISSED THIS GUY? HE WAS A FOUR-TIME STATE CHAMP FROM HIS OWN STATE FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! (PALMER) WAS THE BROTHER OF A FOUR-TIME ALL-AMERICAN! (JAMESON) WAS THE ULTIMATE FUNKSTER!" Blaming him for recruiting Palmer and Jameson is a very weak argument.
As for Sean Nemec, see Palmer and Jameson. He was a can't-miss prospect in high school, a multiple-time Fargo Junior freestyle All-American, a three-time Ohio high school state champion that if not for superb match management by a senior against a freshman should have been four. And remember, he still has a year and a half to go in his college career!
Tom Ryan has reached out to people who had not been reached out to.
Tom Ryan has built and built up the Ohio Regional Training Center. That had a large part in the successful recruitment of current OTC resident Derek Garcia.
All that should keep the negativity in perspective. Let's also be realistic, though, as that loss does not lead one to believe everything in Columbus is all sunshine and rainbows. Here are the two issues I would delve into discussion about.
#1 - Level of Development
The Microcosm: On one hand you see really positive progression out of guys like C.J. Magrum and Nick Heflin. On the other hand, at NHSCA Senior Nationals in 2007, Nikko Triggas and Bo Touris were finalists while Pat Harrington was a match away from placing. Touris won by technical fall over Nic Bedelyon. Have the trio of Triggas, Touris and Harrington developed at a level equal to or greater than that of their peers?
The Macrocosm: Has the Ohio State team developed their wrestlers, starters and backups alike, at an equal rate to that of the other top-tier programs?
#2 - The Lineup
The Microcosm: On one hand you have the sensational Logan Stieber stepping in for Triggas while he redshirts and the talented Nick Heflin stepping in for the graduated Dave Rella. On the other hand, you have Zach Stolarsky, a tough and powerful wrestler but a one-time state seventh place finisher, who is listed as a 197-pounder no less, starting at 285 pounds. Randy Languis, a very talented true freshman who placed fourth at the Top Gun Invitational less than a year ago, is starting at 141 pounds.
The Macrocosm: Is this cyclical for all teams, even top ten ones, or would wrestlers at the current level of a Stolarsky bumping up a weight class and a Languis as a true freshman never be the first- or second-in-line for the spots at a top ten program? If that isn't true for top ten teams, what can Ohio State do to improve this?
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