Where Iowa Wrestling Could Falter at the B1G Tournament

When you’re the number one team in the nation and overwhelming favorite to win the National Championship, it’s pretty hard to consider yourselves underdogs. Iowa has the depth and top-notch firepower that should let them end their decade-drought of National Titles, but nothing is guaranteed. In fact, even a B1G title isn’t guaranteed as Penn State is right there, always lurking, and with enough high-end talent to terrify even the most confident Hawkeye fans. If everything holds for seeding, Iowa cruises to a B1G Championship, so let’s see where Iowa could be potentially upset at each weight.

125 - Spencer Lee vs. N/A

I’m sorry, but there is nobody who is touching him. He tech falled the number two seed in the first period. Unless he runs a marathon before each match, I doubt anybody is lasting seven minutes with him.

133 - Austin DeSanto vs. Ridge Lovett - Quarterfinals

I don’t think there is an easy match for DeSanto in this thing. The #14 seed, Jordan DeCatur shows flashes of being impressive, and I think he can get a takedown against anybody at this weight. The problem is that after two minutes, he seems to have completely lost any ability to get a takedown or defend one which isn’t an ideal skill-set against the human buzzsaw that is Austin DeSanto. So I guess I should mention Ridge Lovett as well who is very good on top which is DeSanto’s toughest spot. I really don’t think Lovett has the offense to win, but he is going to do everything he can to keep this match low scoring and then try to ride out DeSanto to put pressure on him. I don’t think his defense is good enough to stop the Hawkeye, but he is admittedly not a great matchup. But I still see DeSanto getting a major decision and then going into one of the most exciting matches of the tournament in a rematch against RBY from Penn State in the semis.

141 - Max Murin vs. Mitch McKee - Quarterfinals

I’m like the world’s biggest Mitch McKee fan. I don’t know how it happened, but I have seen that guy look like a million dollars on the mat. Murin got the better of him at the dual, but I think this is a toss-up. The top two guys at this weight seem to be on their on tier, but 3-6 is going to be fascinating to see how things shake out. It wouldn’t be too surprising if these two wrestled each other twice this weekend.

149 - Pat Lugo vs. Brayton Lee - Semifinals

I don’t have a ton of anxiety about this match. Lugo won a close match, but Lee didn’t really come close to scoring on Lugo, and Lugo got an early takedown and controlled the match from there. Lugo is always going to keep things close, but I think he can control this match again.

157 - Kaleb Young vs. Peyton Robb - Quarterfinals

Kaleb Young should be able to handle Peyton Robb, but Robb is dangerous. The guy wrestles tough, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him finish in the top four at this weight class. They wrestled a close match the first time, but I still think Young is going to come back strong after an upset loss against Oklahoma State.

165 - Alex Marinelli vs. Evan Wick - Semifinals

Can Marinelli get out from under Evan Wick? If he can, he wins. If he can’t, it gets much more interesting. I don’t think Wick has what it takes to get a takedown on Marinelli, but if he gets a ride out, it puts a ton of pressure on Marinelli to win multiple times on his feet. Marinelli has really improved, and I think he beats Wick again in this one to move onto the finals for another fireworks show against Vincenzo.

174 - Michael Kemerer vs. Mark Hall - Finals

Is Labriola slightly concerning for a semifinals match? Yeah, slightly, but I have a hard time seeing anybody but these two in the finals. A part of me is hoping Hall wins this one, because I think it would be very tough for Kemerer to win three times in a row against Hall. There’s a possibility that Kem has his number, but their first match had some insane scrambles, so I’m guessing that’s not the case. Either way, it’s must see TV.

184 - Abe Assad vs. Rocky Jordan - Quarterfinals

Assad basically controlled the Rocky Jordan match the first time around, but Jordan has been improving. Assad may also be improving, but we haven’t seen him for about a month, so it’s kind of tough to say. If Assad is healthy, he should be able to move into the semifinals, and considering how wide open 184 is, it’s not inconceivable to see him in contention for a B1G title.

197 - Jacob Warner vs. Shakur Rasheed - Quarterfinals

If Shakur Rasheed hops in a time machine and becomes 2018 Rasheed, I’m concerned. Barring that, I think Warner is cruising into the semifinals, and I would be pretty damn surprised if he didn’t end up in the finals as I see him avenging his loss to Eric Schultz.

Heavyweight - Tony Cassioppi vs. Trent Hillger - Consolation Finals

Sorry, Gas Tank Gary, but I just don’t see a threat to Cassioppi’s spot until he gets to the consolation side of the bracket. I still think Cassioppi could beat Mason Parris, despite getting pinned in their first match, but Gable Steveson is not going to lose in the semis. Cassioppi beat Hillger in a pretty big upset early on in this season, and with Hillger’s top game, I think this is going to be another close match where I hope Cassioppi can find a way to pull it out.

Iowa looks great this year. Almost too great, so I have to have some pessimism to stop me from getting overly excited about this team. But this week should bring home a B1G Championship, and in two weeks, the Hawkeyes finally get the big one.

2019 WWE Brawl For All: Jason Jordan vs. Shelton Benjamin

We move onto our second first-round matchup with a pair of former B1G wrestlers so you know these guys are tough. Representing the University of Indiana is Jason Jordan and representing the University of Minnesota, we have Shelton Benjamin.

Joe's #4 Jason Jordan vs. Jonah's #5 Shelton Benjamin
Joe: Jason Jordan is basically a younger version of Shelton Benjamin, so early on, I gotta say that I like my chances in this matchup.

Jonah: I would agree if Jason Jordan was healthy, but I’m pretty sure he had to retire due to a neck injury. I mean he’s been out for a year and a half, I’m pretty sure he’s got serious problems. With that health issue it’s at least a toss up between two fantastic wrestlers, should be a hell of a grappling match.

Joe: If Jordan is even close to healthy, I still give the edge to him. The longer you are out of that wrestling room, the more those skills deteriorate. At this point, Shelton probably isn’t winning a high school state championship. He was a freak of an athlete, but he’s down to just really good athlete as age has sapped him of some of that explosiveness, and I feel like the younger version will not be denied in this matchup.

Jonah: Jordan might win, he’ll probably injure his neck and the announcers can shit talk him for being legitimately injured like they did in one of his last angles. He’s not healthy enough to professionally wrestle so his health when it comes to shoot fights is probably pretty low.

Joe: How dare you. Professional wrestling is the toughest sport out there, being in a fight is a breeze. Still, if we are thinking that this tournament is happening in 2019, the neck issue is probably too big of one for him to properly come back fully healthy, so let’s give the edge to Shelton Benjamin.

1st Round
Akam vs. Curtis Axel

What To Expect From The 2018 Iowa Hawkeyes

College football is finally back, and oh, how I have missed you, my sweet mistress. I mean, what a pleasure it is to be a B1G fan as we have coaches helping other coaches beat women, and that doesn't even register on the "this is really bad" scale since another coach not only helped players get away with assaulting women; he also set up workouts that killed a player. Sorry, SEC, but you ain't got shit on the B1G.

Fuck, college football is some truly awful shit.

But, since we didn't create a workout that made guys piss blood this offseason, the Iowa Hawkeyes are in the clear, so let's look at the football side of things. Can the Iowa Hawkeyes be good? Yes. Could they be very good? It's possible. Will they shock the world and win a National Title? Only time will tell...but no, they will not.

But Iowa is still interesting.

Quarterback
Nate Stanley exceeded all expectations in his first year as a starter last season. It feels odd saying this, but outside of tight end, this may be the position to feel best about going into the season on offense. Stanley had ups and downs, but with experience, he can hopefully minimize the lows while still helping Iowa put up 50+ on the blue bloods of the B1G. There are a lot of people predicting big things for him this year, and it certainly wouldn't be shocking if he was the best quarterback in the conference. That's going to depend a lot on the people around him.

Wide Receivers
Nick Easley seems to have the best chance as long as he can convert a few of those drops into catches with Brandon Smith as the second receiver, who has shown he has some size and athleticism, but not much else. Ihmir Smith-Marsette is a legitimately fast player who plays for Iowa, so that's exciting, but it's not clear that the coaching staff has much faith in him. Right now, it's probably unlikely that this team is going to have a great passing attack that is led by its wide receivers.

Tight Ends
But even if the receivers fail to take a step forward, Stanley will have reliable options in tight ends Noah Fant and TJ Hockenson. Got some good news and bad news when it comes to Fant. The good news is that he is one of the best tight ends in the nation and is a damn game changer at the position. The bad news is that if he comes anywhere near repeating last year's performance, his ass is gone to the NFL. There are worse things to deal with than players being so awesome that they leave early for the NFL, especially at a position like tight end where Iowa just keeps sending dudes to the pros. TJ Hockenson is going to be so involved that Iowa has two tight end spots on the depth chart, so he should not only be an important contributor this year, but the obvious heir apparent if Fant leaves after the season.

Running Back
At running back, there is no proven commodity, but they have a three-headed monster that should do well. Ivory Kelly-Martin is listed as the starter, with Toren Young and Mekhi Sargent backing him up. I could see any of the three guys emerging as the top back, but I don't think anybody completely takes over the role to be a true #1 at the position. Young and IKM looked good in limited action last year, and Sargent has been getting great reviews after transferring, but this is more a position group that should be fine. They probably won't be great, and they probably won't be bad; they'll hopefully be good enough.

Offensive Line
The running game will likely be dependent on the performance of the guys up front. The offensive line is led by two sophomore tackles who both started all of last year (although they are both suspsended for the first game) in Alaric Jackson and Tristan Wirfs. I wouldn't say that they were great last year, but considering that it was two freshman that at least held their own, hopes are pretty high for the outside of the offensive line. The interior of the line is a bit of a question mark, but there have been positive reports on Keegan Render at center as being able to play his way into a potential draft pick after this season. This isn't going to be a legendary Iowa offensive line, but as long as the interior can hold up, they should provide more good than bad.

Defensive Line
The defense has the most exciting and most terrifying position groups on the team. The defensive line is stacked. Parker Hesse and Anthony Nelson have extensive experience on the outside with production to match. Matt Nelson and Cedric Lattimore started last year and should only improve from last season. With those four, Iowa should be in great shape up front...

...but let's be real here. This is all about AJ Epenesa. Epenesa rotated in at defensive end last year, and his talent jumps off the screen when you're watching Iowa. His explosiveness is incredible, and he is a mismatch for all but the most elite offensive tackles. He is still raw as he did put himself out of position on occasion so he has some things to refine, but the raw materials are incredibly exciting and all Iowa fans are basically head over heels in love with him already. I'm as guilty of this as anyone, and I make no apologies for it.

Linebackers
On the other end of the spectrum, we have linebacker. Linebacker is not going to be good; it's not that the players don't have talent, but they have about as close to zero experience as is possible in a linebacking corps. They have never started before, and Iowa rarely cycles in linebackers, so their big experience is special teams. Amani Jones is the middle linebacker which makes him the most important guy of the three. He has been getting the most positive reviews, but that may have just been that they were only really confident that he would be one of the starters. Number two is Nick Niemann, who should not be confused with Nick Nemeth as I do not believe he has plans to tag with Drew McIntyre anytime soon. The good news with Niemann is that his brother, Ben, played linebacker for Iowa, and he is supposed to be the better athlete. Ben was solid, so solid+athleticism=pretty darn good? I hope that's the case at least. Getting the last spot is Kristian Welch who nobody knows anything about, but he was good enough to beat out the other guys, at least to start the season. Go Kristian Welch!

Secondary
Secondary could actually be good, but there is no depth, and for the first time in a while, there is no clear shutdown corner as Iowa was spoiled with Desmond King and Josh Jackson these past few years. Instead we have Matt Hankins and Michael Ojemudia. Hankins appeared to edge ahead of Ojemudia at the end of last year, so he's likely what you would consider the number one corner, but both guys have gotten a decent amount of playing time and have the potential to be solid. There is also the possibility that they come out of nowhere like Josh Jackson did last year and become an absolute game changer at the position, but the odds are against that. At safety, Iowa has two returning starters in Jake Gervase and Amani Hooker. The latter showed a lot of potential and could take a big step forward this year. The former got better as the year went on, but I'd be surprised if Iowa got much more than adequacy from him.

Special Teams
Iowa also has many kickers and punters.

Prediction
After doing a look at all of the different position groups, there are a lot of factors to weigh. I think this is a year where Iowa can only slip into a bowl game. That bowl game will be the College Football Playoff Semifinal, where Iowa will win. Don't you see? I lied at the beginning, because Iowa is definitely winning the National Title this year. Bama ain't got shit on the Hawkeyes. 15-0!

Chicago Bears 2015 Draft Breakdown: Jeremy Langford

Through the Bears first three picks, I thought the Bears were having an okay draft. I wasn't particularly excited, but I understood the logic behind the picks, as they were more necessary than they were sexy. In the fourth round, I started to swear off the Bears. They drafted running back, Jeremy Langford, out of Michigan State. This tweet summed up my feelings pretty well:

Stupid pick by the Bears. a total non-need, and not the best RB available, not even the best RB available in his own conference (David Cobb)

— Hott Joe (@HottJoe) May 2, 2015

The Bears had made me angry yet again. But I needed to calm down and see what the Bears actually got in Langford. I knew that although I watched a lot of B1G football, I may have underrated him since Michigan State did not play Iowa this year, so I didn't get a comprehensive look at him. Now it is time to right this wrong and watch his games against Purdue and Baylor to see if Langford is secretly B1G Todd Gurley (Spoiler alert: He's not).

The good news is he appears to be a patient runner who knows how to follow his blocks. He doesn't just run as hard as he can into a pile when a little patience might allow something bigger to open up. I will say that the patience isn't always a good thing, as he sometimes gets caught just tiptoeing around and is an easy tackle instead of attacking. He can wait to a fault, where he has to learn in the NFL, he is going to have lane one or a cutback lane; lane three is closed for repair.

Because of this dancing around in the backfield, he often doesn't generate much power in his runs, so he often gets driven backwards when tackled instead of falling forward for extra yards.

Another positive is that he has impressive speed when he gets into the open field. This run against Purdue is a good example of that.

He gets the outside, easily breaks the tackle from the defensive back, and then puts on the burners as he goes down the sideline. This makes sense as his 40 time was one of the best in this draft class. Unfortunately, his ability to cut and accelerate is pretty unimpressive as he was very poor in the shuttle and 3-cone drill. I think those latter drills are far more important for running backs where quickness is more important than speed.

I mean, if he plays Purdue every game, he should have an incredibly successful career. Is that possible? It's not? Oh. Well, then things may be slightly more difficult. I don't see a lead back in Langford, but I do think he could be a solid backup. Langford just simply doesn't impress me. On talent alone, it is not a good pick. Considering it was the fourth round, in this loaded draft of running backs, with David Cobb still available, when the Bears were fine at running back but have nothing but holes on defense, this was a very bad pick. I just don't get it.