5 seed at 125 on the move.

[KCLion]

Bullshit - you want to base everything on "last year"..... seedings weren't based on last year's performances - they're based on 2023 performances - neither McKee or DeAugustino wrestled remotely like an AA in 2023 as evidenced by their initial seed or their performance at Nationals. In terms of 2023 performance (including the best barometer, NCAAs) - McKee looked like a low-level top-20 guy and DeAugustino UR. You mention performances at "B1Gs".... again, the B1G had 9 placements at 125 - only 5 made R12 (and only 3 AAs).

Wasn’t DeAugustino hurt most of the year?!

 

[Random4598375]

A half that didn't include McKee or DeAugustino - neither remotely sniffed the R12. You want to claim all b1g placements are fringe All-Americans..... they're not.

The ones that actually have AA’d in their careers are. LOL.

 

[mcpat]

He had wins over the 3 and 6 seeds. You can say he didn’t wrestle to seed in the tournament, but it’s hard to argue his regular season didn’t deserve the seed he got.

 

[PAHURDLER]

Wasn’t DeAugustino hurt most of the year?!

I believe so, and it was mentioned/speculated that he was still significantly injured heading into NCAAs but maybe that was overstated at the time.

 

[GogglesPaizano]

One thing I can say about the portal past and present is that we are likely to land kids who above all else, really want to go to PSU. There is a lot of money out there, and I suspect Cael will be on the lower end of what he is willing or able to offer. With more top 4 wrestlers on our squad than any other the 9.9 has the be largely committed, whereas some other lesser programs may be able to offer guys like Truax a full ride. Out of state tuition for PSU is also at the high end of the spectrum, which doesn't help when offering partials.

Of course NIL may be a game changer, but it too can either help or hurt from that point of view.

The bottom line is it is doubtful that we will be near the top financially. I really believe that. So every time a big name hits the portal we should pump the brakes just a tad in terms of expectations.

I find it serendipitous that our 'potential' needs at 125, 133, maybe 157 and 184/197 depending on where Aaron goes, has some pretty good alignment with who's out there, but despite the power Cael has, he simply can't pick off the shelf like shopping at the store. Most likely whomever we get will choose to get less money, for everything else PSU brings to the table on the mat. That's the kind of kid we want anyway.

I do think we will get 1-2 kids but I don't see any including Truax or Smith as slam dunks.

 

[mcpat]

PSU is paying academic progress money. It’s almost $6k per year. I imagine the Ohio State’s and Michigan’s are doing the same, but I think you have to have a pretty healthy athletic budget (i.e. lots of football revenue) to be doing it. It’s not considered scholarship money.

Anyone know more about it than me?

 

[CSauertiegPSU]

I disagree with the sentiment, 'we don't need the portal because we won by 55 points'.

At this point, we have no idea what our lineup will look like next year. I'm not sure Cael does either. The top-3 NCAA finishers at each weight are eligible for an Olympic RS. Obviously, we are looking at a punt year if all six decide to take that route, but we can still be competitive without 1 or 2 of them by recruiting the portal.

As for Smith, he might not guarantee enough points to make a difference. I'll leave that up to Cael.

I’m agreement here. Think you gotta continue to stack points. Nothing is a given and who knows who does or doesn’t come back and who does or doesn’t get injured. Say Iowa throws a ton of money at Griffith and Ferrari. Do you really wanna rest on your laurels and hope that’s enough?

 

[CJFisJoePaII]

PSU is paying academic progress money. It’s almost $6k per year. I imagine the Ohio State’s and Michigan’s are doing the same, but I think you have to have a pretty healthy athletic budget (i.e. lots of football revenue) to be doing it. It’s not considered scholarship money.

Anyone know more about it than me?

I think "living allowances" are allowed to be paid to scholarship athletes.... they probably require them to make academic progress to get it.

 

[mcpat]

I think "living allowances" are allowed to be paid to scholarship athletes.... they probably require them to make academic progress to get it.

Yes - there was a court case. Each school can come up with its own meaning of academic performance. PSU is paying it to both scholarship and non-scholarship athletes. At close to $6k per year per athlete… I wonder how many are doing it. It’s a perk.

NCAA schools falling short on cash-for-grades pay

With colleges allowed to pay each of their athletes up to $5,980 per year as a reward for academic performance, only 22 of 130 FBS-level schools have plans in place to do so, according to information gathered by ESPN.

www.espn.com

 

[Psugo823]

doesn't matter who PSU gets if Howard is healthy they still have to beat him!

Is Howard healthy? When will he be wrestling next?

 

[zzs006]

I don’t think is Smith is a need but I absolutely hope PSU is in on Cannon. He fits perfectly as a 1 year starter while Davis is able to redshirt. Robbie at 125 and Cannon at 133 looks great. Hopefully Truax comes as well. Pretty sure after his visit he will see that PSU is the best place for him to reach his goals. With those 2 transfers the lineup looks as good as it ever has

125-Howard
133-Cannon
141-Bartlett
149-SVN
157-Levi or Bearclaw. If Levi can’t make 157 he redshirts
165-Facundo
174-Starocci
184-Truax
197-AB
Heavyweight-Kerk

 

[Cali_Nittany]

Yes - there was a court case. Each school can come up with its own meaning of academic performance. PSU is paying it to both scholarship and non-scholarship athletes. At close to $6k per year per athlete… I wonder how many are doing it. It’s a perk.

NCAA schools falling short on cash-for-grades pay

With colleges allowed to pay each of their athletes up to $5,980 per year as a reward for academic performance, only 22 of 130 FBS-level schools have plans in place to do so, according to information gathered by ESPN.

www.espn.com

Wow, I didn't know about this. Another reason why I love this board.