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Discussion Topic: OSU mid year assessment
Jared Ball added to this discussion on December 20, 2023
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As Ohio State preps to begin the second phase of their season it’s a good time to reflect on what we’ve seen so far. This is an incredibly young but exciting team. They seem to really feed off of each others success. With impressive wins over Virginia Tech and NC State, and a top three finish at Vegas I think it’s fair to say this team is on the periphery of trophy contention. Injuries will play a role, as they do with any team in determining that outcome.
Jesse Mendes has cemented himself as a title threat at 141. Outside of a 1/2 second lapse in judgment his season has been flawless. He looks to be one of the most formidable neutral wrestlers in terms of technique in the country. His improvement on the mat has been very noticeable. What separates him from his teammates is his mentality, IMO. The run he went on during NCAAs last year demonstrates a superior level of grit that not all guys have. Bartlett may be the one dude standing in his way to a championship.
D’Emilio has continued where he left off last year. He looks very solid, and his motor keeps him in most matches. I don’t think he has the juice to crack the top six, but with a good draw who knows. He is definitely lower AA caliber. I think his consistency puts him as the second highest probability to AA for the Bucks.
Bousakis is a whirling dervish of a wrestler. He’s the ultimate feast or famine guy on this team, outside of Rygotske. I think he will continue to take some losses with some pretty impressive wins too. I do think the weight cut impacts him in duals some. He will not be a draw people want in March. Outside of the top two or three guys at the weight he can beat any of them. Consistency will be key for him. I think he puts it together and places top six at the end of the year.
McCrone has been a nice surprise, and Feldman has been slowed by injuries and the lack of mat time. Brandon is at a wide open weight and wrestles a style that can put him in contention to make noise at NCAAs. I think the veterans of this class will find a rhythm come March and stability will take hold. Bottom is a liability for him, but his unorthodoxed style will give him a shot to win. I think he’s a 2-2 kinda qualifier. Feldman on the other hand has not demonstrated, yet, that he is anything above the same. The second half of the year will be huge for him. His speed is apparent, but his durability and mat game have proved limited. He’s a winner though. A solid run at Big Tens could put him in a good spot. Upside is huge, but we haven’t seen it yet.
I don’t think we can expect much from the other weights at this point. Especially, if the Kharchla information is accurate. Many of the guys have peak potential at the round of 12, but we haven’t seen anything that demonstrates that they can push further than that. Welch is the best 174 left on the roster. He can compete and I’m not shocked if they pull his RS. No one would have predicted Myles Martin to do what he did, but that weight didn’t have three returning national champs and several AAs, it was wide open. I think you save his year. 165 and 184 are not really in the discussion. I think Shumate not getting a match this weekend is telling. I’m also a little disappointed in Geogg. He’s taken loses against guys I thought he was better then. Maybe he was hyped too much. He’s still just a first year starter. The team will need him and Feldman to make sizable second half jumps.
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Discussion Topic: OSU mid year assessment
Ethan Moore added to this discussion on December 21, 2023
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Thanks for the summary.
My two cents are this team is very fun to cheer for and I personally respect and find it endearing that this team is filled with guys Coach Ryan and Staff recruited to Columbus.
I know it's perfectly within the rules for PSU, UM, and Iowa to refill every season with transfers, but that mercenary version of college athletics isn't as fun.
With OSU it feels like you get to know the kids and can stand in their corner. So much better.
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Discussion Topic: OSU mid year assessment
Jack Muni added to this discussion on December 21, 2023
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And Mich. officially added Austin Gomez to the lineup last week, so half the lineup is transfers, hired guns.
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Discussion Topic: OSU mid year assessment
Drew Taylor added to this discussion on December 21, 2023
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The Buckeyes have recruited so well the past couple years that it makes sense to direct energy to the guys who signed out of HS. But I’m not averse to hitting the transfer portal if one or more fails to live up to expectations. This is high stakes stuff. Still, I’d limit those pursuits to guys who are likely to contend for a title. Think Real Woods, Bernie Truax or Joey McKenna. I’d pass on most of the transfers Michigan brought in this year.
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Discussion Topic: OSU mid year assessment
Jared Ball added to this discussion on December 25, 2023
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In a sport like wrestling I’m not sure the return on investment is all that high on transfer portal guys or even some of these dudes getting sixth and seventh years . Jaggers mentioned it a few years back, why spend tons of money in NIL for five to ten more points at nationals. In the entire TR era we’ve had a handful of transfers that were impactful. Joey Mckenna was the absolute exception. T’Sean Campbell and Tate Orndorf were other guys, but not people that were massive impacts. I can think of exactly two transfer portal guys that has won a title. Nick Soriano and PSU kid a couple of years ago that came from Cornell. I think OSU’s focus on recruiting and developing is much healthier for overall program development. It says it on the wall “Developed Here”.
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Discussion Topic: OSU mid year assessment
Brian Mathews added to this discussion on December 27, 2023
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I think to ignore the transfer portal entirely is a huge mistake in the "modern era" of D1 athletics. Akin to competing with a hand tied behind your back. There will be more transfer AA's this year than in any year prior, and unless the rules change this is only going to continue.
"Only a few transfers have ever won titles" only works as justification to not pursue opportunities in the portal if your entire lineup consists of NCAA title contenders. Last I looked OSU only had 1 wrestler ranked in the top 3 of his weight class.
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Discussion Topic: OSU mid year assessment
Drew Taylor added to this discussion on December 27, 2023
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Mike Pucillo won a title as a transfer. So did Cary Kolat. Tom Ryan was close, as was Joe McKenna.
The Bucks will continue to pursue transfers. It didn’t make sense for them to do it this year.
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Discussion Topic: OSU mid year assessment
Rob Wagner added to this discussion on December 27, 2023
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Quote from Drew Taylor's post:
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"Mike Pucillo won a title as a transfer. So did Cary Kolat. Tom Ryan was close, as was Joe McKenna.
The Bucks will continue to pursue transfers. It didn’t make sense for them to do it this year."
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Just testing myself to see if I still have a memory:
Kolat- Penn St to Lock Haven?
Ryan- Syracuse to Iowa?
Pucillo- Hofstra to OSU? (Guessing he followed Ryan there?)
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Discussion Topic: OSU mid year assessment
Hank Kornblut added to this discussion on December 27, 2023
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Didn't Rex Holman transfer and win a title?
I know. He didn't enter the portal.
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Discussion Topic: OSU mid year assessment
Ben Golden added to this discussion on December 27, 2023
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Mocco, Coleman… it is a fair point that we’re reaching back 15-30 years for most of these.
I have a feeling transfer champs will become pretty frequent now.
Seth gross might be the most recent, but his circumstances were not typical
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Discussion Topic: OSU mid year assessment
Scott Nicola added to this discussion on December 27, 2023
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Quote from Drew Taylor's post:
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"Mike Pucillo won a title as a transfer. So did Cary Kolat. Tom Ryan was close, as was Joe McKenna.
The Bucks will continue to pursue transfers. It didn’t make sense for them to do it this year."
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Technically Mike P was a transfer but he just had the redshirt year at Hofstra and came over with Coach Ryan. Those early days of the Tom Ryan era were exciting times. For a long time the Bucks missed on the elite Northeast Ohio guys. J wrestled for Hellickson for a year and stayed when Ryan. In came Pucillo, Johnstone, Palmer, and Rella (transfer from Penn State) and the NE Ohio floodgates were open!
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Discussion Topic: OSU mid year assessment
Hank Kornblut added to this discussion on December 27, 2023
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Scott--Now the issue is Ohio no longer produces nearly as large numbers of top tier talent. Hence Ryan recruits heavily in PA.
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Discussion Topic: OSU mid year assessment
Scott Nicola added to this discussion on December 28, 2023
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Quote from Hank Kornblut's post:
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"Scott--Now the issue is Ohio no longer produces nearly as large numbers of top tier talent. Hence Ryan recruits heavily in PA."
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He definitely widened the net but OSU currently has McCrone, D'Emilio, Paddy G, Hepner (possibly), and Geog all Northeastern Ohio guys in the lineup. If were talking Ohio as a whole obviously we can add Karchla to the list as well (prior to injury).
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Discussion Topic: OSU mid year assessment
Drew Taylor added to this discussion on December 28, 2023
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Scott, D’Emilio is from the Toledo area, which is NW Ohio. Point remains that NE Ohio isn’t nearly what it was 10-15 years ago.
As for transfers, the standard of national champ or bust is unreasonable. The more reasonable standard is whether a transfer athlete is a meaningful upgrade over the person they are replacing in the lineup. Bucks will be players in the portal when a clear upgrade is available.
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