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Discussion Topic: David Taylor Discussion
Hank Kornblut added to this discussion on June 4, 2008
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I expected more comment on his verbal to Iowa State. Kind of surprising that more aren't chiming in so I'll offer the following comments and see if we can't get a discussion.
1) Taylor represents Ohio's finest hs talent since Dustin. Bucks wanted him badly and didn't get him. This is a setback for Ohio State's efforts to keep the very best in Columbus. How much--if at all--does this hurt the program?
2) Taylor is growing like a weed. The kid that didn't weigh 103 pounds as a frosh looks as if he's going to be a collegiate middleweight and possibly an upperwt by the end of his career. How does this change the outlook for what he might accomplish in college? I'd especially love to hear what Rex Holman has to say.
3) With Logan Stieber already committed, who's the next wrestler the Bucks should have their sights set on? I'm certain the Bucks had a scholarship set aside for David Taylor. Now it's available. Collin Palmer is the obvious thought but there are others to consider.
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Discussion Topic: David Taylor Discussion
Scott Shaw added to this discussion on June 4, 2008
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I think the lack of response to the news of Taylor's verbal to ISU can be attributed to a couple of things. One, he is not originally from Ohio, so most of us are not surprised by this move. Two, Cael Sanderson, enough said. Three, sometimes the Buckeye Blinders come on and tOSU fans have a "he don't want to stay, forget him" attitude for awhile before they come to there senses and realize that every once in awhile, a kid decides to jump the fence.
I think that most of the questions about what his weight change will do against or for his future collegiate success will depend on what Coach Sanderson and Taylor decide is best for him as a freshman. Can he compete right away, or does he need another year to adjust to bigger, stronger competition. I think that we are all in agreement that despite what weight he is this season as a senior, he will continue to dominate most high school talent, so there is no way to know until after he completes his 1st year with the Cyclones. Going from lightweight to heavyweight didn't seem to bother one Tommy Rowlands though.
Palmer
Horner
Hancock
Toal
Scales
To land all five of these young men will probably be impossible, but any two or three of them will add considerable depth to the team and future AA's.
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Discussion Topic: David Taylor Discussion
Dan Cosimi added to this discussion on June 4, 2008
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David Taylor is an awesome wrestler, no doubt about it. He's going to a great program in Iowa State with a coach who is a legend in our sport in Cael Sanderson. I've met Taylor and his father a few times and they are great guys, too.
As for Hank's questions...
1. Of course Buckeye fans wanted Taylor to come to Columbus (who didn't?), but he fact is we can't get every single great prospect from Ohio. Getting a lot of them is the key, and Tom Ryan is doing exactly that. As you said, the Buckeyes didn't get Dustin Schlatter, yet they've had Jaggers and Palmer go up against him and be within one or two points of him every time (and Palmer pinned him once). The same will happen with Taylor: the Buckeyes didn't get him, so they'll have to find someone who will beat him.
2. I'd be shocked if he's ever an upperweight but, yes, a middleweight. Say he grows another 20 pounds on top of what he has gotten up to, that still puts him at 150 in the off-season which means he'd wrestle at 141. The biggest adjustment for him will be getting used to the strength of his competitors the higher he goes. I don't see it being much of a problem for him.
3. Talent-wise it's obvious that Collin Palmer is the next prospect to go after, but there are many factors that go into each kid's decision on where to attend college and who a college actively recruits. Here's an interesting stat for you: out of the forty-two weight classes wrestled at the state tournament, only seven were won by juniors - not exactly an overwhelming number. Among those that won were the aforementioned Taylor and Palmer, heavyweight prospect Orlando Scales (Cincinnati Elder), NHSCA Junior National champion Zach Neibert (St. Paris Graham), the winner of the monster D1 130 class Seth Horner (Massillon Perry), and middleweight teammates Zac Hancock and Zach Toal (Troy Christian). Out of those, I think Scales is the one the Buckeyes would go after first. The future heavyweight situation is not yet settled in Columbus. Scales has a big frame and great athleticism. I'd say he's the best heavyweight prospect in Ohio, but as Lee Corso always says, "not so fast, my friend!" There seems to be a wealth of talent coming back at the heavyweight class in Division 1.
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Discussion Topic: David Taylor Discussion
Dan Ransick added to this discussion on June 4, 2008
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I for one am happy for Taylor. He may not be a Buckeye but he is wreslting for his hero which is a big selling point for any kid. Remember Ohio State can't get them all.
I think that too many people have the Ohio State blinders on. Remember that Taylor is the best wrestler in the state of Ohio right now and probably in the nation. I think we need to really appreciate the talent that Taylor is wish him the best of luck at Iowa State.
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Discussion Topic: David Taylor Discussion
Dan Cosimi added to this discussion on June 4, 2008
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Quote from Dan Ransick's post:
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"I for one am happy for Taylor. He may not be a Buckeye but he is wrestling for his hero which is a big selling point for any kid. Remember Ohio State can't get them all.
I think that too many people have the Ohio State blinders on. Remember that Taylor is the best wrestler in the state of Ohio right now and probably in the nation. I think we need to really appreciate the talent that Taylor is wish him the best of luck at Iowa State."
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Everyone has said that they wish Taylor the best at Iowa State. I'm one of them. It's natural for fans to hope they get the best wrestlers, but wanting the best for our team doesn't mean we hate everyone who goes anywhere else...
Taylor is surely in the nation's elite but, in my opinion, he isn't the best wrestler in Ohio (or the nation).
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Discussion Topic: David Taylor Discussion
Jack Muni added to this discussion on June 4, 2008
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I also wanted Taylor to be a Buckeye, but it's not like we are walking away empty-handed, we got Logan Stieber. And who knows, down the road it may lead to getting his brother Hunter & Chris Phillips?? To me it's like deja vu, I thought the Bucks were going to get the Schlatter brothers based on the good relationship they had with the people at OSU, same as David Taylor appeared to have; but like someone mentioned, there are other factors involved with a decision such as this. (and sadly, we can't get them all. I have gotten very greedy since Ryan took over) Who knows, maybe after a year at ISU, he'll change his mind and transfer back to Ohio. <sign_oh> <sign_io>
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Discussion Topic: David Taylor Discussion
Brian Morrow added to this discussion on June 4, 2008
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Yes, Taylor is very good but I will take the two-for-one deal just like someone mentioned a while ago. Stiebers, baby! Yes, Hunter may not be at Logan's level right now but working with him every day, come on, you're going to get there. Not to mention, yes, Pamler is probably at the top of the list, but I also feel Jamie Clark is up there as well.
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Discussion Topic: David Taylor Discussion
Scott Shaw added to this discussion on June 4, 2008
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I am surprised that nobody has brought up the fact that another Graham wrestler has decided NOT to be a Buckeye. Wait, I just did. Is Graham the new St. Ed? Will it be 20 years before tOSU lands one of their top-level recruits?
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Discussion Topic: David Taylor Discussion
Brian Morrow added to this discussion on June 4, 2008
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I don't think it will be that long. Tom Ryan has his stuff together and, like it's been said, you can't keep them all home like you would like. How can anybody that claims to be a true Buckeye be complaining about these things? Did we all forget the name Logan Stieber?
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Discussion Topic: David Taylor Discussion
Scott Shaw added to this discussion on June 4, 2008
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Brian, I don't think that anybody is speaking negatively of Taylor or the Ohio State staff for not signing him. I just made an observation that Graham has won a bizillion state titles recently, and none of those boys have gone to OSU. The same thing happened in the 80's and 90's with St. Ed. The Heffernan's went to Iowa, Elinsky to Penn State, Terry Kennedy, Alan Fried, Roger Chandler, Andy Hrovat, Eddie Jayne, Mark Jayne, the list goes on and on.
Now OSU was pretty tough from 90-93 with 3-4 AA's each of those years (Marinelli, DiSabato, Ramsey, Holman, Randleman and the like) so maybe some of those guys would have gone to tOSU but the timing wasn't right.
All of that has changed, but so has the fact that St. Ed is the best team in Ohio. Graham was this year, and will most likely be again next year, so the question remains, will the above mentioned trend now take place in St. Paris instead of Lakewood?
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Discussion Topic: David Taylor Discussion
Bob Preusse added to this discussion on June 4, 2008
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"I also wanted Taylor to be a Buckeye, but it's not like we are walking away empty-handed, we got Logan Stieber. And who knows, down the road it may lead to getting his brother Hunter & Chris Phillips??"
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Logan Stieber will sign in November 2009, David Taylor will be available one year sooner. Its a big blow to the Buckeyes, cant diminish that fact but life goes on.
The Buckeye gameplan has to have changed for the next November signing period, how has it changed as a result of Taylor ??? They do have a near full that Taylor would have received to fill that void.
it sure make a potential IRONMAN finals meeting between DavidT and LoganS a HUGE match, if it happens.
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Discussion Topic: David Taylor Discussion
Mark Niemann added to this discussion on June 4, 2008
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What is the Ironman tournament? <smile>
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Discussion Topic: David Taylor Discussion
Elliot Lewis added to this discussion on June 4, 2008
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That's where they make the participant ride bikes, swim, and run a marathon or is that the triathlon? That thing that Bruce Jenner did?!?
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Discussion Topic: David Taylor Discussion
Bob Preusse added to this discussion on June 4, 2008
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The IronMan is married to the IronWoman, every comic book fan knows that.
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Discussion Topic: David Taylor Discussion
Hank Kornblut added to this discussion on June 4, 2008
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I think missing on Taylor is a blow. Taylor ranks as one of the all-time greats in Ohio prep history and the Ryan-led Buckeyes certainly expect to land the best of the best in-state. In fact, Ohio State has missed on the three best recruits they've recently tried to land--Taylor, Meade, and Oliver.
Having said that... I think the incredible lightweight talent currently in Ohio softens the impact of not landing Taylor. Hunter Stieber, Cam Tessari, and Jamie Clark are all available to be recruited. There are other exceptional talents such as Brad Squire and David Habat who will be available in the near future. I also think that Taylor's rapid growth makes him a bit of a wildcard. He's so good that any team would want him. But where does he end up? What if the Bucks land Collin Palmer? Could they have conceivably ended up at the same weight class? Who knows?
While landing Collin Palmer is far from certain, I think that the Bucks have to look at him again with fresh eyes. It's one thing to miss on Taylor--but the brother of your two-time AA as well? Perhaps, the wildcard in landing Collin will be Papa Palmer.
I also think the recruitment of Tony Jameson looms large at this moment. If Jameson develops at this level, it takes away a lot of the sting from missing on Taylor. I have no doubt Jameson has the talent. If the Bucks staff can refine his style while not changing it's essence, he can really be a fabulous D1 wrestler.
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