Is Penn State Freshman Levi Haines a Title Contender at 157 Pounds?
- Thread starter NittanyLion84
- Start date
He is a very talented freshman who is still young, if you asked me right now and looking at the weight class I’d say he’s an AA. Let’s see some more quality competition and a tad bit more strength training and come March he may be standing atop one of the weaker weight classes.
*i may get crucified for the strength training seeing as Cael (in a recent interview, i havent watched but have read the scuttlebutt) says he’s not long for 157, however against Model i would have thought he was 150.
But i do think that 157 is a wide open race. I think JD says it best, no one would be surprised if he won just like no one would be surprised if he was R12 and lost to a guy like hall
*i may get crucified for the strength training seeing as Cael (in a recent interview, i havent watched but have read the scuttlebutt) says he’s not long for 157, however against Model i would have thought he was 150.
But i do think that 157 is a wide open race. I think JD says it best, no one would be surprised if he won just like no one would be surprised if he was R12 and lost to a guy like hall
This kid looked pretty damn strong last week...those shots he just cranked looked a lot like Zain to me and Zain was plenty strong...
If he gets beat it ain't gonna be because of strength.
If he gets beat it ain't gonna be because of strength.
Will Lewan might be about the best measure for how high the ceiling is this year. If he can score on a guy that keeps excellent position, doesn't give up many tds, and puts opponents and wrestling fans to sleep -- then, maybe Haines is a legit threat.
Boy, Askren really likes Levi. He's usually not so complimentary with PSU guys but he was gushing on him during today's show.
Most substantive part of the video was near then end, when Askren scratched his pit.
I think you hate Askren more than I hate Iowa. Lol. Did you catch Askren a couple weeks ago mentioned that Cael called him to get his opinion about something. Ben said he gave it then asked Cael what he thought about it. Cael wouldn't answer him.. lol
I saw your name as the most recent post and I knew you were going to say something of this sort. Disappointed in you jmadden, you usually are unpredictable but recently have been very.
Yeah, Ben definitely knows wrestling but is there anyone on earth that needs a tripple dose of Adderall more?
It's impossible for him to stay focused, and his worst habit is watching other match video while taking about subject A only to blurt out something in reaction to what he is watching, and take the whole conversation down road B, sometimes never to return to where the conversation was going before his outburst.
Don't get me wrong, I like Ben, but you have to agree he needs a leash, he is a verbal stream of consciousness overflowing at all times. Too bad the rest of the guys are too afraid of him.
Ben is at his best when dissecting high level wrestling moves and positional strategy, not to mention, training, conditioning, diet, rest and all of the things you need to do to perform away a high level. His insights can be special, and noone online is better.
For years he was pretty jealous of Cael and definitely leaned towards being a PSU critic. Lately I have seen him turn over a new leaf. I think he gets it. What we are seeing from Cael is a generational product that as a wrestling connoisseur you have to acknowledge and enjoy. Cael's time will come to an end and it really does make sense to recognize what we are seeing, and appreciate it before this era has passed.
My personal opinion is SVN is underrated mostly due to two losses to top ranked talent, and Levi is a bit over rated due the lack of the same opportunities. What is very clear is they are both hammers at the very beginning of great careers learning in the best program ever. Both will likely be national champs, it's more a matter of when.
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Don't really hate him. He says some dumb things sometimes, but IMO he's playing a role on that show. Just saying the entire clip was a waste.
Funny story about Cael!
He’s the Alex Meyer of 2023!
He also said Bo Nickal as a Sophomore didn’t have a leg attack
I will be, when Haines tech falls him in the 1st round in Tulsa.
I’d be more surprised if Lewan shot more than once in a match than I would be of seeing Levi wrestling Saturday night, but both are less than 10%.
I call BS to your "I hate Iowa" mantra. I see you over there having fun poking and more importantly being poked while having fun. Face it, having a good rival is fun and sparing with rival fans is a blast.
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The way Cael and company improve the wrestlers during the year - and prep them for NCAAs - if he stays at 57 I'm predicting he will make it to the B10 finals as long as he's not on the same side of the bracket as Robb (then I predict 3rd), which will ensure a legit seeding for NCAAs. I think Robb is a legit title contender but everyone else could be top 8 or suffer an upset and run into a shit storm wrestling their way through the cons brackets. I was definitely not impressed with Coleman this weekend even if he let his guard down a bit against Iowa. All of that said, since this year's title is almost a given and this kid is a legit contender going forward, Cael might want to keep him in reserve, give him another full year in the room and then watch him in the out years...if he still has one more match to keep his shirt. Great problem to have!!
Off topic. You spoke earlier about wanting to come to State College for a match. Are you coming up for the Iowa match?The way Cael and company improve the wrestlers during the year - and prep them for NCAAs - if he stays at 57 I'm predicting he will make it to the B10 finals as long as he's not on the same side of the bracket as Robb (then I predict 3rd), which will ensure a legit seeding for NCAAs. I think Robb is a legit title contender but everyone else could be top 8 or suffer an upset and run into a shit storm wrestling their way through the cons brackets. I was definitely not impressed with Coleman this weekend even if he let his guard down a bit against Iowa. All of that said, since this year's title is almost a given and this kid is a legit contender going forward, Cael might want to keep him in reserve, give him another full year in the room and then watch him in the out years...if he still has one more match to keep his shirt. Great problem to have!!
Also jmadden probably:
“Watch out for Andy McCulley.”
“Watch out for Keaton Subjeck.”
“Watch out for Christian Brucki.”
“Watch out for Brock Zacheryl.”
“Watch out for Ben Thornton.”
“Watch out for Donnell Washington.”
Most PSU freshman standouts have a “he ain’t all that” loss that gets tossed around HR and other dark corners of the interwebs as proof that they aren’t ready for the podium
Probably has roots in the “watch out for Paul Jenn” movement of the late ‘90s
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Ahhh, and there is the recipe for Cael's secret sauce. The outlier loss that makes everyone think that PSU won't keep the Ruth and Taylor streak going, and then
Askren likes guys who attack to score instead of attack just to hand fight and wear guys out or hope to get stalling calls. SVN is the latter while Haines is the former. I happen to be very high on both guys but they are very different styles. I think Haines could be a monster point scorer down the road (a very short road). SVN will probably win a national title at some point as well, but most of his scoring will come later in matches after he has broken his opponent. The topic at hand asks if he is a contender, and I think more information is needed at this point. He is certainly going to be in the near future if he isn't already.
Good assessment. Not sure if I'm convinced about the take on SVN. He has had very little mat time in the last two years between the broken ankle his senior year of high school and the 2 red shirt matches last year. He was a prolific scorer in high school...but so was Beau Bartlett. Time will tell us all.
Yeah, it seems to me you’re basing your assessment of SVN’s style on his 2 elite matchups this year. That was definitely the SVN we saw vs Johnson and Gomez, but he shoots to score early and often under that tier. He just needs to develop the confidence to do the same against the highly skilled/athletic guys. Or not. DT never really poured the points on vs Dake.
I expect huge jumps from this year to next for SVN, Levi, and Facundo. Seems like most guy’s have their biggest jump between their freshman and sophomore seasons where they have a year of actual on mat experience to learn and grow from. SVN and Facundo will continue to become more offensive and Levi will just become more consistent. Levi at his best is absolutely in the conversation to win a national title but we haven’t seen him compete at that level match in and match out. Like Askren said about Levi’s loss to Zerban, freshman lose stupid matches sometimes. I think he needs to wrestle every match from here on out because that is only going to help him get more comfortable and by Big 10’s he will be the guy no one wants to wrestle
First, are we sure that they're even going to pull the shirt yet?
Next, yes, given that the weight is relatively weak and not very deep, he is a contender this year if he pulls the shirt. A favorite? Probably not as a freshman, but probably has about as good of a chance as Starocci did as a freshman, which is to say, it would be an upset, but it's not inconceivable.
Next, yes, given that the weight is relatively weak and not very deep, he is a contender this year if he pulls the shirt. A favorite? Probably not as a freshman, but probably has about as good of a chance as Starocci did as a freshman, which is to say, it would be an upset, but it's not inconceivable.
yea he is never real big PSU wrestlers because they win so much!
Not to mention a high paced attack vs Gomez guarantees someone’s heels will be flying. SVN was wise to push but not necessarily attack.
Vs Paniro, who can attack when you are busy just trying to touch the opponent.
Starocci lost 7-2 to Kem...then 2 weeks later beat him in ot. This is the thing that Cael dies that nobody else can...remember that when it comes to Levi this March
