KJ Hamler - 2020 NFL Draft Scouting Report

There are certain guys that I really like but hate to see. KJ Hamler is one of those guys. I really liked watching him play as he was always dangerous with the ball in his hands, but I hated seeing him play against Iowa, because he absolutely terrified me. The Bears could use a slot receiver, and this draft is loaded with wide receivers so I wanted to take a look at his game against Michigan to see if he might be a good fit. 

Have you ever wanted to see what I would look like as a defensive back at a major college program? Probably something like this.

The key here is Hamler’s acceleration, because it’s not just that he’s fast, but that he gets to that top speed incredibly quickly and leaves the Michigan defensive back in his dust.

With a speed guy, I always wonder how well he actually catches the football. That, unfortunately, is the issue with Hamler.

On the first view, I wasn’t sure if it was a drop or if one of the two Michigan defenders broke up the pass. By the end of the replay, it’s clear that this one is on Hamler. This was an issue that showed up repeatedly as he bobbled a lot of the catches he did make because he is always looking to corral the ball into his body instead of framing it with his hands. He’s probably played football for 10-15 years at this point, so I don’t see him adjusting this method, and it will drive coaches and fans crazy.

And that’s the big issue. He has great speed and acceleration, but I simply do not trust his hands. You also can’t expect much more than a shove as a blocker, but that isn’t the issue that is going to make or break things for a wide receiver. He can make big plays against any level of competition, but I don’t see how his technique can be trusted to consistently catch the ball, so unless he takes a massive fall down the draft boards, I don’t really see any point for the Bears to select him with one of their second round picks.

Previous Scouting Reports
1. Tua Tagavailoa - Alabama
2. Joe Burrow - LSU
3. Jordan Love - Utah State
4. Justin Herbert - Oregon
5. Nate Stanley - Iowa
6. Tristan Wirfs - Iowa
7. AJ Epenesa - Iowa
8. Geno Stone - Iowa
9. Michael Ojemudia - Iowa
10. Willie Gay - Mississippi State
11. KJ Hamler - Penn State

Penn State Can Still Beat Iowa

Iowa Wrestling has kicked ass this year. In fact, they’ve kicked so much ass that they haven’t even taken down any names, because they’ve filled their days strictly with ass kicking. By any measure, Iowa isn’t just supposed to win the National Championship, they are going to lap their opponents in the process as nobody can match their blend of top-notch firepower and depth. Looking at this with any sort of logic, and the only conclusion is that Iowa ends their decade-long drought and wins it all this season.

But I’m still not ready to count out Penn State.

There’s a reason they have won 8 of the last 9 titles, and that is because they have a tremendous amount of talent, and they always match or exceed expectations at the national tournament. They just don’t have significant letdowns. When the lights shine the brightest, so do Nittany Lion wrestlers. There is nobody that better prepares his team for the national tournament than Cael Sanderson, and that is why Penn State, even in a down year with transfers and injuries, is still a huge threat to win it all this March.

When you look at how their roster compares to the Hawkeyes, things are a lot closer than the media makes them out to be.

125 - Brandon Meredith is borderline to even qualify for the tournament. Any points he provides will be negligible if he does make it. Spencer Lee might put up the most points of any wrestler in the tournament. This is a massive advantage for the Hawkeyes.

133 - Roman Bravo-Young is not a great matchup against Seth Gross, but he’s pushed DeSanto hard in their matches, so I think he could beat anybody at this weight class. DeSanto has been locked in all season against much better competition than RBY, but it’s not too tough to see a path for RBY to finish above the Hawkeye.

141 - Nick Lee might win the National Title. He’s currently ranked second, but Luke Pletcher is not unbeatable, and Lee has dominated everybody put in front of him. He’s not only going to finish high, he’s also going to put up a lot of bonus points. Meanwhile, Murin has the potential to be a low-level All-American, but he’s not getting many bonus points with his style so Penn State is putting up a significant amount more points than Iowa at this weight.

149 - Jarod Verkleren is okay but probably not an All-American. He’s currently ranked 27th since he hasn’t really gotten any good wins outside of splitting with #20 Jimmy Hoffman. Penn State probably has me more scared than I should be, but it’s not like the blood round would be a huge shock. Iowa will definitely get more points from Pat Lugo, but Lugo wrestles a lot of close matches, and it wouldn’t be a shocking fall to see him only be a low-level All-American again.

157 - Brady Berge really seemed to find his groove over the summer wrestling in freestyle tournaments, but he got a bad head injury and has only wrestled one match for Penn State, way back in early December, and hasn’t wrestled since. If healthy, I see him and Kaleb Young as fairly even, but sometimes things don’t match up right for one guy, and the other guy gets a great path. It wouldn’t be too crazy to see Berge at #4 with Young down at like #7 at the end of the tournament.

165 - Vincenzo Joseph and Alex Marinelli are about as even as you can possibly get at 165. Marinelli has the magic potion for Vincenzo, but Joseph is a 3-time NCAA finalist and two-time champion going into his senior year. I think Marinelli gets over the hump and wins it all this year, but it also wouldn’t be shocking if he took an upset and only finished in the 3-5 range while Vincenzo got his third title.

174 - Mark Hall is ranked #1, Michael Kemerer is ranked #2. I do expect to see these guys face each other in the finals, and as much as I love Kemerer, Hall has to be considered the favorite.

184 - Aaron Brooks terrifies me. He’s hanging out around #6 right now, but I don’t see any reason he couldn’t be in the finals as 184 is a fairly weak weight class after Zahid Valencia at number one. Abe Assad has had a lot of close matches. He’s looked very impressive since joining the starting lineup, but it also wouldn’t shock me to see him falter and only make it to the blood round in his first season.

197 - I’m not a big Shakur Rasheed fan. I want to be a Jacob Warner fan, but the guy just hasn’t found consistency. I’ll give the slight edge to Warner since he has been more successful recently but  both guys have shown big potential.

Heavyweight - Seth Nevills hasn’t faced anyone of importance but he has a decent enough pedigree that it’s not crazy to see him as an All-American. Still, Cassioppi will both outplace him and outbonus him at the tournament.

I would say that Penn State has likely finalists at 141, 165, and 174 with possible finalists at 133 and 184. Just looking at those five weights, that’s a lot of points they can put up. I still think Iowa is the favorite, especially since this Hawkeye team is designed to put up at least as many bonus points as Penn State for a change.

Iowa should definitely be favored, but it’s far from a foregone conclusion, so don’t count your chickens before they hatch, Hawkeye fans, especially with Cael Sanderson lurking around.

5 Takeaways from the Iowa / Penn State Game

Oh, man, I haven't yelled at my TV like that in a long time. Did I yell too much or not enough? Either way, my behavior is unlikely to change, although my wife did bring up a good point that maybe I should watch intense games inside instead of outside as my yelling may have been enough to get the cops called (although this would be a very fitting Florida Man arrest story). Alas, the Hawkeyes fell 30-24 in a total rollercoaster of a game.

Let's Talk About Dominique Dafney
He blocked a punt and tried out for the wrestling team with a double leg takedown on kickoff coverage. The West Des Moines product is not a guy that is going to have many opportunities to get love, so let's love on Dominique Dafney. Great game, DD.

LeVar Woods Does What He Wants
LeVar Woods clearly has full control of what happens on fourth downs. First, he runs a play where they may have been looking to pull off a fake when Recinos ran out wide, but they didn't, so that one gets to stay in the holster. Last, he ran a fake punt where Iowa had two quarterbacks and Peyton Mansell was the QB who got the ball. They never really showed any route running or coverage, so I have no idea what the plan is, but I really would have liked for Mansell to throw the ball up and hope for the best.

But then there was that play in the middle. They didn't try to take Penn State by surprise. They just straight up lined up the punter in shotgun, and from ten yards out, everyone knew it was going to be a pass. Colton Rastetter did a slight role to his right, then threw back towards his left and threw a perfect pass to Sam Brincks who managed to haul it in while being hit. There is absolutely no way that Ihmir Smith-Marsette makes that catch, but Sam Brincks did. I don't know why that is a play. That is not a good play at all, but then again, maybe it is? It worked, and it will likely never have to work again. God bless LeVar Woods for spending all of his free time researching trick plays, because I'm pretty sure we have a bigger playbook for our special teams than we do for our offense.

Nate Stanley's Three Step Drop
A three step drop is a great way to get the ball out quick and easily let your quarterback throw it in rhythm. Iowa has really tried to incorporate this with Nate Stanley, but the problem is that Stanley's first option never seems to be open, and then he just kind of waits there while only being about two yards behind his offensive linemen. Then it gets so cramped that he has limited vision and space which is not a great recipe for success. I'm guessing the issue is that Stanley is not able to identify the defenses as well as he needs to in order to make these type of plays work as most times, he should know presnap where that ball is going. If Iowa wants to go with a three step drop, maybe try it from shotgun to give everybody a little bit more space.

TJ Hockenson's Two Chances
TJ Hockenson had what may have been the two biggest "What if" plays in this game. The first was so painful as Iowa both called and executed a beautiful play on third and one. Nate Stanley executed a beautiful fake, and Penn State came crashing in to stop the run while Hockenson snuck behind the defense and was the most wide open any player can possibly be without evacuating the stadium. The only thing that was not executed was Stanley's throw as he horrifically overthrew him and cost Iowa an easy touchdown. That would have put Iowa up 21-7 and would have changed the complexion of the rest of the game.

Then on Iowa's final drive, Hockenson made an incredible catch while diving out of bounds. On review, it was borderline. Whatever happened to indisputable evidence? With my black and gold colored glasses, I saw it as a catch but can understand that it was close. Still, I have a hard time with that catch being overturned. TJ Hockenson did everything he could to execute on these two plays; it just wasn't meant to be.

Somehow, Iowa Still (basically) Controls Its Own Destiny
With Northwestern beating Wisconsin, it actually sets up pretty damn well for the Hawkeyes. If Iowa wins out, and Northwestern only loses to Iowa in conference play, even if Wisconsin wins out, it will leave three teams at 7-2 in the conference. With everyone going 1-1 in head-to-head matchups, Iowa should get the tiebreaker with the best overall record. So Big Ten Championship, here we come, somehow.

But yeah, that loss hurt.

Do the Iowa Hawkeyes Have a Shot at the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championship?

Does Iowa have a shot at the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championship? Well, the short answer is yes. They have a shot, but they are going to need some help to pull it off. Iowa failed to qualify all ten weight classes this season, in fact; they barely qualified nine. That puts them in a slight hole, although tournament favorite, Penn State, has just as many wrestlers competing this weekend. I touched on which guys had the best shot of winning a National Title a couple weeks ago, so I'd definitely check that out, but now that the brackets are out, I wanted to quickly thoroughly look at how things shaped up for each Iowa wrestler before addressing their chances of winning the team title.

125 - Thomas Gilman - #4 Seed
After losing to Nico Megaludis of Penn State in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament, this was as good of a seed as can be expected for Gilman There are four elite talents at this wegiht, so Gilman was going to have to go through two of them either way. I don't see any real chance of Gilman not making it into the semifinals (obviously, anything could happen, like Gilman getting caught in a cradle in the semifinals last year, but it's very doubtful). He has beaten #1 seed Nathan Tomasello before, and he has the skills to do it again. Joey Dance beat Megaludis earlier in the year, and that match could go either way. I had Gilman as having the best chance of winning a National Title, and I'd say that he has probably become 1B in my current rankings, but that is mostly because of how things shook out for Iowa's next wrestler.

133 - Cory Clark - #2 Seed
Cory Clark moves into that 1A spot based on him winning the Big Ten Tournament but also because he got a great draw for the tournament. The biggest benefit that despite Cory Clark beating Zane Richards in the finals of the B1G Tournament, Richards stayed at the 3 seed which means that the gy who beat Clark in last year's NCAA Tournament, the defending National Champion, Cody Brewer, is at the 4 seed on the same side as Nahshon Garrett, whom Brewer lost to earlier this season. The biggest dark horse in this weight, Ryan Taylor, from Wisconsin, got a 12 seed which also puts him on the opposite side as Clark. The biggest threat up until the semifinals is probably 10 seed, Johnni DiJulius, who has beaten Clark previously, but it seems like Clark has his funk figured out, and I expect him to cruise into the semifinals. This was a great draw, and that's why I'm even more excited about Clark's chances of getting an asterisk next to his name.

141 - Brody Grothus - Did Not Qualify
Brody Grothus got a tough draw in the B1G Tournament. He drew the top seed in his first match and lost a close match. Then the #3 seed got upset and met him in his first consolation match, and he lost another close match. Had things broken a little more favorably for him, he could have shown he has the talent to compete at the NCAAs, but it's an unfortunate end to an up and down career for Grothus.

149 - Brandon Sorensen - #2 Seed
Sorensen lost in the finals to Penn State's Zain Retherford, who has run through everyone this year. Sorensen maintained a #2 seed which is good, but his side of the bracket is no joke. He should cruise in his first two matchups, but that likely sets up another matchup against Jake Sueflohn, who Sorensen handled in the B1G Tourney but who is a very tough out. His side of the bracket also includes Lavion Mayes from Missouri, Anthony Collica from Oklahoma State, and former National Champion Jason Tsirtsis, who appears to be struggling with injuries this year but is still a guy who can make a match against anybody. Sorensen has the skills to make it to the finals; there's a reason he's ranked #2, but he never really threatened Retherford when they wrestled, so it's really hard to see a National Title coming his way.

157 - Edwin Cooper - #13 Seed
Edwin Cooper has made tremendous strides this year, and it's a great accomplishment to get seeded at this weight. That being said, it's going to be tough to rise up and become an All-American, because this weight class is DEEP. As long as he wins in the first, he takes on Ian Miller, who is a returning All-American whose only loss was due to a concussion suffered in his conference tournament last weekend where he was forced to injury default in his match. This weight class is stacked on paper, but that's the beauty of this tournament, in that anything can happen in seven minutes of wrestling.

165 - Patrick Rhoads - Unseeded
Well, I'll be damned. Patrick Rhoads made the tournament. He is unseeded, but got a favorable draw in that he goes up against the #13 seed. Rhoads wrestled really well in the B1G tournament outside of taking a beating from the top seed, Isaac Jordan. He has the skills to make matches tight against all but the top level of competition, so maybe a couple matches will go his way. He's not making the podium, but he has the potential to score some points, and Iowa needs all of the points they can get in their efforts for a team title.\

174 - Alex Meyer - #13 Seed
More than any wrestler on Iowa's roster, Meyer has put Hawkeye fans through an emotional rollercoaster this year. He has raised expectations, only to dash them later on. When he is aggressive early on, he can take out anybody, but sometimes he digs himself large holes early and doesn't have enough time to make up the deficits. Predicting what he is going to do is a fool's errand. He's just had so many close matches this year. Since I'm an eternal optimist, I think the aggressive Meyer will show up and put points on the board and cause major issues for anybody he goes up against. He has the skills to be an All-American, but he could just as easily play with fire and burn out before the Round of 12.

184 - Sammy Brooks - #2 Seed
Sammy Brooks receiving the #2 seed seems...generous. I'm not complaining, but I do believe this seeding was only partly from him winning the B1G Tournament; a lot of the credit has to go to the power of his mullet.

Outside of Gabe Dean at #1, 184 is a wide open but very deep division, and that is why Brooks got the 2 seed for the NCAAs despite only being the 3 seed for the B1G Tournament. Full disclosure: Sammy Brooks is my favorite current Iowa wrestler, and so I am even more blinded by my own bias when it comes to predicting his results. He can beat anybody at this weight class. He wrestled Gabe Dean last year and only lost 3-2. All of his losses to college wrestlers this season have come to guys that he has also beaten this year. I'd say he cruises through his first two matches before meeting 10 seed, Nate Brown in the quarters. I'm then favoring Blake Stauffer (6) to make it to the semifinals. He was the guy who eliminated Brooks in the Round of 12 last year, but I'm hoping Sammy can reverse his fortune this year. I'm not guaranteeing a National Title, but I just want to let everybody know that it is in your best interest to not doubt the power of the mullet.

197 - Nathan Burak - #4 Seed
The one inexplicably bad seed for Iowa, as it makes no sense that Pfarr from Minnesota would be ranked ahead of Burak considering he lost to him in the B1G Tournament. He did beat him earlier in the season, but even that was controversial, and the NCAA valued tournament performance very highly when coming up with seeds. One spot may not seem like much, but it puts him on the side of Morgan McIntosh, who he is 0-5 against, and the 5 seed is Conner Hartmann who is 26-1 this year and appears to be a much tougher matchup than the 6 seed, Jared Haught. Burak has taken care of business this year, but with his previous history against McIntosh, it's tough to see him doing any better than a third place match when it's all said and done.

HWT - Sam Stoll - #11 Seed
I think this is about as good as we could have expected for Sam Stoll after crapping out at the B1G Tournament. What happened? A significant knee injury, possibly a torn ACL, so the fact that he won any match is pretty impressive. But if it is as significant as it sounds, this is an awful way for Stoll to end his year as before this injury, his only losses were to the #1 seed, Nick Gwiazdowski and the #4 seed, Austin Marsden, who, between the two, have one loss this season. A healthy Stoll is an All-American, but if this version of Stoll can gut out 1-2 victories, it'd be a great performance.

So what does this all mean? Does Iowa have a legitimate shot at an NCAA Title? Yes, but they're going to need some breaks. Both Clark and Gilman have legitimate shots at National Titles this year, and if they can both pull it off, that is a huge boost to their chances. Even with that, Penn State is the clear favorite, and they're going to need some of their wrestlers to falter.

Zain Retherford isn't going to lose, and he's probably putting up a ton of bonus points. Morgan McIntosh is the second most likely to win a title, so you've got to hope that J'Den Cox can prevent that from happening. Bo Nickal doesn't have a single guy who looks most likely to take him out, but there's a reason Freshman don't win a lot of National Titles, so maybe he gets caught in a bad spot like he did against Nate Jackson and takes a loss well before he should. I think Nolf is their second best wrestler, but Isaiah Martinez beat him the B1G Finals, and he is set to face off against an undefeated Thomas Gantt before he even makes it there, but I have trouble seeing him not making the finals. Even Nico Megaludis, who is ranked 3, is somebody I could only see dropping to fourth place in this tournament. That's a lot of points in the worst case scenario, especially with how many bonus points those guys have put up this season.

As I said, Iowa needs those first two guys to take home titles for a legitimate shot at the overall title. After that, it's about having guys peak at the right time. Penn State has had their guys peak at the NCAAs for the last five years; Iowa has pretty much done the opposite. Those fortunes need to reverse this year. Iowa's always in the title hunt; hopefully this is the year they get number 24.

Breaking Down the #1 Seeds in the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Tournament

As an Iowan, it is genetically ingrained in me to love wrestling. I can't help it, and my love of the sport seems to grow with each passing year. Even though my beloved Hawkeyes are on a drought (not winning a National Title since 2010), I am still awed by the sport, as I think it is one of the most action packed events you can watch.

This NCAA season has already been pretty surprising. Kyle Snyder took an Olympic Redshirt, then changed his mind and came back, but instead of wrestling 197, he's wrestling 285 (although his weight will be nowhere near that). Gabe Dean got beat by a guy who wasn't even a starter to begin the season, and Isaiah Martinez, who I thought had a chance to never lose a college match, lost to a Freshman this year. These are just some of the crazy things that have happened in the last few weeks. Wrestling is awesome.

Anyway, I was going through the rankings at each weight class, and it got me thinking how crazy this NCAA Tournament could be. Usually, there are a few guys who you know are going to win National Titles, but this year, it is different, as there isn't a single #1 seed that I would feel confident betting on this year. So I though it'd be fun to look at the #1 ranked guys and see who has the best and worst chance of winning a title this year.

1. 165 - Alex Dieringer, Oklahoma State
As much as it pains me to say this about an Oklahoma State wrestler, if I had to bet on anybody, it would be Dieringer. There is a reason he is looking for his third straight National Title, and it's because he is an absolute beast. 165 is shallow outside of that top 3, so I really don't see anybody tripping up Dieringer before the finals. His biggest competition are the Jordan cousins, Isaac from Wisconsin and Bo from Ohio State, and although both are tough wrestlers, Dieringer's offense gives him a significant advantage when he squares off against them.

2. 149 - Zain Retherford, Penn State
You know how I said it hurt to put Dieringer as having the best chance? Yeah, this might hurt more, because Retherford is currently ranked #1, and Brandon Sorensen from Iowa is ranked #2. Both guys are undefeated, and that should give me confidence in Sorensen's chances, but man, the Zain Train has just been unstoppable. After the top two, the defending National Champion, Jason Tsirtsis from Northwestern, is back, but hasn't quite looked right throughout this season. He is without a doubt a threat, as he's just incredibly good in all positions when he's wrestling at his best. This is going to take a monumental effort to knock off Retherford, which is very unfortunate.

3. HWT - Nick Gwiazdowski, North Carolina State
I nearly put Gwiazdowski in the top spot, but heavyweights are tough to predict as they are so inclined to wrestle close matches. Gwiazdowski has been an absolute hammer for NC State, as he hasn't just won, he's been putting up big points all year long. Still, he's had some close matches, and there is some good competition at this weight. Kyle Snyder's the guy that everybody talks about, and obviously winning a World Freestyle Title deserves a whole lot of respect, but I have doubts he'll make it to the Finals. He didn't win a title at 197 last year, so wrestling at 285 isn't going to make things any easier. I think Adam Coon has the highest potential of anybody outside of Gwiazdowski, but I still think GWizz has a damn good shot of getting through the field unscathed.

4. 184 - Gabe Dean, Cornell
Dean probably would have been on top of this list had I made it a couple weeks ago, but his recent loss to Nolan Boyd has to drop him a little. Still, he's pretty high for not being undefeated, but that shows you how good Dean has been when it matters in March. He wasn't able to overcome Ed Ruth, but he plowed through the field last year. He has close matches, but he always finds a way to come through. There is a ton of depth at this weight class (too many to name), so it won't be easy, but it's tough for me to reasonably pick against Dean without a single monumental talent to take him out.

5. 197 - Morgan McIntosh, Penn State
McIntosh has done everything he can to cement himself as the top guy at 197 this year. Still, there is J'Den Cox sitting there, who won the National Title two years ago. They're both incredibly good, and I definitely favor McIntosh, but not by a whole lot. As a Hawkeye homer, I will note that Nathan Burak wrestles everybody tough and his only loss is controversial as he came very close to a takedown (I thought he had it) in the closing seconds of his match against Brett Pfarr. McIntosh is the best but being the best over and over again isn't easy, so it's far from a guarantee that he'll pull it off.

6. 133 - Nahshon Garrett, Cornell
This may have been the hardest guy to place in these rankings. Garrett moved up from 125 this year, and he has dominated everyone he has faced. However, he hasn't faced a ton of the top guys at this weight class, and considering he never won the title at 125, Also, the defending national champion, Cody Brewer, is back this year. Garrett got the better of him when they faced off earlier in the season, but Brewer was one of the most dominant forces in the NCAA Tournament last year, so I'm not ready to count him out by any means. This doesn't even include Zane Richards and Cory Clark who are both incredibly tough and could definitely reach the finals. Garrett is great, but it's tough to have a lot of confidence in him with how strong the top of this weight class is.

7. 157 - Jason Nolf, Penn State
Nolf has been ridiculously good this season. He's not only undefeated, but he's also putting up bonus points like it ain't no thang, when it most certainly is a thang. No offense to Ian Miller, but the only real question on whether Nolf can win this National Title is getting through Isaiah Martinez from Illinois. I honestly thought that Martinez was the best wrestler at any weight class coming into this season, so my jaw dropped when I saw that he not only lost but got pinned by Nolf when they met earlier this season. Martinez looked off in that match in that he got down early, panicked, and possibly even gassed out trying to come back in a single move. The Big Ten Tournament is going to answer a ton of questions at nearly every weight class, but never is that more true than here. If Nolf wins again, he shoots up to the top of this list, but if he loses, it's likely him and I-Mar will have a rubber match in the finals of the NCAAs.\

8. 174 - Bo Nickal, Penn State
Penn State's other super freshman, although I don't see Nickal on the same level as Jason Nolf. Nickal has been crafty and has only suffered one loss in a weak division. Still, he's not physically overwhelming, and there are those chances of him slipping up well before reaching the finals. As to who is going to beat him, on that, I really don't have much of a clue. There's a lot of guys that could rise up, but Nickal is still probably the favorite, just because nobody else has been all that impressive either. This is probably the most wide open weight class in the nation, but Nickal deserves to be the favorite.

9. 125 - Nathan Tomasello, Ohio State
Not much faith in Tomasello repeating as a National Champion, and he has really given no reason for me to doubt him, but Thomas Gilman of Iowa has been wrestling ridiculously well the entire season, and I see that matchup as a coin toss. Maybe that's me being a homer, but Tomasello isn't untouchable, and 125 is incredibly deep. Outside of him and Gilman, Joey Dance and Nico Megaludis are both legitimate threats, and Tomasello is going to have to be his peak abilities to overcome everyone in this weight class.

10. 141 - Dean Heil, Oklahoma State
This was a tough one, as this is what I believe to be the weakest weight class in the nation, and because of that, they have the weakest #1 ranked guy in Heil from Oklahoma State. Now, I still must say that Heil is definitely a tough wrestler; it's just that I'm never overwhelmed by his performances. I just don't think there is much that separates 1-10 at this weight class, and there are plenty of opportunities to slip up before finding himself on top of the podium. Kevin Jack and Joey McKenna are the best alternatives at this weight, but this is the weight class where I could see somebody coming from out of nowhere to make a run at the title.

The elephant in the room is the team race. Currently, Penn State has four top-ranked guys and are the clear favorites for the team title. But the beauty of March Matness is the unpredictability. This year should have no shortage of that. It makes me happy to be a wrestling fan, because otherwise, there is like NOTHING going on in college sports in the month of March.

Chicago Bears 2015 Draft Breakdown: Adrian Amos

With their pick in the fifth round, the Chicago Bears took Adrian Amos, a safety out of Penn State. I was fairly bitter at this point, so I mentioned that Amos had been an honorable mention for All B1G the last three years, which basically just means that he played in a lot of games and showed a baseline competence. Not the sexiest accomplishment out there. But I'd be lying if I said I had ever focused on Amos's game, so I decided to watch his games against Ohio State and Indiana and see what I could figure out about the Bears new defensive back.

Watching his game against Indiana, I was initially taken aback by how little balance he seemed to have on contact. He got put on skates when blocked, and he seemed to trip over his own feet when trying to make a tackle when the quarterback broke free.

And if you are expecting a big, hard-hitting safety, you are sure to be disappointed by Amos. He not only does not provide any sort of big hits, he seems to actively avoid contact. He's no thumper, and even being a humper would be a huge step up in the way that he finds ways to get blocked as opposed to making open-field tackles.

The most appealing trait that Amos has is his versatility. It is tough to judge a safety in his coverages, but he seemed to be in the right area at the right times. Where he really impressed was when he came up to the line of scrimmage and played press-man coverage successfully against larger receiving targets.

Overall, I'm not sure if that versatility makes up for the fact that he doesn't shine in any one area and is a below average tackler. Having a safety that can come down and cover a slower wide receiver is great, but having a safety who doesn't tackle well means that you just have a replacement level corner. Coverage is something that is very difficult to judge from the sideline camera, so maybe the Bears were able to see something I wasn't, but from what I saw on film, I don't see anything more than depth at the safety position. 

2014 NCAA Wrestling Tournament Predictions

Last week, I gave my thoughts on what the brackets meant for Iowa, but I figured that I should probably give my actual predictions for what is going to happen in each weight class. I'm not going to pick out each All-American spot, but I do want to look at who I have making the finals and winning as well as where the Iowa wrestler at each weight will end up. I will admit that I am overly optimistic about Iowa, but I also don't think I'm insane in any of these predictions. Still, I definitely lean towards the positive when it comes to Iowa. (Note: I try to predict who Iowa will face in later rounds, but I am almost always going by seed. There are going to be a ton of upsets this weekend, but trying to predict them is almost impossible).

125 - Iowa
I really like Cory Clark, but I don't love his draw. I think he's capable of beating anybody but having to go up against Jesse Delgado in the quarterfinals will prove too tough of a road for him. In the wrestlebacks, I think he can do some damage as he has enormous talent. I think he can get through anybody until he goes up against Nahshon Garrett. That puts him in the 5th place match where I see him getting revenge over Wisconsin's Bradley Taylor.

125 - Final
It's going to come down to another match between Jesse Delgado of Illinois and Nico Megaludis of Penn State. Megaludis is tough everywhere, but Delgado is just a ridiculous talent, and I think he knows what it takes to peak at the NCAA Tournament. This is going to be a close match; it will probably be seen as a boring match by many, but I think Delgado does enough to win a second National Title.

National Champion - Jesse Delgado - Illinois

133 - Iowa
I'm not betting against Ramos. There is a reason he was heavily favored to win the title before the season began. Logan Stieber was the only guy that was able to beat him last year, and even though this year has not gone as well as many had hoped. I expect to see Tony dominating early before taking an impressive decision in the quarterfinals to set up his rematch with AJ Schopp. He lost 3-2 when he just didn't get to his offense, but I think he learns from that mistake and shows why he was the favorite going into the season.

133 - Final
I tried to come up with a way that Joe Colon did not make the finals, but I couldn't reasonably do it. I think Graff gets to the semis, but Colon has handled him both times, so I expect him to win again. That means that Ramos gets a chance to avenge his only other loss in the finals. I think he does it, but that may be because I don't want to live in a world where Tony Ramos does not win a National Title. Last time, Colon got an early takedown, and then he caught Ramos going in for a shot perfectly, put him to his back and pinned him. I don't see Ramos getting down early, and I think in a close match that I really like what Tony does both from the top and the bottom positions.

National Champion - Tony Ramos - Iowa

141 - Iowa
To prove I am not a total Iowa homer, I do have Dziewa losing his first round match with Dutton. Dutton expanded the margin between these two after their first meeting with a dominant win at the Big Tens. Still, I really like how things set up for him in the consolation matches. He will likely be taking on Nick Flannery from Buffalo in his first consolation match, and as he was only able to accumulate a 22-16 record, this seems like a win for Dziewa. After that, it is likely 14 seed, Edgar Bright from Pittsburgh, and although I expect it to be close, I do think Dziewa can win that one as well. Then he is projected to take on Joey Lazor, the 11 seed in the next round, and I really feel as if Lazor is overrated. Outside of catching Mecate in his final match, he doesn't really have any quality wins. I'm taking Dziewa again before falling to Luke Vaith of Hofstra and falling short of All-American status.

141 - Final
Mitchell Port is the 1 seed, and his biggest competition is Devin Carter who is technically undefeated but lost to Ramos (who was wrestling up a weight class) in a preseason match. I think Port makes it to the finals, where he will face Logan Steiber who is going to steamroll everybody. Steiber showed everyone that his loss to Retherford was more due to not having any experience against him than Retherford being the better wrestler. Retherford has a tough road, including a surprisingly tough first round match. I still see him making it to the semis, but Stieber beasts him there, and then goes onto beast Mitchell Port. Don't bet agianst Steiber; he's going to win the National Title.

National Champion - Logan Stieber - Ohio State

149 - Iowa
Brody Grothus got the 13 seed and is a total enigma to me. He has faced a lot of tough competition, and outside of the Big Ten Tournament, he has taken care of business against most lesser foes. That means that I have him winning his first round match before getting beat (and likely beaten badly) by Kendric Maple. I have him taking his first wrestleback match, and then has a likely matchup with Dyllan Cotrell from Appalachian State. Cotrell only has one loss, but he has only faced one legitimate wrestler and got majored by Jason Tsirtsis. I'll say Grothus's luck finally runs out against Nick Dardanes who gets upset in the quarterfinals. Still, 3-2 would be a solid showing for Grothus.

149 - Final
149 has been insane for most of the year, but I do think that things have settled. Still, I don't see a 1-2 matchup. I think 1 seed, Drake Houdashelt, will make his way through a tough top-side of the bracket. It might be Maple or Tsirtsis in the semis, but I still see Drake getting by him. On the bottom side of the bracket, I have 6 seed, Jake Sueflohn, making it through. His only losses are to Drake, Maple, and Tsirtsis, so the draw really worked out well for him. Although the draw works out well, I still see Houdashelt claiming the national title for Missouri.

National Champion - Drake Houdashelt - Missouri

157 - Iowa
Derek St. John got the number two seed, and a pretty favorable draw. He has a surprisingly tough first round match in Joey Napoli, but after that, he should cruise to the semifinals where has a likely match with Alex Dieringer. DSJ is never pretty, but he usually finds a way to do enough to win, especially at the NCAAs. I don't see that changing this year.

157 - Final
The top half of this bracket has a ton of talent with Ness, Pena, and Jordan, and Green. I keep going back and forth on things as I could really see any of those guys emerging and making it to the final. Still, Green has had some close matches, but he has still proven that he is number one at this weight class, so I do see him making the finals. He has dominated DSJ twice this year, and when watching those matches, it is tough to see how DSJ can beat him. Still, I really want to pick DSJ...but I can't. Green wins his first National Title.

National Champion - James Green - Nebraska

165 - Iowa
Nick Moore got the 5 seed, but I do like his path to make it to the semifinals. I think he gets revenge on Steven Monk in the quarterfinals, but yeah, he's not going to compete with the Magicman. It is kind of a bummer, as I really believe he could prove himself as the second best guy in the country behind Taylor. Still, I think he dominates the Wrestlebacks to take third place which would be a great finish for him.

165 - Final
Honestly, outside of Taylor, 165 is kind of a weak weight. There aren't guys that inspire much confidence in me picking them. Because of that, I'll go chalk and put Caldwell in the finals. He was able to stall so much that he held Taylor to a regular decision earlier this year, but I think Taylor gets his revenge and majors him in the finals, putting a nice little bow on what has been a very impressive collegiate wrestling career.

National Champion - David Taylor - Penn State

174 - Iowa
Mike Evans got the 4 seed after a good Big Ten Tournament. I think Evans is strong enough to cruise into the quarterfinals where he will face Matt Brown. These two have gone back and forth, and unfortunately, I see Brown getting the victory. It will be a close match, and one takedown will probably win it. After that, I see him tearing through the Wrestlebacks. Unfortunately, in the semifinals, he will go up against Robert Kokesh, where he will lose. He will still recover to win his 5th place match for a very nice tournament.

174 - Final
I'm going chalk for this weight class. Perry from Oklahoma State taking on Howe from Oklahoma. Perry upset him at the Big 12 Tournament (which is now just 4 teams), but Howe came very close many times to getting points. I don't think Howe loses again. He's freakishly strong and totally solid in technique. Also, he's a 9th year senior (estimate), so he can go out and celebrate by renting a car. Good for him.

National Champion - Andrew Howe - Oklahoma

184 - Iowa
As I stated in my earlier piece, Lofthouse got a great draw, and I'm going to keep this one short and predict a spot in the finals for him. Bring it, Thomusseit. Bring it, Sheptock. You're all going down.

184 - Final
As for winning the final, that ain't happening. Ed Ruth is a monster. Ed Ruth will avenge his loss to Gabe Dean, cruise to the finals, and win yet another national championship while racking up a ridiculous amount of bonus points for Penn State. Ed Ruth is amazing, and as a Hawkeye, I'm happy to see him graduate.

National Champion - Ed Ruth - Penn State

197 - Iowa
I have Burak winning his first round match before losing in the second round to Richard Perry from Bloomsburg. After that, I see him winning his first wrestleback, but then losing to Chris Penny from Virginia Tech. Burak could outperform these expectations, but he just hasn't shown enough offense to inspire much confidence in him.

197 - Final
I think Nick Heflin holds seed and makes it to the finals where he runs into J'Den Cox from Missouri. Both guys have been on a roll as of late, but I see Cox doing enough to give Missouri a second national champion.

National Champion - J'Den Cox - Missouri

HWT - Iowa
While I think Bobby could beat anybody on the bottom half of the bracket, the top is a much tougher draw for him. I think he will do enough to beat the guys he is supposed to, but he is already lost twice to Adam Coon this season, and I see Coon getting the better of him a third time. Still, I have him coming back from that to win his first two matches against Jeremy Johnson and getting another win over JT Felix before a tough match against Nick Gwiazdowski from NC State. I think Telford can get past him to make it into the third place match. At that point, he gets yet another match against Coon, but this time I see Telford figuring it out and getting the win for third place.

HWT - Final
Heavyweight has been a rollercoaster this year, but somehow, Tony Nelson ended up as the top seed despite four losses. I have him beating Coon in the semifinals to advance. On the bottom of the bracket, I'm taking Mike McMullan from Northwestern overcoming some odds as the 6 seed. Still, Tony Nelson has won teh last two national titles for a reason. He's really good, and he wrestles great at the tournament. I don't see that changing this year, and Nelson wins his third straight title.

National Champion - Tony Nelson - Minnesota

Overall
So, as an Iowa fan, this is a very optimistic view of what could happen. Any of these things could happen, but the chances of Iowa having 7 All-Americans is just a tad unlikely. Penn State is almost certainly getting two national champions, and they have a strong chance in at least three other weights. I think Minnesota is overvalued in their seeds, and I think they could run into some very tough early matchups. Oklahoma State just isn't strong enough to compete with those top three teams, and in the end, I see it coming down to Iowa and Penn State. If I'm right on everything, Iowa wins, but I honestly don't think my prognostication skills have been perfected yet. It pains me to say it, but I still see Penn State showing that they are the best team in the nation and winning yet another National Championship.

National Champions - Penn State

What You Need To Know About Wrestling Being Back In The Olympics

This photo is what the Olympics is all about.

I'm going to focus on the amateur side of wrestling, because it's one of the few things I love more than professional wrestling. The biggest news this week is that wrestling will remain in the Olympics through 2024, and it probably means that it is going to be safe for the foreseeable future. This is excellent news, as wrestling belongs in the Olympics. For sports that truly define the Olympics, it has to be right up there with track & field, swimming, and gymnastics. Personally, I think it is more "olympic" than those other sports, but I recognize that it may just be my bias for wrestling and my indifference towards those other sports.

Wrestling being in the Olympics is great, and it has already led to some very good rule changes that will help the sport, because freestyle wrestling got stupid over these last few years with the scoring changes and the overtime rules. The United States is still trying to push for an unlimited (10 minutes, which is basically unlimited considering that is an eternity to try and wrestle) sudden death, which I absolutely love, but FILA seems to be fighting against since it can lead to "boring" moments where people are waiting for action. There is nothing more exciting than a sudden death period, especially when it is a one-on-one battle of wills. I'm really hoping for that, but as long as I never have to see a wrestler pick a colored ball out of a hat again, I can at least sleep a little easier. 

On the bad side of things, wrestling is again cutting down the weight classes. There will now only be six freestyle weights for freestyle, Greco, and women's freestyle. For women's, this number makes sense, as there is only about 10 pounds of weight difference between each class. You won't get much of a tweener with that limited range of weights. The difference in men's weight is 22 pounds. Twenty-two pounds. These are the proposed weights for freestyle (Greco is fairly similar in their weights):

55kg - 121lbs

65kg - 143lbs

75kg - 165lbs

85kg - 187lbs

95kg - 209lbs

125kg - 275lbs

And yes, that does not even count the 66 pound weight difference between the two heaviest weights. There used to be 10 freestyle weight classes, which seems about right. You could easily convince me of going up to 11 or 12, but 10 is a fine number. Wrestling has continued to lose weight classes and was down at 7 for this last Olympics. They are giving up yet another class in order to make them a more viable sport, but it's getting a little ridiculous. There are six freestyle wrestling events. Michael Phelps was able to win 8 gold medals in a single Olympics. It would take a wrestler 28 years to win that many medals. So if a prodigy won a gold medal at 18, he'd just have to keep doing that every four years until he was 46. And for anybody stating that they could also compete in Greco, yes, they could, but that would be like asking Phelps to compete in long distance swimming; it's a completely different set of skills. 

No, the change in weight classes wouldn't change any of that, but it would give more people who train incredibly hard with no real monetary incentive. United States Wrestling offers $250,000 for winning a gold medal and nothing for anything else. The payouts from the Olympics aren't that impressive either. Jordan Burroughs is by far the most famous current wrestler, and I would guess that 80% of sports fans have never heard of him. 

Wrestling being back is great, but it would be a whole lot better if wrestling could get some more respect and get back to 10 weight classes. Wrestling only takes up a few days. It could still take up the same amount of time and add those weight classes in. For wrestlers, the Olympics is all there is, and increasing that number so a few more wrestlers can achieve their dream seems like a worthwhile investment to me.

***********

Since I don't want to end this on a bad note, the greatest social media sports story of the year happened this week. Iowa and Penn State, despite being the two biggest powerhouses in the conference, are not on each other's schedule this year, because the B1G loves logical decisions. Penn State coach, Cael Sanderson, sent a message to Iowa's head coach, Tom Brands, on Twitter asking about something big missing on their meet. After a back-and-forth exchange, which I recommend checking out here, they came to an agreement to meet at Carver Hawkeye Arena on December 21. 

This is not just awesome news for wrestling, it is awesome news for sports in general. And yes, it had to have been completely staged, considering Tom Brands didn't have a Twitter account until last week, and it seemed as though he was still figuring it out during their exchange since he had never tweeted before Sanderson tweeted at him today, but who cares? This was an awesome way to deliver the news, and it would be one of the biggest stories of the year if it happened in another sport. Imagine if LSU and Alabama were not on each other's schedule, and Les Miles tweeted at Nick Saban about how they should try to get something done, and they came to an agreement to have one of their non-conference games be a game between the two teams. With great stuff like this happening, Cael Sanderson is making it really hard for me to dislike him. As long as Penn State doesn't start wrestling like Oklahoma State (where their motto is, "It's not wrestling unless you're stalling"), I think I may have to root for them to prosper their way to a second place finish this year.

So, yes, this was a great week for wrestling, but there is still room for improvement down the road, both in rule changes, and in increased weight classes down the road. But wrestling remains in the Olympics, and Iowa and Penn State are wrestling this year. Life is good for this wrestling fan.

Let's Look At The B1G

The B1G is pretty deep, but has no elite teams. Wisconsin is the best team. They don't always play like the best team. There are three weeks left in the season, and there are seven teams that could still win the B1G. Wisconsin, Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Ohio State, and even Iowa has a shot at claiming the inaugural title. None of these teams are great, and if they get matched up with anybody outside of the Big East Champion (and possibly the ACC), they will be a heavy underdog in their BCS game.

Brady Hoke is not comfortable with Denard Robinson as his quarterback. But he's still trying to design an offense that is giving him a good chance to succeed. Hoke clearly wants a pro-style offense, but he has compromised to help Denard be successful to give his team the best chance to win. Brady Hoke has a history of success. He succeeded at Ball State, he succeeded at San Diego State, and now the guy is going to succeed at Michigan. Let's face it, Ohio State is on a downward trend, Penn State rapes kids instead of opponents, and I still think Nebraska is garbage. Michigan is the one team with a great legacy on the upswing, and I wouldn't be surprised if they had an Ohio State like run in the B1G in the next few years.

Contrast that with what the Hawkeyes defense is doing under Norm Parker. Look, I love Norm, and he's a fantastic teacher of his defense. But his steadfast refusal to adapt to the talent that the Hawkeyes have on hand has been aggravating this season. The Hawkeyes most talented position is cornerback. Their least talented position is the defensive line. Despite this, the Hawkeyes run a defense that depends on the defensive line creating pressure with the defensive backfield has constant help over the top. Yes, the Hawkeyes rarely get beat deep, but the opposing quarterback has so much time to sit in the pocket that he can eventually pick the defense apart with underneath routes. With the lack of pressure the front four is able to generate, Iowa needs to be willing to call more blitzes and let teams try and test their corners. Iowa could win out and go to the B1G Championship, but only if they stop letting teams attack their weakness and start forcing teams to attack their strength.

And then we have Penn State. Doesn't Penn State piss you off? They do not appear to be a good football team in any way, but they just keep on winning. I now know why everyone hated the 2009 Iowa Hawkeyes so much. They just kept pulling games out of their asses, much like Penn State is doing this season. I'd say Iowa had a stronger quarterback, even with the Rick Sixes, while Penn State has the stronger running game with Silas Redd. But the defenses are pretty damn even. 2011 Penn State is 2009 Iowa...except with more child rapings.

-Joe

P.S. This tweet made me incredibly happy:

@BradBiggs Brad Biggs

Also, was terrific seeing pro wrestling star Gene Snitsky outside #Bears locker room. Dave Toub was his strength coach at Mizzou.

P.P.S. This video also made me incredibly happy:

Why Everybody Hates Iowa Wrestling

Yesterday, I mentioned that the Iowa Hawkeyes are the most hated wrestling team in the nation.  For those that don't follow the sport of wrestling, you're probably wondering how a simple school from the heartland could be so hated by every other wrestling fan.  Well, for the average wrestling fan, it's super simple, Iowa is better than everybody else.  They go out and kick everybody's ass.

For people who follow wrestling a little bit closer, they might hate Iowa because they perceive Iowa as a dirty team.  It's tough to say they aren't.  They often give up points for unsportsmanlike conduct.  At Nationals, they not only gave up match points for unsportsmanlike conduct, but lost two team points for behavior from their coach and one of their wrestler's.

And if you're a hardcore wrestling fan, you probably look at Iowa as being a bunch of assholes.  If you ever watch an interview where an Iowa wrestler wins a decision, the wrestler will act as if he did terrible and say that he should have been more aggressive and gotten bonus points.  If he gets a major decision, he believes it should have been a tech fall.  If he gets a tech fall, he believes he should have pinned the guy.  And if he pins the guy, he says he should have done it quicker.  No matter what Iowa achieves, they always want more.  If a fan of another team sees an Iowa guy beat their guy, followed by the Iowa guy complaining about how he should have done better, I could see how that might irritate people. 

So Iowa wins all the time, they use questionable tactics, and winning isn't good enough for them, because they are always searching for annihilation.  The three reasons that people hate Iowa are the three reasons that I love Iowa.

The first and last reasons are easy to love, winning is awesome.  And winning big is even more awesome.  I could understand how people would compare the Hawkeyes with the Yankees where it can't be that fulfilling to win championships when it happens so frequently.  Well, there are two major differences with that argument.  The first is that the Yankees have a competitive advantage with their payroll to help them win championships.  Iowa is still just Iowa.  It's rare for Iowa to have the top recruiting class, but they win because they get wrestlers who are willing to put in the work to become champions.  The second major difference is that the World Series is the pinnacle of what you can achieve in baseball.  While the National Championship is great, at Iowa, the goal is to win an individual title at all ten weight classes.  It's incredibly unlikely to reach that goal, but every year, that is what Iowa wants, for every single starter to become a national champion.  They always want more.

With the second reason, I can understand how people see Iowa's style as somewhat "cheap" or "dirty," but it's much more simple than that, they wrestle hard until the whistle is blown.  If a guy is dumb enough to stand out of bounds waiting for a whistle, they're gonna get a hard shove if the ref doesn't blow that whistle in time.  Does Iowa have any chance of scoring in that situation?  Of course not, but Iowa is always going to be aggressive.

On top of that Iowa wrestlers literally don't know how to stall.  Iowa has lost matches in the final seconds, because they don't know how to flee like other schools teach their wrestlers to do.  There were actually two awesome examples of Iowa's disdain for defensive wrestling during the past weekend.  The first one was while Tom Brands was being interviewed about a previous match.  An Iowa wrestler (Derek St. John) was in a bad position near the edge of the mat.  The exchange went something like this:

Tom Brands:  Come on St. John.
Interviewer:  You want your wrestler to get out of bounds right here.
Tom Brands:  No, I want him to improve his position and keep wrestling.

This was not a case of the interviewer saying something dumb.  Every other school in America would want their wrestler to get out of bounds in that situation, but that isn't the Iowa way.  Iowa believes that no matter how bad of a position he is in, as long as he keeps wrestling, he should be able to get in an advantageous spot and score points.  There is no such thing as defense at Iowa; they're always looking for offense.

The second example was even more amazing.  An Iowa wrestler (Tony Ramos) was down big going into the third period.  But he did what Iowa does; he kept wrestling.  He kept taking his opponent down and letting him up.  Finally, he had tied up the match.  All he needed to do was ride out his exhausted opponent to take it to overtime.  But instead, with just 30 seconds left, Iowa told him to cut his guy loose.  With the escape point, his opponent took the lead, but Iowa always stays aggressive.  As time ticked down, his opponent did everything he could to avoid the Iowa wrestler's attempts.  And because of a generous ref who did not decide to call him for stalling, the Iowa guy lost the match.  Iowa could have easily ridden the match out and taken it to overtime, but that isn't the way Iowa wrestles.  I can understand how people would call that a stupid decision, and I really can't argue against that.  But this isn't a case of being smart or stupid, it's a case Iowa believing that their wrestler could get the win.  This time, it bit them in the ass, but it's not the Iowa way to look back; they're always looking forward, trying everything they can to score points.

My second favorite quote about Iowa wrestling (First has to go to Dan Gable's, "I shoot, I score.  He shoots, I score.") actually comes from StateCollege.com's Steve Sampsell as he tried to figure out the reason the Hawkeyes were able to surprise the top ranked Nittany Lions by defeating them in Happy Valley:

The Hawkeyes compete hard every minute. They never stop.

They’re Iowa. And you’re not.

And that's the best way to put it.  Every Iowa opponent knows that they're going to have to go through 7 minutes of hell when they face the Hawkeyes, and every Iowa wrestler knows that he's a Hawkeye, and his opponent isn't.  They're Iowa.  And you're not.

So what happens next year?

Honestly, it's probably going to be a lot of good things.  Going into the year, Iowa had only one returning starter from the previous year in this year's starting lineup.  Iowa was ranked 12 going into the season as everyone saw it as a rebuilding year.  They proceeded to go undefeated in dual meets.  They finished a disappointing third at nationals.  Yes, third is a disappointment, even in a rebuilding year.

Anybody who follows wrestling had to be astounded at the progress that the Iowa wrestlers made throughout the season.  It's a young team that is only going to get better.  Iowa will lose two wrestlers in 5th place finisher (and 7th year Senior), Luke Lofthouse as well as Aaron Janssen, who although he didn't place (Top-8 become All-Americans), wrestled incredibly hard after getting upset in his first match at Nationals.  149 was our weakest weight class this year, but that will be greatly helped with the return of Dylan Carew who tore an ACL early in the season.  Iowa also had a top recruiting class last year, and since everybody redshirts at Iowa (to give their wrestlers the best chance to win as many individual titles as possible), some of those guys should be ready to step up and contribute next year. 

It's a year away, so it'd be really tough to make an accurate prediction.  We know that Penn State is loaded for next year, but if you put a gun to my head, I guess I'll go with Iowa coming in...uh...yeah, 1st Place.  The Hawkeyes will not be the defending champs, but Iowa will right that wrong next year. 

-Joe

P.S.  I've watched this video about thirty times, and it's GLORIOUS every time.

West Coast Rap's Love of Iowa Wrestling

Yesterday, I learned of the tragic passing of iconic rapper, Nate Dogg.  As someone who is known to regulate anybody who gets out of line, this was very tough to hear.  I needed a way to honor the West Coast Rap Scene.  Since "Regulate" is a flawless song already, I decided to turn to a different West Coast Rapper.  With today marking the start of the NCAA Wrestling Tournament, I have slightly altered (and also made it PG-13 since every rapper knows to play to their audience) Tupac's legendary rant at the end of "Hit 'Em Up" to show Mr. Shakur's love of Iowa Wrestling.  Oh, you didn't know that rappers loved Iowa Wrestling?  Well, I think this photo is indisputable evidence that they did.

Now you tell me who won
I see them, they run (ha ha)
They don't wanna see us
Whole Penn State wrestling click
Dressing up trying to be us
How the hell they gonna be Hawkeyes?
When we always on our job
We national champions
Pinning ain't fair
But somebody got to do it

Oh yeah, Arizona State (uh)
You wanna mess with us
You little young ass redshirt freshmen
Ain't one of you wrestlas missing a leg or something

You're wrestling with me, Cornell?
You wrestle around and catch a seizure or a heart-attack
You better back out of bounds
Before you get taken out of bounds

This is how we do it on our side
Any of you wrestlers from Oklahoma State that want to bring it,
Bring it.
But we ain't singing,
We bringing drama
Pin you and your mother loving mama.
We're gonna kill all you passive wrestlers.

Now when I came out, I told you it was just about Penn State.
Then everybody had to open their poll with an overrated ranking
Well this is how we gonna' do this:
Beat Cornell,
Beat Oklahoma State,
Beat Penn State as wrestlers, a football team, and in women's basketball too.
And if you want to be down with Penn State,
We'll beat you too.
Iowa State, we'll beat you too.
All you wannabe wrestlers,
We'll beat you too.

All of y'all stupid cowards,
Screw you, die slow Nittany Lions.
My single-leg  make sure all your kids don't grow.
You Ivy Leaguers can't be us or see us.
We bonus pointin Hawkeye riders.
Midwest till' we die.
Out here in Iowa,
We warned ya'
We'll take down you weak ass wrestlers.
We do our job.
You think you the best, Cael, we the undisputed best
Ain't nothing but killers
And the real wrestlers, all you Hawkeye rejects feel us.
Our streak goes from triple to four quadruple
You wrestlas laugh 'cause our team got cups under they black and gold singlets
You know how it is and we drop records they felt
You wrestlas can't feel it
We the winners
Screw 'em.
We wrestlin' pinners.

************

So yeah, I'm definitely picking the Hawkeyes to win the national title. I'm sure the Hawks plan on racking up some bonus points for their dead homies.

-Joe

P.S. I understand my slight alterations do a great job of honoring both Tupac and Iowa Wrestling.  This recording of a song does not honor Buster Posey.