Is Pulling Abe Assad's Redshirt a Good Decision?

After Midlands, I boldly declared that there was no way that the Iowa Hawkeyes were going to pull Abe Assad’s redshirt to take over the spot at 184 pounds. The Hawkeyes promptly pulled Assad’s redshirt for the next meet and he went 2-0 in his debut weekend. That’s good, but it’s too early to tell whether this decision made sense.

Now, I do not have a source for the inner workings of that wrestling room so I need to recognize a few things that I have no idea about. First off, how good has Abe Assad looked in the practice room compared to Cash Wilcke and Nelson Brands? If he’s been putting it on them in practice, then it’s not the craziest idea that he should be starting immediately. Also, did Assad want his redshirt pulled? He may want to go four hard years and be done with it, or he may think that taking a redshirt later on is the best thing for him. He may not think about either of those things, but he sees that Iowa could win a National Championship for the first time in a decade, and he wants to be one of the members that helps the team accomplish that. I can definitely understand the appeal of being a starter for a National Championship team, so I could totally understand that from Assad’s perspective.

But it seems incredibly likely that Assad will be better at the 2024 National Championships than he will be at the 2020 National Championships. So was it a good decision to sacrifice a better year later for a good year now?

I didn’t think the move would happen, partially because I didn’t like the idea of it. I think Cash Wilcke has proven that he’s good enough to be a blood round guy (Round of 12). He might be lower and get eliminated a little earlier or a little higher and be a low-level All-American. Can we really expect any more from Abe Assad? 

So far, he’s 17-3 this season, but his competition has been lacking for most of the season. His early season losses were to a wrestler from Grand View and a guy redshirting at Iowa State who is not an elite recruit. Even with subpar competition, he wasn’t blowing a lot of guys out of the water. Although the competition took a jump up at the Midlands, Assad won two of those matches in sudden victory so it was not a dominant performance. He’s likely going to be having a lot of close matches, and as a true freshman, he may be getting better as the season goes on.

He’s currently ranked ninth, and looking through that list of the eight guys ahead of him, it’s going to be really tough for him to break through. I think he has to All-American to definitively say it was a good decision. 

I may not totally agree with it, but I get it, and if Iowa is at the top of the podium at the end of the National Championships, I won’t be complaining about a redshirt. 

I’ll be too busy celebrating.

Iowa Hawkeyes Wrestling - A Look At The First Half

Iowa enters the second half of their season as the number one ranked team in the nation. It’s been a decade, but Iowa seems setup to end their National Title drought this year. Penn State was their greatest, and basically only, challenger, and they just lost the #1 ranked heavyweight in the nation for the rest of the season. You can never count out Penn State, because they still have plenty of guys that could win national titles and carry them to a team title, but right now, everything looks rosy for the black and gold. 

So let’s look back on the first half of the season and rank who has been the most impressive so far this year. Preseason expectations are factored into this so guys that may be ranked higher than their teammates can still be lower on this list.

10. Jacob Warner

Outside of Kollin Moore, this weight class is incredibly weak. Maybe you can get excited about Ben Darmstadt now that he’s moved back up to 197, but this weight class is open for a guy to elevate himself and score big points at the NCAA Tournament. Jacob Warner was a blue-chip recruit a few years ago, and entering his sophomore year, I thought he was primed to make that jump. Things looked fairly good early on this year, getting a big win over Patrick Bruck at Princeton. Then he lost twice at Midlands, including Brucki getting his win back in a far more dominant fashion, and Warner is just hanging around again. He just does not get to his offense and makes every match far more comfortable than it should be. The skills are there, but he just doesn’t pull the trigger on things. On talent, he could be in the NCAA Finals, but by performance, he might not even All-American. He’s still ranked fifth in the nation, but he just hasn’t given Iowa fans much to get excited about.

9. Cash Wilcke 

I’m sure most expected Cash Wilcke to be tenth on the list since he’s the only guy who doesn’t even have his starting spot guaranteed yet, but I feel pretty confident that Wilcke is going to be the guy moving forward. Yes, Nelson Brands has a couple impressive wins, but he’s just too small for 184 as he would have to grind out every win in close matches. And yes, true freshman, Abe Assad, did finish higher at the Midlands, but he did it while winning by the skin of his teeth in nearly every match. Wilcke lost early at the Midlands to now-nemesis, Johnny Sebastian, who has beaten him twice this year, but he battled all the way back to take third place. It wasn’t overwhelming, but he got the job done, and he’s exactly the guy we thought he was going into the season. He’s either a low-placing All-American or blood round guy. There’s no wow in his game, but he’ll always grind, and it’s just a matter of how much grind he has in him when the tournament in March rolls around.

8. Kaleb Young

Kaleb Young is who we thought he was. He’s an All-American, and I think he’ll repeat that feat again, but I don’t see him rising above and becoming a National Title contender. He was exposed by David Carr, Hayden Hidlay is still tough, and Ryan Deakin has taken a huge step forward, so I don’t see Young repeating his feat of beating Deakin or either of those other two guys this season. He could basically beat anyone else, but he’s not so dominant that he couldn’t get upset like he did by Quincy Monday earlier this season. He’s still ranked sixth, and that’s a good approximation of where he’ll end up in March.

Now it’s time to take a massive step forward in how people have performed, because you could rank the next seven guys in any order, and it would be tough to make a strong argument against it. I’ll start with a controversial pick for my seventh spot. 

7. Pat Lugo - 1st

Lugo is one of only two Iowa wrestlers ranked first in the nation (you can probably guess the other one), and still, he’s all the way down here. He’s currently 10-0 and beat the former #1 ranked guy in the nation, and yet I just can’t shake the feeling that it could all easily come crashing down. He did pull off the Jarrett Degen win, but that was due to a reversed call by review so that’s about as close as it can come to not winning a match. This weight is one of the weakest out there, and Lugo could beat anybody, he could also get beat by some lower ranked guys (I’m especially worried about Freshmen Brayton Lee and Sammy Sasso) and finish again as a low-tier All-American. He’s definitely looking better this year, but he doesn’t steamroll guys, and it’s going to take more before I can fully buy in on Lugo. I hope he makes me look stupid.

6. Michael Kemerer 

I wanted to put Kemerer higher than this. He’s looked incredible this year, but he’s only wrestled four matches. Only one of those went the distance, and that was still a major decision. But he just hasn’t wrestled the talent to be put up any higher. I think he’s the clear #2 guy at 174, and I am so excited to see him square off against Mark Hall, because Kemerer looks like a monster, and that’s the only guy standing in his way.

5. Max Murin

How can the second lowest ranked Hawkeye be this high on the list? Easy, it’s my list, and I can do what I want. And if you just look at the results, it’s been good but not great. He has three bonus point wins, but only one of those was over a DI wrestler, and that was just a major decision. But damn, Murin just looks so much better this year. He’s hitting his attacks and being aggressive each and every period. Last year, there were so many times where he just didn’t take shots, and now he looks to be more aggressive and more effective. He hasn’t faced elite talent, but he has two quality wins over Tristan Moran and Josh Heil, two fringe All-Americans, and he has just brought it every match. He’s not a National Title contender as both Nick Lee and Mitch McKee have given him trouble in the past and have taken their own steps forward this year, but he’s always had the defense to keep matches close, so it wouldn’t shock me to see him take out anybody else in that weight class. If that’s not enough, then just watch some Good Murin America, and thank me later.

Chicken and Rice Casserole? Yes, please! Wake up with Good Murin America! hosted by Max Murin and Tony Cassioppi. pic.twitter.com/joC4INHyIz

— Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling (@Hawks_Wrestling) December 26, 2019

4. Alex Marinelli

Before the Midlands, Marinelli likely would have been a couple spots lower, but this man decided to destroy everything in his path, getting four pins and finished it off with a controlling decision of the third best guy in the nation, David McFadden to win the Midlands Championship. Before that, he looked good but just didn’t seem to be putting top level pressure on guys. He had another impressive win over Evan Wick, but it was more controlling than domination. Now he’s dominating, and this very well could be his year to win a Title as he’s shown he can beat anyone at this weight, including top-ranked Vincenzo Joseph. He probably should be higher, but after a couple disappointing runs at the NCAA Tournament, I have to temper my expectations. Still, there is no logical reason to believe he can’t be wrestling for the title on that Saturday night in March.

3. Tony Cassioppi

Hot damn, Cassioppi. I knew he had the potential to be great, but I can’t believe how much better he has gotten since last season. He has two high-level wins over Trent Hilger and Matt Stencel, and he’s basically dominated everyone else. With Cassar apparently out for the year, the only two guys ahead of him are Michigan’s Mason Parris and Minnesota’s Gable Steveson. Although Parris has looked to take a massive step forward starting this past summer, Cassioppi has beaten him before so it’s not hard to imagine him doing it again. Beating Gable is another matter, but the freshman heavyweight is at least going to be in the mix to be wrestling in the finals. 

2. Austin DeSanto

The last five guys I have listed are all undefeated, and still, I rank DeSanto higher. Is this personal bias for his wrestling style? Maybe, but he looks SOOOOOO much better than last season. He’s gone 1-1 against top-ranked Seth Gross, and the way he’s been wrestling so far this season, he should be able to beat anybody else in the nation. There are some strong competitors in Sebastian Rivera and Roman Bravo-Young, but DeSanto should be able to topple either one of them. DeSanto is all over people on his feet and has gotten significantly better from the bottom, a position that has plagued him throughout his college career. He convincingly beat Gross the first time before Gross held on to beat him in their second matchup. They might wrestle two more times this year, and those are definitely must-see matches.

1. Spencer Lee

If I was judging Lee strictly based off his performance as a Hawkeye, he might be five spots lower than this. Don’t get me wrong, he’s been amazing as he’s 6-0 with only one match going seven minutes, and even that was an 11-point major decision. But that’s pretty ho-hum for Lee at this point. What wasn’t ho-hum was his performance at the US Olympic Trial Qualifiers for Freestyle. He beat his first two opponents in under a minute combined. Then he got two more tech falls, followed by an 8-2 win over former NCAA Champion, Nathan Tomasello in the finals. Nobody came close to causing him problems, and it’s moments like this that remind me that at any point, Spencer Lee can turn on the jets and destroy everything in his path. There is no reason to expect he won’t do the same this coming year at the NCAA Finals and maybe even in Tokyo at the Olympics.

9 Takeaways from the Iowa Hawkeyes First Day at the NCAA Wrestling Tournament

The first day of the NCAA Wrestling Tournament could not have started out any better for the Iowa Hawkeyes. They won their first 15 matches and everything was right in this world. Unfortunately, they lost to overtime matches before Sam Stoll righted the ship with his second "upset" win of the day. By seed entering the tournament, Iowa should have lost five matches yesterday, so to lose only two matches, both of them matches that EASILY could have gone the other way is an impressive start. But this is the moneymaking day, so here are my thoughts on each Iowa wrestler.

Spencer Lee - 125

Spencer Lee got a tech fall and a major decision, and there are good and bad with it. The good is that his gas tank looks good. He was able to wrestle hard for seven minutes in that second match and eventually overwhelmed his opponent. The bad is that this is not the same Lee that tore through the tournament. He is working his ass off to get everything, and he also got in deep on some shots that he was unable to finish against NC State's Sean Fausz. I think the length of Fausz may be to blame for that, but for how great he did at getting to the legs, he needs to finish those shots today. Sean Russell of Minnesota should not be an issue as he has yet to score a point on Lee in two matches this year, but tonight it's going to matter. Pat Glory could give Nick Piccinnini trouble, but either guy can be a challenge to Lee. I still like Lee to go 2-0 today and make it to the finals, but I do not see an easy win tonight.

Austin DeSanto - 133

Good God, DeSanto had a hell of a day yesterday. And as amazing as it was, I do not see a way to even put him in the top three of best days for the Hawkeyes yesterday. He got his first round opponent disqualified for stalling in 2:20. That has to be a record. Then, he faced off against Roman Bravo-Young and just kept the pressure on for seven minutes and pulled off a victory in a very close match that had my butthole tight the entire time. Also, he showed he could escape from the bottom which is his number one question as a wrestler, so that was great to see. This morning, it's Stevan Micic, who performed well yesterday but likely isn't at 100%. DeSanto will test him with everything, and if he can win, he likely gets a rubbermatch against Nick Suriano. DeSanto could have two wars today, but I sure as hell wouldn't want to be one of the guys facing him.

Max Murin - 141

You have to give Murin the MVP, right? Eh, I'm saying second best Iowa performance. As the 22 seed, he knocked off both the 11 and 6 seed. And that 6 seed felt so amazing as Mike Carr mocked Murin after beating him in their first match this year, and now Murin has beaten him twice in the last two weeks. Seeing Carr's face straining as he couldn't get away from Murin was definitely a zen moment for me. Murin knows how to wrestle tough, but he sure has a tough outing coming up against Penn State's Nick Lee, one of just three guys to pin his first two opponents at the tournament. I won't count out Murin with the way he's wrestling, but it seems likely that he's going to have to do damage in the consolation bracket tonight.

Patricio Lugo - 149

Lugo is 2-0, so that's the most important thing. He looked good against Josh Maruca in the first round and was taken to overtime by Virginia Tech's Ryan Blees where he was able to scramble his way into a takedown. It was fine but not all that impressive. If he wrestles like that today, he's not getting by Micah Jordan, but Lugo is a tough out, and if he can get aggressive and force a mental error by Jordan, it's not impossible to see him move onto the semifinals.

Kaleb Young - 157

M-V-P. Kaleb Young went out and whooped ass. He got a second period tech fall in his first match and came just one takedown away from a second tech fall against 11 seed, Ke-Shawn Hayes. I haven't seen this sort of aggression all year from Young, but if he brings this today, I don't see any reason he can't upset Ryan Deakin and the winner of Tyler Berger and Larry Early. He was so impressive in not just getting takedowns but turning guys as well. I'm still partially in shock. This Kaleb Young is a damn world beater (as long as that world doesn't involve Jason Nolf, unfortunately).

Alex Marinelli - 165

Marinelli got the job done. I wouldn't say I was worried when Marinelli went down 4-1 to Joe Smith of Oklahoma State in the first round, but I was concerned. I knew Marinelli would keep putting pressure on Smith, and I did have confidence that the pressure would pay off. That's exactly what happened as after the first period, Smith had nothing to keep up with Marinelli. In the second round, it was back to Marinelli whooping ass when he got a major decision against Thomas Bullard of NC State. Today, he starts off with Mekhi Lewis, who beat Marinelli in freestyle, but not only are these different rules, I think this is a different Marinelli. It will be a tough match, but I'm pretty confident in The Bull's chances. Then it is either round four against Evan Wick or a first match against Chance Marsteller. There are no easy matches at this point, but I still feel confident in Marinelli's ability to be wrestling Saturday night.

Cash Wilcke - 184

It was almost an amazing day for Wilcke. After gutting out a tough win against Nick Gravina, he was leading Max Dean with under a minute to go, but he was called for stalling when kicking out of a takedown attempt which forced overtime and Dean was able to get the takedown. Wilcke has a tough road ahead. He should be able to take out Mason Reinhardt of Wisconsin, but then he wrestles into Emery Parker of Illinois who appears to have his number. It's going to take a big upset to get Wilcke on the podium, but Wilcke has pulled off these upsets at the NCAA Tournament before so let's hope he can do it again.

Jacob Warner - 197

Warner had the two goofiest matches for the Hawkeyes yesterday. He was up 8-2 with a riding time point and going for a major decision when he got into an awkward scramble and got turned for a six-point move to barely win the match 9-8. Then, he got an immediate takedown on Cal Poly's Thomas Lane and rode him for the rest of the period. Lane returned the favor and rode him for the entire second period, and in the third, Warner was again in a weird scramble and came out on the losing end as Lane got the takedown and rode him out through regulation. Warner was gassed in overtime and got taken down to send him to the consolation bracket. Warner has the skills to run through everyone in the consolation bracket; it's just a question of whether he has the gas tank to win all those matches.

Sam Stoll - Heavyweight

HELL YEAH, SAM STOLL. Stoll, from the 28 seed, went out and did what was necessary to get the wins. He upset #5 Mason Parris by bullying him around the mat. Also, Stoll can now get up from bottom which is amazing to see. Stoll still isn't moving great, but he's a massive man with a lot of determination which was all he needed to beat #12 Conan Jennings. I jokingly said he would make the NCAA Finals. That is still going to be tough, but it's no joke. Jordan Wood is a tough way to start the day, and then he gets the winner of #1 seed Derek White and Central Michigan's Matt Stencel. There is nobody I will be rooting harder for than Sam Stoll.

Iowa also plays basketball today.

Let's Preview the Iowa Hawkeyes at the NCAA Wrestling Tournament

After the conference tournaments wrapped up, the only thing to wait for was how things were going to play out when it came to seeding. For the most part, the seeding and matchups were all pretty justified. I would say one guy had good luck, and one guy had the worst possible luck in the entire NCAA as I would say it is likely that he will only face guys that are past, present, and/or future All-Americans. It's so stupid, but we'll get to that later. Let's start with the positive first.

125 - Spencer Lee - #3 Seed
This is the big positive for Iowa. Lee was the #3 seed last year and did fairly well with that seed. Also, for the first time, the NCAA seeded all 33 wrestlers as opposed to just the top 16. He'll take on 13-9 Christian Moody from Oklahoma in the first round, and I wouldn't expect that one to get out of the first period. After that, it is likely Ryan Millhof, whose only match I really remember is the time he tried to go up a weight and Roman Bravo-Young looked like the second coming of Christ because of his dominance. That one may make the second period, but I really doubt it goes the distance. Then, it will likely be the 6 seed, Sean Russell who has wrestled Lee twice this year, but has yet to score a point, so that one looks fairly good. After that, he will likely go up against Nick Piccinnini who did pin Lee this year, but Lee beat him twice last year (including a pin of his own), and I like that matchup a ton more than facing Sebastian Rivera. Also, don't count out Pat Glory from Princeton as he is a true freshman who really brings it and could give Piccinnini some troubles although the Cowboy should be heavily favored. After that, it's most likely Sebastian Rivera in the finals. Lee had so many opportunities to win their second match this year, but it didn't happen. I still have tremendous faith in Lee winning the whole thing this year. It may be homerism, but if you find a good place to make bets on college wrestling, let me know, because I will gladly put my money on the Hawkeye.

Some other guys to watch in the top half of the bracket include Ronnie Bresser from Oregon State, undefeated Jack Mueller from Virginia, and Vitali Arujau, a true freshman from Cornell. All of those guys could prevent a rematch between Lee and Rivera.

IOWA PREDICTION: SPENCER LEE BECOMES TWO-TIME NATIONAL CHAMPION
National Champion: See above.

133 - Austin DeSanto - #7 Seed
I would say DeSanto got a fair draw. He's taking on somebody from Appalachian State in the first round, and I would expect him to cruise. Next up, he'll likely have Roman Bravo-Young who he absolutely dominated in the first period of their match at the Big Ten Tournament. I think he's too much on his feet for the Nittany Lion so I feel confident about his ability to move on. After that, things could get VERY interesting. The #2 seed is Stevan Micic who is undefeated but lost the top seed when he medically forfeited out of the Big Ten Tournament after his first match. I don't know how serious that injury is, but I seriously don't think he forgot that DeSanto put on a damn kimura during their match last year when Micic was putting a beatdown on him. DeSanto does have a dominant 22-10 win over Micic early last season, so this match could be bananas. If Micic is healthy, I have to go with the Wolverine, but that's no guarantee, but if he wins, he'd likely have a rubbermatch against Nick Suriano to make it to the finals. It's not an impossible road, but at a loaded 133 weight class, there are no easy paths.

In the top half of the bracket, Daton Fix is super good, so he's deserving of the #1 seed, and unfortunately, I have only seen bits and pieces of #4 Mickey Philipi so I'm not sure how good he is, but his results have been impressive. I do think Montorie Bridges has a chance to upset Luke Pletcher, but that may be because I am very down on Pletcher. Also, watch out for Iowa State's Austin Gomez at the 13 seed; he beat DeSanto earlier this year, and he has the skills to give guys trouble.

IOWA PREDICTION: AUSTIN DESANTO BECOMES AN ALL-AMERICAN (5TH PLACE)
National Champion: Stevan Micic, Michigan

141 - Max Murin - #22 Seed
I feel like Murin has an argument to be higher than this. The Big Ten schedule did him no favors as he had a ton of tough matches, and he just barely lost most of those matches. So, I guess the committee's thought was to see it continue as he is set to face off against Tristan Moran of Wisconsin. Moran is aggressive on top, but he's not anything special on his feet, so it's a winnable match, but it won't be easy. If things go well, he'd take on #6 seed Michael Carr who he is 1-1 against this season. Also, can someone please explain how the guy who finished eighth at the Big Tens is the six seed after accumulating a 12-5 record on the season? After that, he'd be looking at Nick Lee, and I think we can safely assume he won't make the semifinals, but I surely hope he proves me wrong.

As for the rest of this bracket, this is probably the deepest group of wrestlers in the tournament. Kaid Brock is an incredibly talented guy for the 15 seed. I love Mitch McKee, but not his draw as the seventh seed. Jaydin Eierman of Missouri and Josh Alber of Northern Iowa are both tough outs as the four and five seeds, but I could also see either guy getting upset. Iowa State's Ian Parker has a ton of notable wins at the weight class, but he also has a lot of losses to just general ass dudes. My super deep sleeper is #24 Mitch Moore of Virginia Tech. I think he could pull a couple upsets before having to take on the top seed, but he's a freshman who has gotten better as the season has rolled along.

And despite all that depth, I really see it ending up with Cornell's #1 ranked Yianni Diakomihalis taking on #2 Joey McKenna from Ohio State. I just think those guys are slightly above the rest of the field, and I'm actually going to take McKenna to get the upset over Yianni, but I fully acknowledge that this might just be Big Ten Brain taking over.

For Murin, I'll say he loses his first match before storming back in the consolation side of things. Unfortunately, I just don't think it'll be quite enough.

IOWA PREDICTION: MAX MURIN GOES 3-2 BUT FALLS IN ROUND OF 12
National Champion: Joey McKenna, Ohio State

149 - Pat Lugo - #10 Seed
Lugo is the ten seed that nobody wants to face. Four of his seven losses came in sudden victory, two of the others were to Matt Kolodzik when he was ranked #1, and the other was his first match of the season. He has really put it together lately, and I don't think people will be looking forward to matching up against him. First up, it's Arizona State's Josh Maruca who he should handle. Then, he has a rematch against Oklahoma State's Kaden Gfeller who Lugo dominated on the feet, but Gfeller is a very tough scrambler who always makes positions interesting. Still, I feel good about Lugo advancing to take on #2 Micah Jordan. Jordan should be clearly favored, but weird things always seem to happen to the Jordan boys, which might be karma for their uncle being an incredibly shady politician who did nothing when wrestlers were being sexually assaulted by the head trainer...allegedly. It's more likely that Jordan wins, but maybe Lugo can benefit from karma. The bottom half of the bracket is highlighted by Mitch Finesilver from Duke and Austin O'Connor from North Carolina so finally those two schools can have a real rivalry.

149 is pretty weak this year, so if you're looking for any surprises, maybe look at Justin Oliver of NC State or Jarrett Degen of Iowa State as both guys know how to scrap and have the ability to pull off upsets, but they'll have to get by each other in the second round. Otherwise, I think I'm going chalk for the final, but this is a weight class where it wouldn't be shocking to see some odd seeds ending up in the finals.

IOWA PREDICTION: PAT LUGO BECOMES AN ALL-AMERICAN (7TH PLACE)
National Champion: Anthony Ashnault, Rutgers

157 - Kaleb Young - #6 Seed
Things line up nicely for Young for the first two rounds in this tournament. First he has Dan Reed from Columbia, and he should be able to beat up a nerd. Then he has Ke-Shawn Hayes from Ohio State who he beat 11-1 at the Big Ten Tournament. After that, he likely gets Ryan Deakin (although Zach Hartman from Bucknell could give him trouble), the one guy to really beat Young when he won 6-2 against the Hawkeye (his other losses were two in sudden victory, and two close losses to Alec Pantaleo). I would love to see him win that match, but it seems rather unlikely. At that point, he'd probably be looking at Tyler Berger with a possibility of Larry Early pulling off the upset, although I think Berger gets by him.

On the top half of the bracket, it's Jason Nolf. Actually, if you're looking for a winner, it's only Jason Nolf, because there are 32 guys that have zero shot of beating a healthy Nolf.

But for guys to watch out for on the backside, Hayden Hidlay and Alec Pantaleo are the two guys that I think are likely the second best guy at this weight, but unfortunately, they'll have to face each other before losing to Nolf, so third place is the best they can do. Josh Humphreys is a true freshman who has been wrestling really well outside of a terrible loss to Oklahoma State's Wyatt Sheets. I also want to point out Jarrett Jacques, only because his last name is pronounced jay-cues.

IOWA PREDICTION: KALEB YOUNG, ALL-AMERICAN (6TH PLACE)
National Champion: Jason Nolf, Penn State

165 - Alex Marinelli - #1 Seed
You may think it's tough to get screwed by being rightfully named the #1 seed, but they certainly found a way to do it as nearly every single wrestler I would not want to wrestle is in the top half of the bracket, and it's basically just Logan Massa and Vincenzo Joseph on the bottom half (Josh Shields is fine, but he would not worry me).

So who does Marinelli get to start off? Joseph Smith, just a two-time All-American out of Oklahoma State, and his Dad may be the greatest US wrestler in history, so nope nothing to worry about there. In all honesty, Joe Smith has not looked great down the stretch and just finally made the weight down to 165. His gas tank was a major issue at 174, so it should only be harder for him at 165. He also has to wrestle a pigtail match before taking on Marinelli, so he won't have much rest and Marinelli does know how to grind down opponents. Marinelli is facing him in the most ideal circumstances, but you would rather not run into a guy that talented in your first round match.

After that, he could rematch Jonathan Viruet who took him to sudden victory at the Midlands. It could also be Thomas Bullard from NC State, but I think Marinelli will take it to either one of those guys, especially in a second try against Viruet.

After that, it could be Utah Valley's Demetrius Romero who has beaten Joe Smith, Bryce Seitert (twice), and Logan Massa and only has three losses on the year. The other option is Mekhi Lewis from Virginia Tech who only has two losses and beat Marinelli in freestyle this past summer. Again, I'm definitely picking Marinelli, but this road is exhausting me just typing it out, and we haven't reached the semifinals yet.

At that point, it's either Evan Wick, who Marinelli has beaten three times this year, but every match has been painfully close as Wick has dominated the Hawkeye from the top position. Then there is Chance Marsteller, one of the greatest high school wrestlers to come out of Pennsylvania, the greatest high school wrestling state in the nation. He has two losses, one was a one-point loss to two-time defending National Champion, Vincenzo Joseph, and the other was to Josh Shields by tie breaker after two overtimes. That is a very dangerous guy.

Oh, and if he makes it to the finals, he's got Vincenzo Joseph, that two-time defending national champion. Marinelli beat Joseph last year, and BEAT him this year. But seriously, if Marinelli is going to somehow win a title, he's going to have to earn it every step of the way.

IOWA PREDICTION: ALEX MARINELLI EARNS HIMSELF A NATIONAL TITLE
National Champion: My heart said Marinelli, and the one thing I learned from DHT was to listen to my heart.

174 - Mitch Bowman - Did Not Qualify
Poor Mitch Bowman ends his senior season going out in a whimper as he was unable to qualify for the NCAA Tournament after dropping down a weight to help out the team after Michael Kemerer and Myles Wilson were injured. He was a rollercoaster of ultimate hustle and me ultimately yelling at my TV for him to get up.

Without a Hawkeye, this weight class loses a lot of luster for me. Is anybody beating Mark Hall in the top half of the bracket? No. Myles Amine will lose by a point to him in the semifinals, because that is what happens in every one of their 700 matches.

Bottom half is a two-horse race between Missouri's Daniel Lewis and Arizona State's Zahid Valencia. Lewis pinned Valencia in a match he was already controlling, but Zahid kicks ass at these NCAA Tournaments. He could easily be a two-time defending champion had he not gotten dinged for accidentally grabbing the headgear against Mark Hall a couple years ago.

So I say it comes down to Hall and Valencia again. When they were freshman, I didn't think anyone could beat the phenom that was Mark Hall. When they were sophomores, I thought Valencia broke through to show that he's the new dominator at this weight class. Then Mark Hall controlled him in their match this year. I still really like Valencia, but I can't deny that the guy is struggling underneath tough wrestlers.

IOWA PREDICTION: MITCH BOWMAN SHOCKS THE WORLD BY STORMING THE MAT AFTER THE NCAA FINALS TO CHALLENGE FOR THE TITLE AT WRESTLEMANIA
National Champion: Who cares? They'll be defending their title in two weeks on the biggest stage of them all, but the pick is Mark Hall, Penn State.

184 - Cash Wilcke - #12 Seed
Cash Wilcke fittingly got the twelfth seed as he is Mr. Round of 12 as that is the round he has been eliminated in during his first two years at the NCAA Tournament, falling just one win short of All-American status. Can he change that this year?

Wilcke should be able to win his first round match against Nick Gravina, but Gravina is probably underrated due to his lack of matches this year. Wilcke has no great wins but no bad losses, so I think he's solid enough to get things done in the first round. Unfortunately, in round two, that no great wins thing catches up to him as I just don't see a way past Max Dean for Wilcke. He'll keep it close, but even I've got to take Dean in that match.

This is Myles Martin's weight to lose, and I don't see him losing it. He's dominated everyone, and I think that continues from start to finish at the NCAAs. If you're looking for some fun, let's have seventh seeded Nick Reenan take out Shakur Rasheed of Penn State. I think Rasheed is overrated, but I wholeheartedly admit that I overrate guys based off their freestyle success which is definitely part of the reason I am taking Reenan in that match.

IOWA PREDICTION: THE STREAK IS BROKEN. UNFORTUNATELY, THIS YEAR WILCKE ONLY GOES 2-2 AND FAILS TO MAKE THE ROUND OF 12.
National Champion: Myles Martin, Ohio State

197 - Jacob Warner - #5 Seed
Warner is in a totally fair spot at the five seed. Warner has been great defensively, but has struggled at times on offense. I feel like his effort has increased as the year has gone on, and it may be a conditioning thing where now he's fully into form after dealing with an injury earlier in the year.

He should have no trouble taking out Drew Phipps of Bucknell in the first round. After that, a much tougher matchup against Army's Rocco Caywood, a guy who beat Warner earlier this year at the Midlands. I think a lot of that was Warner already taking a beating from South Dakota State's Tanner Sloan. He also had only one match going into the Midlands on the season, and that was four weeks earlier against Iowa State, so I think a Warner who has rounded into form and has his conditioning ready should be able to avenge that loss.

In the quarters, it's a likely matchup with #4 seed, Patrick Brucki, who beat Warner at last year's Midlands. Brucki is 29-1 and he avenged his one loss to Cornell's Ben Honis. I like Warner, but Brucki put up major decisions against the two guys that Warner lost to at the Midlands, and I think even a fully charged Warner isn't putting up those types of scores. I would lean towards the Princeton Tiger in this one. If that's the case, I have Warner getting matched up with Ben Honis in the blood round which I see as a total toss-up match.

If he loses that, he'll make his way in the consolation bracket. If he wins, he will just delay going into the consolation bracket as Bo Nickal will await him. Nickal is so far ahead of the competition that it was a victory for the #2 seed to only lose by regular decision, because the first time they faced each other, Kollin Moore got pinned in the first period.

On the bottom half of the bracket, I think either Kollin Moore keeps hold of that #2 seed or Preston Weigel rises up from #3 as I just don't see #6 Willie Miklus or #7 Jay Aiello having the skills to take those guys out. I'd lean towards Moore, but either way, it's just a matter of who gets that ass whooped by Nickal on Saturday night.

IOWA PREDICTION: JACOB WARNER BECOMES AN ALL-AMERICAN (4TH PLACE)
National Champion: Bo Nickal, Penn State

Heavyweight - Sam Stoll - #29 Seed
One thing that people have always criticized me for is why I still believe in men who have been shot in the leg. If you told me Plaxico Burress was making a comeback, I would still want the Bears to sign him, because that guy is a touchdown machine. The same is true for Sam Stoll who definitely got shot in the leg this offseason and definitely does not look like the same guy he was in the past. I still believe in him.

Down the stretch, he really shit the bed, but he had some good wins earlier beating both Youssif Hemida and Conan Jennings. Plus, he's still SAM FREAKIN STOLL, who entered the season as the #1 ranked heavyweight. You know, sometimes it's just more fun to pick with your heart instead of your head, and this is one of those times. Keep that in mind as I run you through the Sam Stoll Sacrifice to the Gods.

First up, Jordan Wood, #4 ranked heavyweight out of Lehigh. Wood has a good record, but he didn't really beat anybody good. He faced the top three guys and lost to each of them, so his best win is #15 Tate Orndorff. Stoll, who has had a terrible season, has two better wins than that. It ain't going to be pretty, but Stoll wins 2-1.

I'll go with Zach Elam to get the slight upset over #13 Matt Voss, but that just leads to his ultimate destruction when Stoll really gets in a Gogarrian Groove and gets his first pin of the tournament.

After that, it seems like #12 seed Conan Jennings has #5 seed Mason Parris's number as he has beaten him three times this year, so give Stoll another huge victory as he was dominating Jennings before Jennings had to injury default after the match. Stoll takes it to him again in an excruciatingly boring 2-0 victory.

I bet you're thinking that he will take on #1 seeded Derek White next. Well, guess again, buckaroo, because I've got Central Michigan's Matt Stencel shocking White in the third round. Stencel has 17 pins this year, and hilariously, all three of his real losses (one injury default) were by pin as well. The man just loves pins, and I've got great news as he's going to find his way to another pin in the semifinals. Unfortunately for him, it's going to be our big beefy boy, Sam Stoll having him stare up at the lights when the ref's hand smacks the mat.

In the bottom half of the bracket, I'm taking Gable Steveson, and I don't think it's close. I know Anthony Cassar just beat him last week, but I'm pretty sure that Cassar was the only one who believed he could take him down, and Steveson was practically napping on the mat before he was like, "Oh shit, this dude just took me down with like no time left." I don't see him making that mistake again.

And yes, Gable Steveson beat Sam Stoll in their one matchup, but this is the Sam Stoll Sacrifice to the Gods tour. I say they battle it out until an overtime to settle it all, but you know who I'm going with.

IOWA PREDICTION: SAM STOLL GOES FROM 29TH SEED TO THE NCAA FINALS AND TAKES...
National Champion: Gable Steveson, Minnesota

Sorry, Sam Stoll. If the guy wasn't named after Dan Gable, I could go for it, but the Freshman Phenom is too much in the end.

Anthony Nelson - 2019 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Iowa had four underclassmen leave the program early this year, and I have finally made it to the fourth member of that group, defensive end, Anthony Nelson. Nelson was a very good player during his years at Iowa, and he made some game changing plays along the way, but he's not the sexiest pick in this year's draft. I took a closer look at his games against Iowa State, Penn State, and Mississippi State.

The first thing that pops out about Anthony Nelson's game is power. Look at the drive he has on the right tackle to collapse the pocket.

The right tackle tries to set, but Nelson's power has him backpedaling the entire time as he collapses the pocket. The quarterback doesn't have time to let things develop downfield and has to utilize his checkdown.

The next thing you will notice about Nelson is the use of his hands. on this play, he's able to swat the offensive tackle with the outside arm before ripping underneath with his inside arm to give him a clear path to the quarterback.
At that point, the only thing the offensive tackle can do is blatantly hold onto Nelson's jersey to save his quarterback from certain doom.

Here he shucks the defender and makes the tackle on the backside of the play.

That's not only good technique but good hustle as well.

And trust me, you do not want to run near Nelson near the goal line.

Iowa State brings in an extra offensive lineman, but Nelson throws him to his right before taking on the fullback and plugging up the hole to leave nowhere for the running back to go.

Here is another really crafty play on a goal line stand.

He starts as a down lineman but immediately jumps up and takes a linebacker position where he diagnoses the play, works his way across the formation and tackles the quarterback for a loss. Fun fact about this play is that he not only made the tackle on first down, he assisted on the tackle on second down, and redirected the running back into a pile of Hawkeyes on third down. 'm going to say this again. Do not run near Anthony Nelson near the goal line.

His job here is really to occupy blockers for the defensive tackle stunt to get to the quarterback. He does his job and more.

The goal here is that Parker Hesse (#40) can get around to get to the quarterback with Nelson occupying the blockers. Instead, Nelson splits the gap between the two tackles where they are stuck trying to contain him while pushing against each other and only barely slowing his momentum as he makes his way to the quarterback.

And to finish up, I just wanted to point out that this is a guy who knows how to use all 6'7" of his frame to make an impact. He was always adept at batting down passes.

Well, this one was batted up, but you get the point.

Anthony Nelson is a bullrush guy as he isn't a great enough athlete to sprint past an offensive tackle, and he doesn't quite have the bend to get around corners. Still, he does have a nice swim move and uses his hands well to disengage from blockers. Everything starts with that inside arm, so if the force of that initial inside arm punch is minimized, he will get stuck on blockers even though the guy never stops churning his legs forward. He's more of an old-school defensive end that can reliably stop the run while being solid as a pass rusher. His potential on the high end is a 10-sack season, but he's probably going to more reliably be in the 8-sack range. I do think that length and motor is enough to keep him on the field at all times. He is relentless with his motor, and he should be a solid addition to a team.

I had trouble coming up with a comparison as he kind of reminds me of Carlos Dunlap, but I don't think he's quite at that level, so I think his impact will be closer to someone like former Hawkeye, Adrian Clayborn, another guy who was great with his hands and had a relentless motor who has had a very nice career in the NFL.

Anthony Nelson may not be a first round draft pick, but he is a football player, and he's about as reliable as it gets. In the second round, you're not disappointed, in the third round, you're very happy, and if it gets to the fourth (this is a pretty loaded defensive line year), you're ecstatic with getting a guy like Nelson on your team.

Previous Scouting Reports:
Noah Fant - Iowa Hawkeyes - Tight End
Dwayne Haskins - Ohio State Buckeyes - Quarterback
TJ Hockenson - Iowa Hawkeyes Tight End
Amani Hooker - Iowa Hawkeyes - Safety
Josh Jacobs - Alabama Crimson Tide - Running Back
Daniel Jones - Duke blue Devils - Quarterback

What the Iowa Hawkeyes Must Do at the Big Ten Wrestling Championships

Things are getting real. The dual meets are over, and now there are just two tournaments left in the wrestling season. Coming up are conference championships, followed two weeks later by the grand daddy of them all, the NCAA Championships. Iowa suffered their only loss a little over a week ago when Oklahoma State dominated them in Stillwater. So how does Iowa bounce back, and what does each wrestler need to show this weekend in order to prepare for the NCAA Tournament?

Starting at 125 with Iowa's lone returning national champion, Spencer Lee has got to show more against Sebastian Rivera than he did in their first match at the Midlands. He was clearly beaten in that first match, but there are plenty of rumors that he wasn't fully healthy at that time. Still, he is coming into this tournament after getting pinned by Nick Piccinnini. If he is going to repeat as a national champion, he is going to have to beat Rivera. In fact, if he does beat Rivera, even though he won't be ranked number one, I don't see him losing at the NCAA Tournament.

At 133, Austin DeSanto has exceeded all expectations going into this weekend as he is currently ranked third in the nation and went undefeated in Big Ten competition. I would call it a win to make the finals as that likely means another win over Nick Suriano which would show that the move to Iowa helped him make incredible strides this season. I have trouble seeing him beat Stevan Micic, but I have trouble seeing anyone beat Micic because of how good he has been this year. Still, DeSanto puts on such a high pace that he's going to be a handful for anybody, so I certainly can't rule out the chance of an upset.

Max Murin is at 141, and he has been close with all the top guys that he faced this year, but he has not been able to pull off that big upset that could propel him into an All-American contender. So he needs a big win at this tournament to prove that he has the skills to make something happen at the NCAAs. 141 is ridiculously deep so I think there will be major upsets; Murin just has to show that he has the skills to pull off one or more of those upsets.

After a slow start, Pat Lugo has looked better and better as the season has continued on. He's hitting his stride at the right time, but he also hasn't faced any of the top-top competition during this hot streak. He'll likely have a semifinal match against Micah Jordan from Ohio State, and if he can win that, it's not inconceivable for him to beat anybody in the weight class. There is no standout favorite at 149, so if Lugo can get a win over a top guy, it would show that he has the talent to beat anybody at the NCAA Tournament.

157 is totally stacked in the Big Ten, and as much as I like Kaleb Young, I really don't see him beating any of the top four guys at this weight. I would say Berger would be the most susceptible, but Deakin seemed a tier ahead of him, Pantaleo is a monster, and Nolf is simply unbeatable. His goal should be to convincingly beat guys ranked lower than him and keep it close against that top tier, unless it's Nolf, in which case close is a major decision.

Alex Marinelli is the wrestler I am most excited about going into this weekend. I wrote earlier about how much he has improved this season, and it has been so much fun to watch. Ultimately, I don't think he needs to show anything this weekend, because I think he's already shown enough this year to prove that he could end the reign of Vincenzo Joseph at 165. Logan Massa and Evan Wick are both great wrestlers who could upset Marinelli, but yeah, this tournament only matters for seeding, as I already have full belief in Marinelli for the NCAAs.

174 is the one weight class where Iowa is in danger of not qualifying anyone for the tournament, so Mitch Bowman may have the most important job of all going into this tournament. A good draw will be very important for Bowman as he's not going to compete with the top guys, but he just needs to finish in the top eight in order to make the tournament. It's black and white for him - top eight is a win, anything less is a massive disappointment.

Cash Wilcke has finished one win away from becoming an All-American at 197 the past two years. Now he is down a weight class, and really, I have seen enough Cash Wilcke where no matter what he does this weekend will have very little impact on what I think he can do at the NCAAs. It is very likely he will be in the Round of 12, and it's just a matter of whether he can get that one last win this year or continue to fall short.

Replacing Wilcke at 197 is freshman phenom, Jacob Warner, who is really good at beating Willie Miklus but doesn't get to his offense against any other top competition. Even though he lost to Preston Weigel, he was more aggressive in his shots, and I think that could suit him well. Just seeing that aggressiveness and a gas tank that goes seven minutes will be the most important thing, and I think he has a good chance of making the final against Bo Nickal, but I have zero faith in him giving Nickal a competitive match.

Finally, at heavyweight is Sam Stoll, minus the part of his leg that got blown off when he got shot in the leg in the offseason. That seems to be an important part that he is missing, because even though he can still hang with most guys on his feet, he isn't getting to his offense like he needs to, and he has been terrible on bottom. The heavyweight division is incredibly weak this year, so if Stoll can just show some tricks from bottom, he can probably make the semifinals of the Big Tens, and it's probably enough for another All-American honor at the NCAAs.

As for the team as a whole, shoot for second place, but fourth wouldn't be a shock. Penn State is taking first, and Ohio State and Michigan will be in the mix with Iowa. The team stuff is over; it's all about the individuals now.

Amani Hooker - 2019 NFL Draft Scouting Report

This is the scouting report I was most looking forward to writing this year. I was hoping I could wait another year to write it, but I certainly can't fault a great player for leaving early. It was truly a pleasure watching Amani Hooker play for the Iowa Hawkeyes, and he got better and better every year. I admit I have black and gold tinted glasses, and even though I never specifically watched him during a game, it was impossible for me not to notice his contributions. But now, I am willing to take a closer look at the Hooker to see the strengths and look for weaknesses that could hurt him at the next level. I looked at his games from 2018 against Mississippi State, Iowa State, and Maryland with a sprinkling of 2017 Ohio State for good measure.

Aw man, who am I kidding? Let's just go to the first play of the game against Ohio State.

This wasn't just to show something painful for Buckeye fans as I did want to display the way he was able to make plays from the traditional safety position as he played a less traditional role this past year. Here, Hooker plays a shallow zone and just does a great job of reading the quarterback's eyes and breaking downhill for the pick-six. JT Barrett actually does a nice job of working left to right here. But Hooker knows he can't do anything on the left, the middle is well covered, so he picks the dig route to make a break on, and he picks right. It looks like Hooker knows where this ball is going before Barrett does.

Hooker is an interesting prospect as he spent his first two years and part of his final year in a traditional safety role before mostly transitioning to a hybrid role where he was more of a nickel back/linebacker. Here's another nice play from Hooker in a traditional safety role.

Even without the benefit of having a bright yellow cone of vision, it's easy to see Hooker looking into the backfield to read the quarterback's eyes. He does this while staying over the top of the route, so he is seeing the quarterback prepare his release as the receiver breaks to the outside, and he cuts off the route to make the interception.

Here is an example of Hooker playing the run.

He diagnoses the play and sprints to fill the hole. David Montgomery is one of the top running backs in the draft, so he did manage to spin out of the tackle, but his momentum was stopped by Hooker, and he wasn't able to regain control and was quickly wrapped up.

This is a really nice play by Hooker making quick decisions.

On this play, Hooker has the responsibility of the short routes while the cornerback is going to handle anything deep. He sees the slot receiver running down field, and the quarterback thinks that it will carry Hooker with him. Instead, Hooker lets that man go and quickly breaks to the outside to the wide receiver to tackle him just after he makes the catch for a short gain. It's a quick diagnosis that makes this play work as if he's a second slower, the receiver is creating yards after the catch for a likely first down.

A receiver blocking Hooker is not a recipe for success.

That is a massive whiff by the receiver, and Hooker is able to finish off the play because of it.

This was something I consistently saw in games as wide receivers were outclassed when trying to block Hooker on quick screens.

it is clear Hooker is diagnosing the play as he is getting blocked, and then he shucks the receiver and does an impressive job of taking out the tight end's right leg to bring him down for a short gain.

Here is another example of him reading the quarterback while dropping down in a zone and making a quick break on the ball.

On this play, he has the option to carry the inside breaking route but sees the Iowa State quarterback looking to his left, so he makes a hard break to the outside, and even though he can't get a hand on it, he got close enough to distract the receiver enough for him to not catch the ball.

I had watched three games, but I wanted a little more. Did I get obsessed with watching Hooker and just go to a highlight video? Yes, admittedly, I did. But it reminded me of this play which I didn't even comprehend its greatness until seeing it on this video.

Hooker covers THREE guys on this play, just by reading the quarterback's eyes. First, he carries the slot receiver coming up the seam before breaking inside on the next receiver's short crossing route where the linebacker picks him up, and then Hooker drifts back to the outside receiver who tries to run into open space, but Hooker again reads the quarterback's eyes, finds the receiver, looks back to the quarterback, and makes the leaping interception. If you're a scout trying to convince your team to draft Hooker, this is the play you show them.

Here's the thing with safeties. They are damn near impossible to evaluate off of television tape. They are barely on screen and immediately offscreen at the snap, so it's tough to show the ins and outs of great safety play. That being said, I have watched Amani Hooker for years. I've seen the minutiae of what most people would call meaningless replays and how the dude is ALWAYS around the ball. For an NFL comparison, I would say he reminds me of Tyrann Mathieu. I don't expect him to test off the charts, but he should do well, and the most important thing is that the guy just makes plays. He has incredible football instincts that you simply can't teach, and there was a reason that Big Ten coaches named him the defensive back of the year despite lining up most of the year in a non-traditional secondary role. He can play a traditional safety role or play as your nickel back, but it's easy to find a way to utilize a guy like Amani Hooker. His versatility and ability to read and react would make him an asset to any defense. As a Hawkeye fan, I'm certainly going to miss him.

Previous Scouting Reports:
Noah Fant - Iowa Hawkeyes - Tight End
Dwayne Haskins - Ohio State Buckeyes - Quarterback
TJ Hockenson - Iowa Hawkeyes Tight End
Josh Jacobs - Alabama Crimson Tide - Running Back
Daniel Jones - Duke blue Devils - Quarterback

The WWE Is Ruining... Big E

As a pro wrestling fan, it is a part of our identity to always know how to utilize wrestlers better than the WWE. If WWE would just give me, random WWE fan, a job a the company, ratings would immediately rise to the levels of the Monday Night Wars, despite how television ratings have changed as a whole over the last 20 years. But until that happens, WWE will continue ruining our favorite wrestlers, and that is why it is time to point out the error in their ways. Because of WWE's incompetence, I am literally going to pick a wrestler at random and point out how they could be better utilized, because WWE is ruining everyone in one way or another.

Today, we look at someone near and dear to my heart, the only former Iowa Hawkeye in the WWE, Big E Langston.

Big E made a big name for himself in NXT before winning the NXT Title by bringing back an old favorite from King Kong Bundy and demanding five counts when pinning his overmatched opponents. Him chanting "FIVE" was incredibly over, so when he got called up to the main roster, it was immediately dropped.

It still started off fairly well as he was the muscle behind Dolph Ziggler and AJ Lee. But once they broke up, his momentum faded and he was kind of stuck in no man's land.

Then came The New Day. People kind of forget how hated The New Day was at first, but even though the gimmick of positivity being shoved down your throat can be grating, these guys portrayed the gimmick so hard that nobody could deny how much fun it was. The gimmick has basically been the same for over four years, and they have managed to still keep things fresh with pure creativity. It would seem like the WWE could not manage to better utilize Big E than in his role with The New Day.

But I think he can do more. Now I do think that he should keep his affiliation with The New Day. Honestly, I think the WWE could learn something from New Japan by having guys have friends even if they are not constantly tagging with them as opposed to randomly pairing up tag teams as they drag out feuds, they could have tag team partners that actually make sense. So keep Big E with New Day, but let him finally have a singles run.

Big E has the size, charisma, and in-ring ability to be at the top of the company. The guy can go, and him having singles matches with the likes of AJ Styles, Andrade, or Daniel Bryan is a pretty damn exciting idea. And honestly, that last option has me incredibly pumped. What better way to combat The New face of negativity (but ultimately 100% CORRECT about the world), Daniel Bryan, taking on the personification of positivity, Big E in a war of ideologies.

I'm not saying he should win the title right away, but that is the sort of feud that gets people looking at Big E differently where down the line he is seen as more than capable of leading a company.

The Iowa Hawkeyes are known for their wrestling prowess. They've had plenty of National Champions, some World Champions, and even some Olympic Champions, but it is time for them to go for the greatest belt of all, the WWE Championship. Big E is the man to bring it home.

Other Wrestlers WWE Is Ruining
Alicia Fox
Andrade "Cien" Almas
Apollo Crews
Bayley
Bobby Lashley
Bobby Roode
Charlotte Flair
Curt Hawkins
Dana Brooke
Dash Wilder
Ember Moon
Goldust
Jey Uso
Jimmy Uso
Jinder Mahal
Kane
Karl Anderson
Killian Dain
Kofi Kingston
Luke Gallows
Mickie James
Mojo Rawley
Nia Jax
Peyton Royce
Randy Orton
Scott Dawson
Shinsuke Nakamura
Tyler Breeze
Zack Ryder

TJ Hockenson - 2019 NFL Draft Scouting Report

I have already tackled one underclassmen tight end from the University of Iowa in Noah Fant, so now it only feels right to tackle his teammate in Redshirt Sophomore and John Mackey Award Winner, TJ Hockenson. I took a look at his games against Wisconsin, Penn State, and Indiana from this past season.

Although both Fant and Hockenson are tight ends from the University of Iowa, their games are quite different. Where Fant is a freak who can stretch the field but may not be as refined with his technique, Hockenson is not a freak but knows how to find space in defenses and probably had the best hands on the Hawkeyes team.

Since Hockenson isn't a freak athlete, he has to use his guile to get open.

Here, he gives a very slight push with his left arm to create some separation at the top of his route, and uses that to cut away from the defender to give himself about two yards worth of space. He not only makes the catch but gains another seven yards after the catch.

But even though Hockenson isn't a freak of an athlete, the guy is definitely still an athlete.

No need to measure his vertical at the combine. It is officially one Penn State defender.

He's not just hops as he's got some speed as well.

Hockenson is able to turn a simple out route into a touchdown by not only staying on his feet on a missed tackle but barely losing speed despite getting his legs clipped. He then races down the sideline for the score.

Hockenson was also a guy who always showed great awareness during plays.

On this play, Hockenson starts in the slot on the far side of the field and his route has him break towards the near sideline, but he sees Stanley being forced to roll to the far sideline and readjusts his route to give his quarterback a different option, and ends up making a really nice catch while dealing with pass interference. Also, this throw will end up on Stanley's highlight reel next year, because he threw the ball 58 yards in the air while rolling to his weak side. Just getting this ball close to Hockenson shows some incredible arm strength.

One of my favorite things about Hockenson is how he catches the football.

He frames the ball with his hands as opposed to letting it get into his body, and keeps his thumbs together to give a tight area for the ball to come in and secure it before bringing it into his body and absorbing the hit. There is no wasted movement on his technique which is what makes him such a reliable pass catcher.

Seriously, look at these hands.

IT WAS A CATCH, DAMNIT.

Just in case you want an example of a ball that was not overturned as a catch. Here's a definite catch where he gets two feet in for good measure.

This is great extension by Hockenson where he does a great job of snatching the ball out of the air and quickly pulls it in to secure the catch.

But now it is the real reason that you came here. Let's get to the blocking highlights.

To start off, Hockenson kicks out the defensive end to create a big opening for the running back. But instead of just doing enough, Hockenson plays through the e in whistle, showing that he is a true Football Playing Jesse.

This next one is not as sexy, but it is as effective.

He starts head up and gets his hands under the defensive end's shoulder pads to turn him away from the runner while keeping his feet moving to help give a big lane to the running back. There are offensive linemen that fail this block, and Hockenson is picture perfect.

And now, the main event, although fair warning: The following clip is not suitable for children.

That is blocking porn right there. Don't be ashamed if you need to take a break to clean up after watching it.

As you can probably tell, I am a huge fan of TJ Hockenson. He blocks well, knows how to get open, and has reliable hands to make plays. He's a good, but not great athlete and that does limit his ceiling. I don't see a scenario where he is competing with Kelce, Kittle, and Ertz when it comes to receiving numbers. The most common comparison I have seen is Kittle, and there are aspects that are similar, but Kittle is a better athlete, where Hockenson is a better blocker and has shown more durability (although that last part is not yet conclusive). The best comparison that I saw was from Daniel Jeremiah who compared him to Heath Miller. He's going to be the total package at tight end, and although he won't be taking the top off defenses, he's going to be a first down machine and considering how high his floor is, he's got a very good chance to sneak into the first round, even in a loaded tight end class.

Previous Scouting Reports:
Noah Fant - Iowa Hawkeyes - Tight End

Alex Marinelli - Iowa's Most Improved Wrestler

It may seem a little insane to take a returning All-American, someone who entered the NCAA Tournament seeded fourth, and a guy who beat the NCAA Champion last year and name him Iowa's most improved wrestler. Most of the time I would agree with you, but it has been an absolute pleasure to see the leaps that Alex Marinelli has made this season for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

To start off, he's undefeated, but his record isn't the impressive part, it's how he's doing it. Last year, he got bonus points in 28% of his matches which is very solid for a redshirt freshman. This year, he is over 71% as only three guys have been able to keep it close and two of those guys are ranked in the top-5 in the nation. Those numbers will drop as the competition gets stiffer during the final month and a half, but he is still a totally different guy this season.

It's not surprising, because the first thing that jumps out at you is how different he looks. It is clear that he is much bigger this year than he was last year, and that increase in strength has definitely helped him.

The biggest way this has helped seems to be confidence as he is far more aggressive this year. He is really earning the nickname of "The Bull" as he is nonstop charging his opponents with pressure and takedowns, and he is simply breaking people. One of the best examples was this past Friday against Illinois. He squared off with former Hawkeye, Joey Gunther, and even though he wasn't scoring a ton of points, he kept the pressure on. Gunther got called for stalling. Then again. Then another one. Then one more. And finally, a fifth stalling call which is an automatic disqualification. Marinelli broke his opponent.

Finally, his technique has greatly improved. He is an absolute hammer on top, and that's leading to him turning guys over for big points and pins. He has also improved on bottom, which was most notably seen in his win over #3 Evan Wick. Last year, Wick dominated Marinelli on top which led him to a major decision victory at the NCAA Tournament. This year, Marinelli was able to get out from bottom, and he was able to win on his feet to give him a Midlands Championship.

Alex Marinelli still has a ton of work to do. He's likely got a rematch with Evan Wick, and, if he can win that, a match with two-time defending National Champion, Vincenzo Joseph, and that only gets him through the Big Tens. Two weeks, he'll have to do it all over again against those guys as well as some other tough challengers. Last year, Marinelli made the semifinals before dropping three straight matches. This year, I see a different guy, and although it's impossible to call him the favorite over a guy who is on pace to win four national championships in Joseph, I'm not counting out Marinelli. Win or lose, anyone who is brave enough to get in the way of The Bull is sure to get the horns.