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Being that you stated that…

Being that you stated that you, and most of the rest of the board, are casual fans who only watch B1G's and NCAA's you would likely know Cornell wrestling is a nationally relevant team and has quality wrestlers at nearly every weight. You would just as likely realize that outside of this season and the cancelled NCAA tournament last season, that there has been a Dean brother in the NCAA finals 4 of 5 years. So the casual fan would absolutely know the Dean name, as well as the culture of Cornell wrestling. If you don't know either, you're not a casual fan you're a random passerby who is aware of the sport but does not follow it in the slightest. The above comment is spot on. Even if by some stretch you call yourself a casual fan of a sport but don't know one of the perennial heavy hitters, theres a thing called the internet that would be happy to provide you with the information you seek to educate yourself on the matter before commenting, being that you've demonstrated competency navigating that to this website I feel confident you could figure out how to google Max or Gabe Dean.

McHenry is still simply too…

McHenry is still simply too small in my opinion. A true contender at 125 needs to weigh somewhere in the 130-135 range naturally and that weight can take awhile to put on in the correct manner. McHenry was a 113 and a small one at that when he graduated high school early. I'd say he was maybe 115 at that point so putting on a solid 20lbs may not seem like much but that's around 16% of his original mass. That mass is a major factor when it comes to the college landscape. When Michigan wrestled Northwestern, the weight advantage proved to be the difference in two matches that stand out in my memory. First was when Sebastian Rivera bumped up from 125 to take on Micic at 133. Micic absolutely thrashed Rivera 10-4 with over 3 minutes of riding time, arguably this could have been a major decision as Micic tried to beat the clock for the last takedown. Rivera would defeat Spencer Lee later in the year to capture the B1G title. The other match was Mason Parris falling to Conan Jennings. Jennings did nothing...NOTHING! (*cleansing breath*) Jennings won the bout by using his size advantage and stalling away the rest of the match. Jennings would replicate this same frustrating result later in that season. Luckily for McHenry, he is qualified for Olympic redshirt(s) as he was a cadet world champion. The postponement of the olympic games allows that redshirt to continue this season so he still has all his eligibility. It is however as they say, "getting late early" for Mr. McHenry.

133: Suriano's success at the senior level likely will cause him to sit this year out in redshirt to try to qualify for the olympics. A goal very much in reach at this point. I like Micic vs Fix a lot better than Suriano vs. Micic from a stylistic match up. Suriano is a very hard-nosed, in-your-face, hard hands style whereas Fix is less physical on his feet and poses less of a problem to a healthy Micic. Fix presents an increased level of difficulty with his riding style but Fix is serving a suspension at the senior level and is rumored to be dropping down to 125 to maximize the Oklahoma St. lineup. I would find a Fix vs. Lee match up to be very intriguing so I hope these rumors are true.

HVY: Steveson certainly isn't unbeatable and I do not put him on the same level as Spencer Lee. Cassar from Penn St. defeated Steveson twice in Steveson's freshman season by slowing the pace in the first and re-attacking. Steveson generally shows no interest in riding so the escape point should be guaranteed. Parris should curb his usual aggressive style and frustrate Steveson with a slower pace. This style will give Parris one fairly solid opening in the 3rd period to steal a victory. If Mason beats Steveson it will be 3-2 or 4-3 and he cannot be afraid to give up a stall point. That is the recipe I would use against Gable. Otherwise he is a freight train at heavyweight and he coasts to victory off of fast starts.

In code I believe he is…

In code I believe he is talking about the likes of last name is similar to multiple persons hyphenated with a word that rhymes with clones, and a guy with the last name that is the opposite of the color white, if you catch my drift

Really wanting Milton to be …

Really wanting Milton to be “The Guy” but I cannot ignore the alarming trend we are seeing: Morris was the heir in HS but was then beat out by Speight and transferred. Speight in turn was a starter, injured and then replaced by Peters(who was going to be the savior) and transferred , Peters was a “starter” and in comes Shea Patterson (thought to be the savior) so Peters transfers, Patterson graduates after some pedestrian QB play and McCaffery (former 5/ high 4 star, who will be the savior), McCaffery is beat out by Milton and now intends to transfer. QB is a volatile position on the team but who’s to say J.J. doesn’t swoop in and win the job next year, only to see Milton transfer. In fact I’m nearly counting on it based on the trend above. Hard to get am excited about a QB with our recent track record.

Projected All American is…

Projected All American is slightly different than Projected possibility of being an AA. For example Medley at 125 has possibility of AA finish projected by top 16 ranking...however being he’s ranked 16 that is not a projected All American. You may be thinking so what that’s one guy, til you realize 125(#16), 141(unranked), 149(#9), 157(#14) are all not projected to be all Americans as is. Giving Storr the benefit of the doubt at #9 that’s still 30% of the line up projected to NOT AA this year. I’m as excited as anyone for the team this season but ALL AAs is a major stretch.

Real Woods would be an…

Real Woods would be an amazing addition to the program at 141/149 but him and Joey Silva HATE each other from their Ironman finals match “Shoe Gate” 

 

As for Myles, again there’s a video from the RTC where he says “use common sense” and for me that signals 184. His Olympic weight 86kg would be 189 which is closer to a full sized 184 than a smallish 197. I’d be very surprised to see him anywhere but 184 upon return. If Jelani Emberee is in the line up, the Wolverines do not have legitimate NCAA title aspirations. It’s brutal and may be ill received but he’s not really shown anything to prove otherwise.

I personally am operating…

I personally am operating under the assumption he won’t be back in the Michigan line up until after the 2021 Olympics. I also believe if you go back and watch the personal interview with him at the RTC he pretty much says he’s going 184 when he returns, although this was late May/early June I believe so much could have changed. Regardless, I doubt he and Brucki will cross paths. Brucki/Emberee/Garcia is reallllllly intriguing less so for Emberee because Garcia is by Allen accounts ready to compete. If intrasquad happens this year Brucki vs Garcia will be the second or third best match on the docket

Bacon your redshirt comment…

Bacon your redshirt comment is a bit unclear due to the Olympic postponement to 2021 if Olympic shirts are re-issued Micic MyAmine and Massa would likely not compete this year to focus on freestyle though if we wait for them to comeback we will be due for a new 149, a weight we often struggle to fill with a quality contender. The national title  talk is a popular topic lately with a projected line up of:

Medley

Micic

Silva

Storr

Lewan

Cam Amine

Massa

Myles Amine

Brucki/Garcia

Parris

Several outlets have ranked the Wolverines #2 behind Iowa. If you have a Flo account the latest FRL did a side by side comparison (albeit before Brucki news broke) with Iowa taking a 7-3 edge. In a tournament setting the Wolverines will have National title contenders in Micic, Myles and Parris and all American candidates in everyone minus Medley (125 is rough, and this is not a knock on Medley.) McHenry is a wild card and being that he was a former cadet world champion he is entitled to an Olympic redshirt so he currently has all his eligibility. He’s by far the most talented 125 on roster but has had trouble adding the requisite size to compete (last competed at 113 in HS). Hopefully the season will be on and As I have already wrote through 149 I need my yearly preview. Hope to release it in October for all the wrestling fans here. Iowa’s lineup lends itself better to scoring bonus points top to bottom so I believe they have have  edge but Michigan is definitely a force this year if the season happens

Uh no, considering Michigan…

Uh no, considering Michigan beat OSU the last time they wrestled (last year). Sooooo your dumb 

I definitely think Micic…

I definitely think Micic will wrestle in college next year, at what weight I am not sure. The log jam at 133/141 is definitely a questionable topic. I also disagree with Drew Mattin redshirting this season as he could have solidified the 133 at the very least this season being that he has beat Assad multiple times in his career and Silva being possibly ineligible. Why not wrestle D. Mattin at 133 this season, Micic wrestles 133 next season while both Mattins redshirt allowing Silva to wrestle 141 (or vice versa with Micic at 141 and Silva at 133 if he comes back from the Olympics a bit heavier). That leaves an odd man out, but also allows for depth if Silva's academic issues continue. Hindsight is 20-20 though, I think Silva was anticipated this season but academics took priority, and being that he has had a tough go in the classroom which finally seems to be under control I do not think Silva will transfer.

 

As for the Massa - Myles Amine bump, this would give Michigan two real national title contenders (4 with Micic and Parris), while Cam "bites the bullet in the much deeper 165 pool containing Wick and Marinelli. This would rationalize the Cam redshirt, a true freshman thrown into the 165 field this year could be hazardous to mental and physical health. But give him a year to acclimate to college and strip away White and Joseph from the 165 pool and it becomes much more manageable. Inserting Cam next year as a solid point scorer and All-American threat really gives Michigan a shot at bringing home a national title.

 

Pending health next season's line up could look something like:

125- Medley/McHenry (All-American contenders)

133- Micic/Silva (Champ/AA contender)

141- Mattin/Mattin (AA contender)

149- Storr (AA contender)

157- Lewan (AA contender)

165- C. Amine (AA contender)

174- Massa (champ contender)

184- M. Amine (champ contender)

197- Garcia/Emberee (NCAA qualifier)

285- Parris (champ contender)

 

That's 80% of the line up contending for a championship or All-American honors

It is widely being…

It is widely being speculated that there will be a bump-domino effect for next years line up. Plugging Cam Amine in at 165 allows Massa to wrestle 174 where Mark Hall will be graduating (presumably not taking olympic redshirt), Myles Amine to 184 where Valencia will likely be graduating and covers a weaker spot (Emberee was not an NCAA qualifier last year though did look improved). Cam would wrestle a rugged 165 class but would have an outside shot at AA status. Myles and Massa would have legit shots to be NCAA champions depending on how the weight classes and health look. It gives flexibility but wrestling Cam this year is still a possibility

Cam Amine has a legit shot…

Cam Amine has a legit shot to start at 165 if he chooses. He is listed at 157 on the roster and was a 152 coming out of high school if memory serves me right. I believe he is going to redshirt this year with looks to be the full time starter at 165 next year. This year I believe he will need to add a solid 10lbs, and focus on getting acclimated to the college landscape. I also don't believe he would beat Lewan this year. While he did beat Facundo in UTB, I recommend you watch the match. Amine should have been hit for stalling at least twice in the final OT, nonetheless Amine was in the match start to finish with one of the top wrestlers in the country in Facundo and that lends high praise to his match management.

Not saying you’re wrong but…

Not saying you’re wrong but Gaige being the #4 197 pound wrestler in the negation, and Michigan’s high need for a top tier 197 I doubt he bulks up to a reasonable football playing weight. He will likely top out around 205. It’s a healthy cut and makes him a full bodied 197, but any more would likely cause performance to suffer. 205 isn’t a great playing weight for a big ten running back

Well for the "Charbonnet or…

Well for the "Charbonnet or Turner" debate, I believe the answer is now yes. Charbonnet/Turner with Tru Wilson as a 3rd down change-of-pace back/ garbage time carries similar to last years Higdon/Evans and Wilson in the same role

Ohio State loses Micah…

Ohio State loses Micah Jordan, Joey McKenna, and Myles Martin. Returning Kollin Moore along with great recruiting they are still a top 5 team. Penn State loses Nolf, Nickal, Rasheed, and potentially Cassar, but returning Joseph, Hall and Lee along with Cael and recruiting still makes them the team to beat. BUT...Michigan returns every key starter not named Pantaleo (but do return a RS FR that beat Pantaleo twice). Michigan is better suited to beat both teams in 2019-2020 than they were this year. To your point the 2020 class will be a major key to future success, as we will need to replace Myles Amine, Logan Massa, and Stevan Micic.

I want to first say I enjoy…

I want to first say I enjoy watching Mattin, and I know this is an unpopular opinion, but it would be best if Mattin was usurped after his junior year. Mattin is a solid piece of the line up, but is still a tier lower than All-American status, while soon-to-be freshmen Kurt McHenry is a two time Cadet world champion and has a much higher ceiling. Kurt needs to add quite a bit of weight (around 15-20lbs) but has enrolled early, which is a bit unique in Wrestling, to take advantage of the weight program. Mattin will be our 125 in 2019-2020, but in a perfect world McHenry takes over after that. Cole Matin (also an incoming freshmen) is a head scratching addition other than family ties and Zack (Youngest brother who won a state title in Ohio’s small school division) has a lot of potential but at this point in time there are several better options for Michigan.

Great Family, but it’s a bit lofty to say they will be stocking Michigan’s weight classes for a decade

He was wearing a large knee…

He was wearing a large knee brace yesterday and did start the year with a knee injury. I think this is more of a precaution than an injury but I definitely think Micic is not 100% more like 75-85%.

A very disappointing session…

A very disappointing session #2 as Mattin drops a not as close as it seems dec to Oliver from Indiana, Micic medical defaulted in the semis, Storr loses to Red (I expect him to be 4th now that he isn’t in the finals). Amine (149) wrestled better than expected with close bouts against Ashnault and Martin, Pantaleo, Massa, Myles went all as expected so far. Jelani Emberee and Jackson Striggow were major let downs as Emberee continues to look like he doesn’t care to score points and Striggow goes 0-2. Parris is a freshmen and it showed, he needs to learn some serious match management as it cost him a victory over the still frustrating Jennings, and then again in his wrestle-back. Overall this is a major disappointment of a showing, all the way from top to bottom. With this showing the team is no where near a top 3 finish. I am really hoping that major changes are on the horizon (lineup wise not coaching, Bormet is fantastic). This years recruiting class leaves a lot to be desired with a few bright spots. Incoming we have Cole Mattin (won a state championship last year in OH D3, but failed to repeat) who does not fit an immediate need anywhere and is a bit of a head scratcher in general other than family ties, Cameron Amine (won his 3rd title this year and will be a contributor but slots in as a 165/174...pretty solid in that area right now. Nevertheless he is a solid get) Noah Comar (won his 2nd title in Michigan this year but slots in as a 125/133 along with Kurt McHenry, I don’t expect Comar will ever be varsity though I’m hoping he makes me eat my words because that would mean he made major jumps) Kurt McHenry (fantastic grab but did not show well at who’s number 1, and may have slid back a little in the development category, is still a 2 time cadet world champion. Slots in as a 125/133 and doubtful but not impossible he beats Mattin in year one, after that it’s likely he is our 125) Patrick Nolan (adds to the Never won a title, back-up logjam at 149 more than likely, or he’s a career back-up at 141, no clue why he is a scholarship wrestler at Michigan).

with Ncaas on the horizon I expect we will get All-American honors from Micic, Pantaleo, Massa, and Amine with Storr the only other likely candidate. Going into next season I’d like to see a line up look something like this

125: Mattin/McHenry

133: Micic

141: Silva

149: Storr

157: Lewan

165: Cam Amine

174: Massa

184: Myles Amine

197: Emberee I guess

HVY: Parris

A LOT of weight changes I know but if no weight changes:

125: Mattin/McHenry

133: Micic

141: Storr

149: ??? Malik’s back-up (Ouch)

157: Lewan

165: Massa

174: Myles

184: Emberee

197: Striggow again?

HVY: Parris

I should clarify: Penn State…

I should clarify: Penn State will be favored to repeat as NCAA champions, not B1G, though had Nolf wrestled all the way through, Penn St would be returning B1G champs as well. 

As for Nickal, I’d bet a nickle (see what I did there) that if he were to concentrate full time on freestyle he will edge out an aging and oft injured Jden Cox.

as for PSU wrestlers at world levels, Zain Retherford is still up and coming but made the 2017 world team  and Frank Mollinaro has been an Olympian as well as 3rd at the Yarygin and the PanAms.

Michigan beating Ohio St. in…

Michigan beating Ohio St. in the dual means very little in a tournament setting. Tournament scoring favors those that routinely produce bonus at several weights. For Michigan: Malik Amine, Jackson Striggow, Jelani Emberee, and Kanen Storr do not usually produce bonus on top of that Mattin and Parris will have stacked fields and will be in survive and advance mode after the first round. With 40% of the team not consistently producing bonus, in my opinion (which is just like my opinion, bro) the edge goes to Ohio State in a tournament setting. It is certainly possible that we finish above OSU, given some of my above predictions

Major needs at 197 and 149…

Major needs at 197 and 149 for next year. My hope is Storr bulks up to 149 and Silva Slides in at 141. Be Nice if Michigan could jump into the Ferrari brothers’ recruitments. Kind of concerning that Myles Amine is yet again out of the line up. 

Mattin would not have…

Mattin would not have changed the score any way, Foley has majored him twice at least in their multiple meetings and I believe Foley majored Mattin this year (not 100% sure it was this season though). Good win, MSU is the Rutgers Football of Wrestling.

ASU 165 Josh Shields is…

ASU 165 Josh Shields is ranked #11 in the country, I assume that was the “more shocking” upset, however Massa still just has not been the same since the the 2017 CKLV invite. 

And for the love of God you don’t play wrestling. I’m not the grammar police, but in the Wrestling community saying “play Wrestling” or “players” etc is the equivalent of saying baseball players hit a touchdown. Just trying to help you out. You don’t play wrestling you wrestle, they are wrestlers not players. Thank you for the update, hopefully Lewan gets healthy and Pantaleo slides in at 149 going forward

*wrestler not player, you…

*wrestler not player, you don’t play wrestling.

And I believe Ready was average, IIRC he has a victory over a top 20 opponent this year and without looking would bet he has a decent record but he definitely doesn’t stand out. Wrestling in the B1G is extremely competitive, even the open tournaments Michigan wrestled in usually have 2 or 3 nationally ranked wrestlers in each weight. Parris has without a doubt been the best heavyweight on the roster however high school wrestling is very different than college wrestling, and there is a learning curve. Parris also came in as a former high school 220 so there is always injury concern and weight that needs to be added to preform at 285

Several Freshmen redshirt…

Several Freshmen redshirt part of the season to get acclimated to the college level. Spencer Lee (Iowa national champion at 125 and former #1 overall recruit) did the same last year.

Correct, Pantaleo and Paris…

Correct, Pantaleo and Paris made the semi-final tomorrow afternoon. Silva, Freeman and Davison need one more win to place. As for Micah, news probably hasn’t hit him yet but when it does I bet he has nightmares about Pantaleo’s blast double for weeks

Probably right but weight…

Probably right but weight change is not exactly front page news. If Pantaleo makes the midlands finals and downs Kolodzik that timingwill be good

Agreed, Malik Amine was the…

Agreed, Malik Amine was the obvious weak spot of this team. I have said before and will say again, Pantaleo at 149 is a NCAA champion contender. Hope to see him take on nationally ranked #1 Kolodzik in the midlands finals.

According to Sam Webb there…

According to Sam Webb there were some racially charged comments at UGA and that might allow immediate playing time

Emotions are high right now…

Emotions are high right now and it’s no one person’s fault. But I’m going to single out Zach Gentry and highlight 3 plays that dicked us. 1. Dropped TD pass(obviously took 7points off the board) 2. Dropped pass for a first down on 3rd and long low pass, but tough shit it hit him square in the hands. Following play OSU blocks punt for TD. 3. Third major drop of the day. Next play OSU intercepts Patterson throwing the ball away. Again no one persons fault but Gentry stamped a lot of grief on this game. Now I’m going to keep drinking until I pass out and hide my internet connections so I don’t make a bigger fool of myself.

MAC schools were only a few…

MAC schools were only a few of his options, he has interest from the Ivy League and as much as Michigan is a top tier education, so is the Ivy League. So he can get a world class education AND be an immediate major contributor. That’s much greener than he would have seen here. Now his Crystal Balls seem to be going towards Cincinnati for now and while it isn’t Michigan level of school or football, it’s still greener for him to play and get a good education.

Greener pastures is kind of…

Greener pastures is kind of a relative term there don’t you think? Greener pastures as in a better overall team...most likely not as Michigan sits at #4 in the country with the #1 defense in the country. However greener for the recruit is definitely possible with several options. Say he comes here and we net either Harrison or Karalaftis and believe me I firmly believe we get both but for arguments sake say we just get one. Currently Woods is listed as a DE, so he most likely sits behind Harrison/Karalaftis, Kwity Paye, Possibly Luigi Villain, and likely one or two other DE commits in his class. Some speculate he is going to grow into a DT which okay but he’s still most likely behind Mazi Smith and Hinton in his class, Dwumfour, Solomon, and probably a few others. He could go to a school like a MAC school and be an immediate major contributor. In that case he found a greener pasture getting more playing time than he’d likely see in his first few years at Michigan. 

Well, Colorado just fired…

Well, Colorado just fired their coach, USC looks to do the same, Oregon already looks full at WR. Things seem to be lining up for Michigan, Washington is still a major threat and most expect he ends up at USC  but I think this is more a 3 horse race. He’d have to build new relationships with new coaches at Colorado, and presumably USC.

Lehigh was ranked #6 btw so…

Lehigh was ranked #6 btw so this is quite the victory

Even if Brohm doesn’t leave…

Even if Brohm doesn’t leave Purdue this year, as far as Karalaftis is concerned, how long before he does? Florida St is a tire fire for the second season in a row, hard to imagine them being good next year, USC looks awful this year and may fire their coach by years end. There will always be greener pastures (compared to Purdue) calling Brohm offering a big contract, better recruiting pool, etc. This bodes well for us. Iin my opinion, seems like the table is being set to swoop in and take both Karalaftis and Zach Harrison

Brice Marich has now…

Brice Marich has now followed suit

Honestly we may have seen…

Honestly we may have seen wrestle off #2 and 3 meaning Pantaleo won the non public wrestle off, Lewan winning today evened it up and then Pantaleo took the rubber match. That is a common practice however there’s no real way of telling

Pantaleo wins 4-2 over Lewan…

Pantaleo wins 4-2 over Lewan in their second wrestle off

Also with a second wrestle…

Also with a second wrestle off is Pantaleo vs. Lewan

Apparently there was a…

Apparently there was a second 149 wrestle off between Amine and Lamantia of which Amine wins 2-1

Parris secures a 11-2 major…

Parris secures a 11-2 major decision and caps the Maize and Blue inter squad scrimmage. Lots of excitement for this team! 

Granted I did expect Embree…

Granted I did expect Embree to dominate the bout, I feel like he has All American potential after watching this match. Especially with Nickal moving up to 197

Striggow wins 5-1 

Striggow wins 5-1 

Embree with a 15-0 first…

Embree with a 15-0 first period tech fall, that was thoroughly impressive.

Lewan with a big time…

Lewan with a big time shocker taking out Pantaleo 2-1 after Pantaleo had to use injury time. Impressive that a true Freshman just took out a returning 5th year senior All American. Maybe now Pantaleo would consider dropping to 149 more seriously

Amine wins a close match…

Amine wins a close match with a 3-1 decision

Storr beats Mars 7-4 after a…

Storr beats Mars 7-4 after a slow start.

Mattin leads 5-0 (with a…

Mattin leads 5-0 (with a locked in riding time point). I am quite impressed with Mattin through this bout, he really is backing up his #12 ranking. I did not give Mattin enough credit it seems. 

You’re very welcome! Thank…

You’re very welcome! Thank you for reading. I expect Bormet to do very well as Head Coach, with Cameron Amine committed already and Facundo a local product that hopefully remains home it looks like Bormet will have a lot to work with going forward. Another top 5 finish is likely this year, too 3 if some new faces produce.

A bit of bad news 141 is now…

A bit of bad news 141 is now a bout between Storr and Mars rather than Silva so I expect Storr to thoroughly dominate. Looks like the plan may be to redshirt Silva this year and go into next year with a line up that looks something like McHenry(125), Micic(133), Silva(141), Storr(149). The 174 bout is off as well, while I understand that one a little more (Amine is the unquestioned starter and is getting ready for a college wrestling classic held in Denver in early/mid November) it still would have been nice to see him compete. That is all the updates so far and was released via the Michigan Twitter handle a half hour ago