Wrestling Recruiting

Submitted by tricks574 on

There isn't a whole lot of information running through the series of tubes that is the internet about Wrestling recruiting, but I thought some might be interested that UofM could be putting together a stellar class this year.

Heading it up is Eric Grajales, #2 overall to Intermat.com. He is out of Brandon HS in Florida, and is good enough to step right into Michigan lineup at 133 and be All-American level. I might be a little fuzzy on the particulars, but IIRC he went through all 4 years of high school with only 2 losses and over 200 wins, probably closer to 250, and was a 4 time Florida state champ. He comes from a GREAT wrestling school, one that went on an undefeated streak that stretched over something like 30 years. He is a great catch for McFarland and will fit in nicely at a weight UofM struggled at last year with Zach Stevens.

Next up is Sean Boyle, #32 overall to Intermat, and a native of Lowell, Michigan, although he transfered to Blair Academy in New Jersey, consistently one of the top 2 high school wrestling teams in the country. Boyle doesn't have the star power of Grajales, but he is very highly rated, and with Micheal Watts graduating from the 125 spot, he should step in and contribute right away. I'm not as confident about him being as solid in the lineup as Grajales, but with a coach like McFarland he has the chance to be All-American level sometime later on in his career. I won't completely count him out though, as another wrestler who was ranked a little higher than him, but not considered a superstar, stepped in 2 years ago and shot up the rankings to number 1, Kellen Russel. They even come from the same school, so there is some hope that he, Grajales, and Russel could turn what has been a weakness in Michigan wrestling for a few years into a major strength very quickly.

Michigan has also gotten a commitment from Pete Rendina, a strong performer in 4 years at Dundee, but not receiving the national praise of the other 2. He is probably in the middle weights, 149 is probably the best unless he really puts on a lot of muscle, although he does have a longer frame that could put it on. I've seen him a lot in person, and he has skills you want in a college kid, namely very good offense, especially leg attacks. Probably doesn't contribute for a little while, as 141 up to 157 should be filled by young wrestlers for a while, but he could surely step in later in his career and be a solid wrestler, maybe knock off a few ranked kids, maybe even place sometime. Think Aaron Hynes, but smaller, and probably not stepping in to his spot until later than Hynes did.

Another in state commitment to UofM comes from the same HS as a current teammate, Justin Zeerip, his younger brother, Brandon. Brandon was part of a star studded Hesperia team this year that lost to eventual D4 champs Hudson. I only saw him once this year, and that was where he bumped up from 152 to 160 and manhandled our 160 pounder, the eventual runner up in d3. Doesn't have the resume of his brother, but a very talented wrestler who also could contribute late like Rendina.

Theres also some nice Uncommited recruits in the state of Michigan who would be great to fill in the upper-weights now that Luke and Todd are leaving. The big one, probably the top target right now, is Dan Yates, who is 12th to Intermat, and is a giant. He was at 160 this year for states but wrestled most of the year up at 189 for his team, and lost only once, in the team state title match to Gabe Elliot, the D4 189 champ. He comes from Hesperia, same school as the Zeerips, but I didn't get to see him wrestle because he injured him arm earlier in the tournament we were at. Yates would be a great pickup to this class, sadly, michigangrappler.com says Michigan isn't on his list at the moment. Thats liable to change though, especially with McFarland, who is an excellent recruiter.

The same goes for Kyle Elsworth, from Goodrich, who was ranked higher earlier this year, thanks to some impressive victories over other highly ranked kids, but has fell thanks to some rather unimpressive performances late in the year. He won all of his matches this year, but some of them were a little tougher than they should have been, causing him to drop in the rankings. Elsworth is also not listing Michigan, but his former teammate, Mark Weber, is there, so again, anything is possible.

I'm sure Michigan is on some more out of State kids, but I have no idea who...Perhaps they pick up some more commitments from other in state kids later as well, Robert Nash might fit in nicely, other than that, thats all I've got.

Comments

tricks574

May 13th, 2009 at 1:29 PM ^

In my mind, the best possible lineup would be.

125: Sean Boyle
133: Eric Grajales
141: Kellen Russel
149: Mark Weber
157: Coby Boyd
165: Aaron Hynes
174: Justin Zeerip
184: Hunter Collins
197: Anthony Biondo
HWY: Toss up between Phillips, Apland, and Bleske

If Grajales can't make 133, which might be a pretty tough cut, the bottom of the lineup might look more like

125: Boyle
133: Zac Stevens
141: Eric Grajales
149: Kellen Russel

And then be relatively the same from then on out. Theres no way that Boyle gets a redshirt because there is no one else to fill in at 125, they might redshirt Grajales if he can't cut to 133 and Russel won't move up from 41, because Grajales probably can't beat Russel when he comes in, if that happens Russel wil be at 41 and either Weber or Grajales would be at 49. It's hard to tell because guys can put some weight on in the offseason to try and fit in better, which is what I think happens with Boyd, Hynes, and Zeerip.

Theres no way Zeerip is at 65 this year, that cut was probably too tough for him to perform all that well last year, and without Luke there to keep him down he would logically move up, but that leaves a big hole at 165, at least for a year. I know that they signed Jake Salazar last year, but he is on a 2 year Mission and won't be on campus until the 2010 season, and he would fit in nicely at 165, so it might be a temporary move up for Boyd and Hynes with the hope that they can move back down once Salazar is on campus.

They probably won't be that good in the national tournament last year, but might end up being a better dual meet team, because they have almost no holes this year.

Elno Lewis

May 13th, 2009 at 10:00 AM ^

It's cheap, the seats are great, concessions are cheap--and unless there is a hockey game the parking isn't bad.

Have no idea of what the lineup will be next year. I really need to overhaul my wrestling fandom.

Thanks for the info, tricks! Finest kind.

tricks574

May 13th, 2009 at 1:37 PM ^

But would really like to see, David Taylor has rescinded his commitment to Iowa State, as its head coach, Cael Sanderson, has left to coach PSU. He says he is open to anywhere, but that he will definitely visit OSU and PSU. He is from Paris Graham, one of Ohio's bigger wrestling schools, and was a 4 time champ. 4 time Ohio state champ is ridiculous, especially considering Coby Boyd was the 25th ranked recruit coming out of High School and he only won 1 state championship, and took 2nd his senior year. Says he is considering Okie State, OSU, and PSU. I don't think he comes to Michigan, in fact I'd say he probably ends up at PSU and follows Sanderson, but it might be worth following, and even if he does end up there, him and Grajales could, hopefully, develop into a Metcalf-Schlatter-esque rivalry.

Elno Lewis

May 14th, 2009 at 8:52 AM ^

Did Brent Marsh just fall off the planet--run out of eligibility, or what?

Just wondering--I was following Brent's "career" when my kid was still wrestling--used to hang out with his dad at meets, and at the UM wrestling camp.

MichFan1997

June 4th, 2009 at 3:16 AM ^

Minnesota and Iowa both recently won national titles. Penn State just hired Cael Sanderson (Iowa St) as their coach. Everybody except Purdue and Michigan State was ranked last season. Michigan is a very solid team and had 1 individual national champion. A very good couple of recruits are on the way next year. I don't think Michigan has ever won a team national title, however.