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Discussion Topic: Some Buckeye Comments
Hank Kornblut added to this discussion on December 16, 2007
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Jason Johnstone--Guerra beat him last year; he reversed the result today by a score of 13-6. That's what I'd hoped would occur when the Bucks hired Tom Ryan--tangible improvement in their wrestlers. Johnstone can be a big problem for top competitors at this wt by the end of the year. Look for him to seriously compete for AA status.
Colt Sponseller--He tf'd Jacob Ison today en route to three easy wins. He's now 4-0 at 165. Bucks are off for several weeks until a dual with Kent (Jan 4 at KSU) and then the National Duals. As his wrist gets strong and his wind comes back, he'll become a significant national player. Name one current stud at this wt that you're absolutely certain will beat him. Tannenbaum? Perry? Are you sure?
J.D. Bergman--At 197, you never knew how he'd do against solid competition. At 285, he pins them routinely. He's not a lock to win a national title but I don't doubt that he can do it. More importantly, he's gotta be having fun. It's nice to see him enjoying himself; he wasn't last season and it was obvious.
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Discussion Topic: Some Buckeye Comments
Dan Ransick added to this discussion on December 16, 2007
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Sponseller if he had not been hurt would have been the difference in the UTC dual and at Vegas. Ohio State would easily be Top 10 or Top 5 with him rather than being at about 11th now. He is simply on a tear and you can tell he is in great shape still after that layoff.
Bergman is beating everyone like he should be beating them; BIG!! He has to be so much happier not cutting weight like he was to get down to 197.
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Discussion Topic: Some Buckeye Comments
Don Bork added to this discussion on December 17, 2007
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It is great to see Johnstone wrestling the way he has this year. I think having the whole off season to prepare to wrestle at 157 has helped him be more competitive and look forward to seeing him wrestle the ranked wrestlers in the Big Ten. Putting Sponseller on the mat this year makes this team considerably stronger, and was a good decision by Coach Ryan. When I first saw Bergman this season at TOSU wrestleoff I couldn't believe how big he looked. Does anyone know what his weight is this year? I've got to believe he's up around 235-240.
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Discussion Topic: Some Buckeye Comments
Dan Ransick added to this discussion on December 17, 2007
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Bergman is about 240 now I here. He is much bigger and happier than he was at 197 one would have to believe.
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Discussion Topic: Some Buckeye Comments
Michael Rodriguez added to this discussion on December 17, 2007
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"Name one current stud at this wt that you're absolutely certain will beat him."...Tannenbaum will beat him, I'm certain.
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Discussion Topic: Some Buckeye Comments
John Ice added to this discussion on December 17, 2007
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What about the depth of OSU? They only place 2 at Cleveland State. Central Michigan placed 10, Eastern 5, Kent 4. The MAC reserves are better than ours? Maybe they left some kids home but they had quite a few that were entered and not place. Hope we stay injury free.
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Discussion Topic: Some Buckeye Comments
Dan Ransick added to this discussion on December 17, 2007
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How many entered were true freshman that were just trying to get some mat time in before the holiday layoff? I think Ohio State is just fine with depth in certain weights but hurt in other ones.
Ohio State should very well be a top 10 team right now and with Sponseller back in action they will be.
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Discussion Topic: Some Buckeye Comments
Dan Cosimi added to this discussion on December 17, 2007
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I am a big fan of Colt Sponseller and I think he had/has the skills to be an AA as a freshman, BUT... it is way too early to say that he'd beat a veteran like Eric Tannenbaum or national champion Mark Perry. I'm not saying that he can't do it, but based on what's happened so far (four dual wins versus multiple AA seasons) it's a stretch to say he's going to beat either one of them.
I sure hope he does, though!
<sign_oh>
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Discussion Topic: Some Buckeye Comments
Hank Kornblut added to this discussion on December 17, 2007
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As neither a professional sportwriter nor a gambler, I enjoy making lavish statements that make me look smart (or lucky) if they turn out to be true. If they don't, what have I really lost? Credibility? so what.
Dual Meets are very different from tournies and a great wrestler can get off to a bad start and not recover. An underdog with great stuff like Sponseller can pull an upset in this type of environment. I remember thinking that Troy Letters was unbeatable; Zach Esposito looked like he would never lose to a frosh either. Sponseller beating either Perry or Tannenbaum is far from inconceivable. Not likely, to some, but not nearly as unlikely as it might seem.
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Discussion Topic: Some Buckeye Comments
Michael Rodriguez added to this discussion on December 17, 2007
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Let me start by saying that cleary Sponseller is an amazing talent and the sky is the limit for what he can achieve during his time at tOSU. That being said:
In the abstract, anyone can beat anyone. If Perry or Tannenbaum had a really bad day (like the one Perry already had at St. Edward), then it's possible, but if Paul Donahoe had the worst day of his life then he's going to get beat by Triggas. The quote works for anyone on the Buckeye squad. Who couldn't Reece Humphrey beat if he wrestled lights-out and they wrestled like crap?
Sponseller will be tested in the Big Ten by the aforementioned Perry and Tannenbaum as well as Matt Coughlin, Scott Glasser, Dominic Marella and Dave Rella (I always forget the kid from Illinois name, but he's very good). On the national stage there are some very good, very young wrestlers who may have something to say about Sponseller being a true-frosh All-American. Guys like Jon Reader, Mack Lewnes, and Nick Marable, the sophomore from Missouri, are right there with Sponseller (if not a step or two ahead of him).
I think some people have forgotten what a huge accomplishment being a Division I AA is. It just doesn't happen that often for true freshman. Some may be a little spoiled by the early success of guys like Schlatter and Palmer. Those guys had awesome freshman seasons, but they're far from the norm. There have been some fantastic wrestlers with resumes as good and better then Sponseller that did not make All-American their true freshman year.
I wish him the best, but man are expectations high for this kid.
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Discussion Topic: Some Buckeye Comments
Bob Preusse added to this discussion on December 18, 2007
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only 2 true freshman last season made College Div I AA, both at 149: Lance Palmer and JP O'Connor of Harvard. Odds are way against it.
For one thing, most freshmen wear down from the long season, but since Sponseller started late maybe this will help him ??
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Discussion Topic: Some Buckeye Comments
Cliff Cahill added to this discussion on December 18, 2007
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Could it be the style of Colt that is the drum beat of the music many of us love to hear bringing back memories of yester days?
The Dave Schultz and Randy Lewis and that team of the 80s going all out for entire match was a thrill. Today look at the scores of international wrestling. It seems the "get a lead and shut down" strategy has invaded the college wrestling style. Of course, riding time is a feedback further enabling this modern style. What was it 1-0 for Schlatter and Lance and Schlatter and Jaggers and maybe a little more but not much with Schlatter vs Metcalf. The great records of these 4 timers creates for some of us an expectation of a Schultz, Lewis, or Smith type of match only to go away flat with a ref call or out bounds situation the only difference.
Colt has a set up going all the time. And Colt like Schultz and Lewis use a wide variety of attacks and can go on the feet or on the mat and dare say anyone can ride for 1 minute Colt. Speaking for my self this is surely a factor for picking Colt to be AA as freshman simply wanting this style of wrestling to return as the winning prevailing strategy/methodology of the sport. Could be a tough pill though because I know within the staff there is the pill of getting a lead and then shutting down or slow it down to avoid running out of gas - the modern theory. Can Colt spit this pill out and move into a higher plane and continue to win? I have seen the eye of the tiger in Colt in high school big matches. I saw the eye of the tiger at Wisconsin in his first college match.
So for some of us the Colt freshman AA is more than a paper study of past performances.
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Discussion Topic: Some Buckeye Comments
Michael Rodriguez added to this discussion on December 18, 2007
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"...and dare say anyone can ride for 1 minute Colt"...Jake Donar rode Sponseller for two minutes last week.
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Discussion Topic: Some Buckeye Comments
Dan Cosimi added to this discussion on December 18, 2007
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Cliff:
I love Colt's style too but there is a reason why some people shut down... Only time will tell if Sponseller can keep the intense pace up the whole match, every match of long tournaments in a long season. Of course I hope he does! Time will also have to tell how he does on the mat against the tough college mat wrestlers. As Mike said, Donar rode him out for 2 minutes. Perry is better on the mat than Donar (see NCAA final versus Hendricks).
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Discussion Topic: Some Buckeye Comments
Jack Muni added to this discussion on December 18, 2007
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He may have been ridden 2 min. in his first college match after a long layoff, but nobody was riding the Colt in Athens this weekend. It appears Joe Heskett has charge of the middleweights, and Colt was following his every instruction on getting out from the bottom position (and turning the cradle over, also. Joe knows a little bit about the cradle ). I realize the 3 schools weren't Big Ten caliber, but Ison was supposed to be pretty good. I cut the kid some slack in these first few matches; but it was evident at OU that the kid has that big motor everyone was talking about; and that motor is gonna get even bigger as the season unfolds. Like Bob P. said, it might have been a blessing he didn't start in November. We will see.
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