Jimmy G Tech Falled the 5th seed (Manley from Missouri) at MSG on a day that we needed it. I was there. Don't recall being disappointed.
It seems obvious now that Braedon Davis is our latest great light hope.
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The coaches and athletes should have higher standards than the fans do. It's their lives, not mine.
And so I don't get the point in calling athletes disappointments regardless of how they judge themselves. At least for their athletic careers. Off-the-mat issues, absolutely. Of which Gulibon's greatest transgression was his mullet.
(PS, Gulibon was NEVER going to be a college 125.)
Again: "disappointed for him" = supportive. "Disappointed in him" = all about the fan, not about the wrestler.
It's hard to top the mullet comment
PS - Jimmy was still 119 when he committed, but point taken.
Jonny rain cloud but Berginc is like a 25-35 guy. Not expecting points at Ncaas at 125. If RH can put it back together. Maybe. But with what we have coming in this might be Davis’ last chance
Years ago everyone on here called him a disappointment but now with time he's had a great career. Got it.
I've never called any wrestler a 'disappointment', PSU or otherwise. Stepping on the mat while balancing schoolwork and life events is incredibly difficult and worthy of our respect, not scorn.
JG had 75 career victories in a PSU singlet, and 25 of those were ranked wins. He was an All-American and sacrificed for the team by bumping up a weight for his final 2 years. By all accounts, he was an excellent teammate and hard worker. Maybe that's disappointing for you, but I would be envious of such a career.
I don't want to hijack this thread, but the thing that impressed me most about watching Braeden Davis wrestle these last 2 weeks is his moxie. Sure, he's shown some great wrestling skills. But what really impresses me is:
1. Mat awarenesss.
2. Sense of how to use leverage
3. Unwillingness to back down.
Number 1 can be learned through experience. 2 and 3 are innate in who you are.
Those are the three things that I always look for in a young wrestler and this kid has it in spades. I thought coming into the season that he would need a year to physically mature. Maybe I got sucked in by his baby face. I think he is ready to go and will be the guy that goes.
Now, return to debating the career og Jimmy G.
1. Mat awarenesss.
2. Sense of how to use leverage
3. Unwillingness to back down.
Number 1 can be learned through experience. 2 and 3 are innate in who you are.
Those are the three things that I always look for in a young wrestler and this kid has it in spades. I thought coming into the season that he would need a year to physically mature. Maybe I got sucked in by his baby face. I think he is ready to go and will be the guy that goes.
Now, return to debating the career og Jimmy G.
Unreal.
This kid is a freshman, he just beat RANKED wrestlers BACK TO BACK and WON a tournament for Penn State at 125.
So far, we have seen people:
Claim he needs to redshirt
Insult his potential and claim Howard has more.
Tell him this is his last chance
Outright ignore his accomplishments
Compare Robert Howard to wrestlers he has nothing in common with
Demand an unreasonable finish to his season in order to justify his spot in the lineup
Are you even Penn State fans? This kid has earned his position and he doesn't need to do one damn thing different in March than anyone else.
It's time for some of you to stop with the Robbie posts. Davis is our 125.
I don’t think it’s been quite that bad. There’s a difference between analysis and calling someone a disappointment. I was impressed with Davis and can’t wait to see what he does next. I’m very happy he chose PSU when he didn’t even have us in his list. But I’m also not going to stop rooting for Robbie who has been through a ton.
It's possible to root for them both. I'm sorry but I'm not feeling that at the moment from some of us.
I agree that I have been impressed with 1-3 above, especially his willingness to physically engage w Berginc when he was trying to intimidate him. Pretty good moxy for a true freshman. I’d add a 4th point - I don’t think he’s given up a TD yet in his 7 matches! Pretty impressive start.
I like Davis because he has a solid right hook. Berginc is dirty and Braeden wasn't having any of it.
HE was never a disappointment. I'm certain that he didn't achieve goals that he set for himself, which I'm sure was disappointing to HIM. But, for a fan to call a college kid a disappointment?
I hurt for that kid. It was fans, after all, who put pressure on him over and above the pressure he was putting on himself.
And, if he doesn't live up to the hype, some will call him a disappointment.
To my eye after watching him over the past two weekends, he needs to work on his setups so he doesn't wind up shooting from too far out and to get stronger. He certainly is tenacious and hard-working. He looks like a kid who will benefit tremendously from a redshirt year.
Or it might not be. One scenario: Davis starts this year and next. Lilledahl shirts next year. Davis shirts the following year, then takes over for Nagao.
I think a bad case of HEW began to set in around Jimmy's junior year. That can be as tough to overcome as some injuries.
Hot Evil Women have derailed many athletic careers
I too would be envious, but I wasn't a 4 time PIAA champion. I also think the word "disappointment" is the incorrect one, EXPECTATION may be the word we're looking for, any 4 time PIAA state champ would be "expected" to be more than a one time place winner at nationals if one is being honest.
I would have gladly sacrificed my crappy wrestling career for a few hot evil women
We have all seen a much better version of Robbie with our own two eyes. I think it is way too premature for us to get collective amnesia. He may yet surprise this season, of not maybe next year.
The awesome news is the obvious potential we have now seen with Davis. Very exciting.
I think without a doubt the question of 'will we have a national qualifier at 125 this year' has been resolved. Anything above say R16 remains speculation, but it's a long season and there will be more development.
Likewise, even if Robbie doesn't get his mojo back until next year, we will have two solid choices (maybe 3 with Gibson) to give Lilledahl a redshirt year.
I feel for Robbie, and no, I am far from Branding him the next Jimmy G based upon a few weeks of work after 2+ years of pain and hardship. The kid was a blue chipper, and that level of potential is most likely still in there, just further away than we had all hoped.
The awesome news is the obvious potential we have now seen with Davis. Very exciting.
I think without a doubt the question of 'will we have a national qualifier at 125 this year' has been resolved. Anything above say R16 remains speculation, but it's a long season and there will be more development.
Likewise, even if Robbie doesn't get his mojo back until next year, we will have two solid choices (maybe 3 with Gibson) to give Lilledahl a redshirt year.
I feel for Robbie, and no, I am far from Branding him the next Jimmy G based upon a few weeks of work after 2+ years of pain and hardship. The kid was a blue chipper, and that level of potential is most likely still in there, just further away than we had all hoped.
Yes, I mostly agree. Expectation makes more sense than disappointment in this context. Still, I'd wager nobody had higher hopes for JG than himself.
I mean, is his ceiling potentially higher? Based on what?
People's expectations are off the charts. Davis is a top recruit and already showing his potential in November. We all know that Penn State wrestlers peak in March. His ceiling is very high, even for a true freshman. Will he take his lumps? Probably, but that's part of the process sometimes.
Overall, this is fair, at least the first part.
Davis had a close win over a sophomore ranked around #30. He has yet to face a really quality opponent, so the brakes should be tapped a bit. However, Berginc is a tough kid and a good test for Davis. Davis passed that test, while showing some grit, toughness, and skill along the way. Better than most of us expected for a true frosh that wasn't a top 30 recruit. He's been a pleasant surprise so far, but to your point no one should expect a deep run at B1G or NCAA tourneys. Though at least Davis might be good enough to qualify for NCAAs.
Longer term, a spot for Davis in the lineup may depend on whether LL redshirts his first year and how long Nagao stays at 133. But there may be some avenues.
Howard has earned at least the right to compete for the starting position. He has worked hard to get back on the mat. Can he regain his old form and remain healthy.
This one might not be decided until close to the end of the season. But Cael has to like what he sees in Davis.
This one might not be decided until close to the end of the season. But Cael has to like what he sees in Davis.
With the caveat that the coaches have plenty more data points than we do, if history is a useful guide, they will leave their options open until the rules force their hand and then go with the best guy, who, right now at least, appears to be Davis by a clear margin. Howard and others might see spot duty before that point but Davis is the only guy this year at 125 who has given any indication that he can enter the AA conversation.
You may wait a long while if your criteria for a quality opponent is much higher than Berginc. Davis knocked off Berginc and Lujan back-to-back - that carries some weight this year where 125 is a complete sh*tshow. To wit:
- Ramos lost to a HS kid
- Brandon McCrone beat the crap out of the #4 ranked wrestler in the country (Ventresca). McCrone didn't come close to beating Lujan (lost 1-6)
- Kysen Tekurina just whipped #5 ranked Eric Barnett 14-3
- Journeyman Brandon Kaylor just beat Drake Ayala despite having 3 losses (Jett Strickenberger, Spencer Moore and a 0:29 second fall to Barnett) in his last 7 matches. His best win before Ayala in that stretch was a 5-4 decision over a D3 wrestler from Roanoke.
It's pretty obvious that the very top guys are probably Ramos, Camacho, Figueroa (who doesn't seem to wrestle), and Noto. And they are not all that good - certainly not a list you would consider National Champ quality. Maybe Spratley and Dean Peterson will join that list. Maybe Ayala, but he's a one-trick pony at this point with no mat game. Maybe Poulin? McKee? McKee is just as likely to beat them all as he is to lose to #30.
Everybody else, including Berginc, is in a mashup of 20 or so guys who could find themselves in the R12 with the right draw. You have a true freshman who just beat two of those guys back-to-back in his first two weeks of competition. I'd say that is a cause for optimism, not Debbie downer-ism.
It's the year of opportunity at 125 and it would be nice to have someone who has a shot to take advantage of that. Before the season, I thought it would be Robbie. After seeing him in person the first week, I was extremely pessimistic as he was MILES away from being that guy. Really no change in his 2nd week's performance. Maybe he can get back to near his potential but that is going to be a very long-term thing.
As Tikk pointed out, the coach's history suggests that they will push this right up to the max 5 events before they burn any RSs. So nothing is definitive until the second semester. But right now all signs point to Davis when that time comes.
I hope whomever goes post season has enough matches to fall under the NCAA qualification guidelines. Don't want to see anyone miss out cause the matches were too spread out.
Im gonna guess this will be decided right after Davis’s 5 th comp date. If he goes after that, there’s a good chance he is our guy.
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