I just received a letter from Casey that addresses many of the things we talk about on this board. He clarifies who they are recruiting, what weights various guys will go this year and other things. Very through and definitive. Here it is.
Penn State Wrestling Fans!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We have officially started classes and will soon be into our preseason training for what will be our tenth year here at Penn State as a staff. It was a great summer with many things to be excited about going into this 2018-19 season. Most of the guys chose to stay here and train for a good part of the summer and a lot of the incoming freshmen were here in summer school so they also had the opportunity to train here in State College. They are all getting excited to get things officially started. We are once again going to have an exciting group of returning guys and are also going to get to see some exciting new wrestlers.
First up though is Brady Berge who was a redshirt freshman for us last year. Brady made the Jr. World Freestyle Team and will be competing in the World Championship in the third week of September in Slovakia. In addition, former Penn State Wrestler David Taylor made his first Sr. level world team and will be competing in Hungary this October trying to capture a World Title. These two guys put in a lot of time this summer and many of the other guys on the team and in the club put in time to help them get ready to go win their respective weights at the World Championships.
After the World Championship, we will be a few short weeks away from our first Penn State match of the year. We have a lot of work to do from now until then but we are excited about the team we have this year. You cannot replace a guy like Zain Retherford, as he is one of the best wrestlers in NCAA history, but it gives other guys a chance to step up and contribute and that is exciting. Every year is different with new faces and this year is no exception to that with several weight classes where we will see new guys. We are also excited to continue our streak of sold out matches in Rec Hall and we look forward to a challenging away schedule as well. The schedule should be coming out soon as we are at the mercy of the Big Ten and when they decide to let us know on times and days of certain weekends. We could release the schedule before we know exact dates and times but we try to get it as close to finalized as possible before releasing it.
We get many questions about recruits and current guys on our team and what weight they are going etc so I figured I would address that. First though If you have a different plan for us and our team please let us know as we are always looking for feedback on how we should do things. Just kidding you do not need to let us know, as that was an attempt at humor and probably a poor one. Anyways in regards to recruits, the only thing we can say if someone asks us about certain kids is yes we are or no we are not recruiting them and that is it until they sign with Penn State. We know sometimes people want more information but the NCAA is clear about those rules. As far as guys on our team go and what weight they are going to wrestle we will surely have a pretty good idea of that by our first match. Our focus is always about getting better at wrestling and life and seeing where everybody fits into the lineup after that. Obviously, you want to put the best product out on the mat as possible but that becomes clearer as the season progresses. Again probably not the answer many were looking for but a true one at that. Ultimately the guys on the team decide who is going to step up and win the spot to represent Penn State University.
The awesome support and the best fan base in the country continually amaze us. We look forward to seeing everybody soon as we also look to become the best in the country.
GO LIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Penn State Wrestling Fans!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We have officially started classes and will soon be into our preseason training for what will be our tenth year here at Penn State as a staff. It was a great summer with many things to be excited about going into this 2018-19 season. Most of the guys chose to stay here and train for a good part of the summer and a lot of the incoming freshmen were here in summer school so they also had the opportunity to train here in State College. They are all getting excited to get things officially started. We are once again going to have an exciting group of returning guys and are also going to get to see some exciting new wrestlers.
First up though is Brady Berge who was a redshirt freshman for us last year. Brady made the Jr. World Freestyle Team and will be competing in the World Championship in the third week of September in Slovakia. In addition, former Penn State Wrestler David Taylor made his first Sr. level world team and will be competing in Hungary this October trying to capture a World Title. These two guys put in a lot of time this summer and many of the other guys on the team and in the club put in time to help them get ready to go win their respective weights at the World Championships.
After the World Championship, we will be a few short weeks away from our first Penn State match of the year. We have a lot of work to do from now until then but we are excited about the team we have this year. You cannot replace a guy like Zain Retherford, as he is one of the best wrestlers in NCAA history, but it gives other guys a chance to step up and contribute and that is exciting. Every year is different with new faces and this year is no exception to that with several weight classes where we will see new guys. We are also excited to continue our streak of sold out matches in Rec Hall and we look forward to a challenging away schedule as well. The schedule should be coming out soon as we are at the mercy of the Big Ten and when they decide to let us know on times and days of certain weekends. We could release the schedule before we know exact dates and times but we try to get it as close to finalized as possible before releasing it.
We get many questions about recruits and current guys on our team and what weight they are going etc so I figured I would address that. First though If you have a different plan for us and our team please let us know as we are always looking for feedback on how we should do things. Just kidding you do not need to let us know, as that was an attempt at humor and probably a poor one. Anyways in regards to recruits, the only thing we can say if someone asks us about certain kids is yes we are or no we are not recruiting them and that is it until they sign with Penn State. We know sometimes people want more information but the NCAA is clear about those rules. As far as guys on our team go and what weight they are going to wrestle we will surely have a pretty good idea of that by our first match. Our focus is always about getting better at wrestling and life and seeing where everybody fits into the lineup after that. Obviously, you want to put the best product out on the mat as possible but that becomes clearer as the season progresses. Again probably not the answer many were looking for but a true one at that. Ultimately the guys on the team decide who is going to step up and win the spot to represent Penn State University.
The awesome support and the best fan base in the country continually amaze us. We look forward to seeing everybody soon as we also look to become the best in the country.
GO LIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
