Poulin to NC State
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Fellas, I just don’t understand why we cannot nail down a true 125lb that will be/stay committed...it’s like a weird voo-doo thing for us since Nico left.
I believe in an earlier thread someone mentioned his father having ties or connections to NC State....could be wrong about that
His club coach and hs assistant coach is Frank Pop, brother of Pat Pop.
As was stated above by @DaemonsDamon, there was that Popolizio bridge from Frank to Pat working in NC State's favor.
There was also the added benefit of having two former/current teammates (Brock Del Signore, Kiernan Shanahan) on roster in Raleigh.
The truth of the matter is that Pop has done such a masterful job of winning on the recruiting front in his home state that at this point (as a fellow NYer), I consider him a threat for every major Empire State prospect.
This is something I wrote in response to the announcement that demonstrates the success Pat has enjoyed attracting New York talent:
The landing of Poulin is yet another NYS fang for the Wolfpack, as Head Coach, Pat Popolizio has completely dominated the recruiting scene in his home state.
In addition to Stevo, NC State will welcome 2020 NYSPHSAA DI State runner-up, Brock Del Signore (also of Shen), as well as 2x DII State finalist/2020 champ, Jacob Null (Dolgeville), as part of the class of 2021.
Already on the roster are the following Empire Staters:
-Tyler Barnes (Ballston Spa) 3x NYS DI Placer/2x Finalist/2017 Champion
-Jake Cook (Ballston Spa): 2018 NYS DI 4th
-John Devine (Columbia): 2016 NYS DI State runner-up
-Jacob Ferreira (Horace Greeley): 2018 NYS DI State runner-up
-Matt Grippi (Fox Lane): 3x NYS DI State runner-up
-AJ Kovacs (Iona Prep): 2x NYS DI Finalist/2019 State champ
-Anthony Noto (HFL): 4x NYS DII State Champion
-Kiernan Shanahan (Shen): 2x NYS DI State runner-up
-Deonte Wilson (Amityville): 2x NYS DI finalist/2018 State Champion
Also of note is Nick Gwiazdowski...The only two-time NCAA national champion in program history, the Duanesburg product turned multiple UWW world FS bronze medalist, followed Popolizio to Carolina after being initially recruited to Binghamton...
Yes -- he also listed Iowa, Ohio State, and his hometown school (Fresno State). He did say he wanted to wrestle in the B10. That was last year, no idea if his list or conference preference has changed.
Iowa has since landed both Ybarra (2020) and Ayala (2021). If Ohio State lands Figueroa, they might not push for Cruz (but then Arizona State will likely go after him).
IIRC coaches may contact HS JRs starting next week (unless the NCAA idiotically extends the recruiting dead period yet again). Gotta think Cruz will be getting a call.
Pretty much nails it; Poulin to NC State is zero surprise.
NC State was always the favorite IMO, despite a couple folks on this board who were somehow convinced that Poulin was PSU-bound.
I believe the NCAA reviewed extending the dead period, among other dates, on May 27th. Since we haven't heard anything, and with the NCAA being so transparent
, I believe the June 15 date for contacting HS Juniors is accurate. Coach is very close-lipped about recruiting, rightly so (even re. the few things that can be said), but color me shocked (you too, I'm sure) if the light-weight recruiting for the guys you mention above isn't targeted.
I believe the NCAA reviewed extending the dead period, among other dates, on May 27th. Since we haven't heard anything, and with the NCAA being so transparent
Coach is very close-lipped about recruiting, rightly so (even re. the few things that can be said), but color me shocked (you too, I'm sure) if the light-weight recruiting for the guys you mention above isn't targeted.
Yeah the dead period meeting was 5/27 and they extended it through July 31, but that only applies to in person visits, be it guys coming to campus or coaches going to recruits. They haven't specified anything limiting electronic communication, and in fact have relaxed it some as volunteer assistants are being allowed on zoom calls and other things when they previously were much more limited in what level of recruiting they could do.
True. This rule is still followed...
13.1.3.1 Time Period for Telephone Calls—General Rule. Telephone calls to an individual (or his or her family members) may not be made before June 15 at the conclusion of his or her sophomore year in high school. Thereafter, an institution may make telephone calls to the prospective student athlete at its discretion.
13.1.3.1 Time Period for Telephone Calls—General Rule. Telephone calls to an individual (or his or her family members) may not be made before June 15 at the conclusion of his or her sophomore year in high school. Thereafter, an institution may make telephone calls to the prospective student athlete at its discretion.
Speaking of who we should call next, Flo thinks the following (let me know if I should remove):
Penn State: #1 Nic Bouzakis, FL
Recruiting and development go hand-in-hand, and PSU does a great job of both. How much Bouzakis will need to be developed is a matter of debate that still has 2+ years to play out, but as the bluest of blue-chips he has to be on the Nittany Lions’ radar. Whether you feel he is the best prospect in this class or simply one of them, he certainly is the biggest star with the most name recognition thanks to the national competition we saw him face since eighth grade. I don’t think Nic has a favorite school right now, nor do I think he will make a decision for at least a year. But I would find it hard to believe that Cael Sanderson and his staff won’t build a relationship with the Bouzakis family. I’m not sure if he’ll end up in Happy Valley, especially with Robbie Howard and Beau Bartlett coming in right behind Roman Bravo-Young and Nick Lee, but I believe there will at least be strong interest on both sides. Virginia Tech assistant Jared Frayer also has an extensive history with his father Tory, so I believe the Hokies will be in the mix early on.
Penn State: #1 Nic Bouzakis, FL
Recruiting and development go hand-in-hand, and PSU does a great job of both. How much Bouzakis will need to be developed is a matter of debate that still has 2+ years to play out, but as the bluest of blue-chips he has to be on the Nittany Lions’ radar. Whether you feel he is the best prospect in this class or simply one of them, he certainly is the biggest star with the most name recognition thanks to the national competition we saw him face since eighth grade. I don’t think Nic has a favorite school right now, nor do I think he will make a decision for at least a year. But I would find it hard to believe that Cael Sanderson and his staff won’t build a relationship with the Bouzakis family. I’m not sure if he’ll end up in Happy Valley, especially with Robbie Howard and Beau Bartlett coming in right behind Roman Bravo-Young and Nick Lee, but I believe there will at least be strong interest on both sides. Virginia Tech assistant Jared Frayer also has an extensive history with his father Tory, so I believe the Hokies will be in the mix early on.
I'm not so sure about that. Bouzakis is clearly an elite wrestler, but so far he's more of a defense-first guy. In the same class, Crookham, Rivera, Mendez (at least) are top 5 overall recruits who are more offense-oriented -- and all projected in the 141/149 range. (Cardenas, Williams, and Henson also top 10-ish options and at the same weights.)
Don't think we could go wrong with any of them (including Bouzakis). But if the article is about which 2022 wrestler is the top priority, I'm not convinced. Especially if we still have a need at 125 with one clear top wrestler at that weight.
BTW, have heard Bouzakis is more than a little familiar with Cornell.
Well if we get Richie Figs I won't shed a tear, he is the real deal. Things have been silent to for months since his quiet decommit from AZ state, except for that disturbing picture of him in tOSU garb.
I know this is an emotional question rather than a logical one, but still …
When looking at the data, 125 suffers from extreme talent scarcity – not just elite talent, but also “scores any points at NCAAs” talent. Cael targeted the right guys. And he landed two so far post-Nico (though one turned out to be wrong).
Point being, there simply have been very few guys appreciably better than our recent starters.
Not saying we should be satisfied, only that it is understandable.
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Below is the full list of wrestlers to score a career 4.0 points at 125 since the HS Class of 2013 (as far back as I cared to go):
2013: Tomasello (62.0), Bresser (21.0), Schram (5.5)
2014: Lizak (37.5), Moisey (24.5), Russell (15.5), Millhof (9.5), Fausz (9.5)
2015: Piccininni (35.5)
2016: Mueller (29.5), Rivera (29.0), Suriano (20.5)
2017: Lee (51.5), Arujau (15.5), Foley (9.0), Mattin (5.0), McGee (4.0)
2018: Glory (12.5)
That’s a total of 18 guys in 6 recruiting classes to even score 4.0 career points at the weight -- and that's not exactly a stringent threshold. (To be fair, Courtney and a few 2018 guys seem like good bets to meet that target as well. But none seem likely to reach 20.0 career points -- avg 5.0 pts/year -- at least not yet.)
Note that 7 of those 18 were not career 125s -- they also wrestled 133 or 141.
Of these guys, PSU landed Suriano and was runner-up for Lee. PSU also recruited Schram, Lizak, and PIccininni. (Conflicting stories about Glory, but in any case we did not make his final 6.)
Looking at subsequent classes:
2019: PSU was a finalist for Kurt McHenry (Michigan). PSU was also the runner up for Lucas Byrd after he flipped from Maryland, but he will likely go 133 at Illinois.
2020: Robbie Howard is the top 125 prospect. Mission Accomplished.
2021: PSU is a finalist for Richie Figueroa (though his status is very unclear), and was a finalist for Poulin.
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Is there any other kind of tOSU pic, other than disturbing?
Maybe Suriano shouldn't even be on the list? Scored all his career pts @133.
At least the others [who went up] got the minimum 4 pts @125. Although he certainly would have if not for the MFOR
Suriano as a SO lost to Spencer Lee in the NCAA finals at 125.
Everywhere I look, people seem to think Figs is a tOSU lean at this point. Given the conventional thinking that Howard won't be able to hold 125 for long, it seems that the PSU-tOSU battle for Figs is incredibly important. Anyone thinking that Cael will somehow pull this off?
I'm not completely sold on the conventional thinking about Howard's weight. Most likely he has lost some muscle mass in the past few months, between waiting to have shoulder surgery and then finally having it, and now in the early stages of rehab.
Wouldn't bet on him holding for 4-5 years, but it's not out of the question either. How long he can project into 125 is something the coaches will need to evaluate once he arrives on campus and starts full training with the team.
Am also skeptical about the conventional wisdom about Figueroa to Ohio State. There's gotta be a good reason he hasn't committed yet after taking only 3 of his officials.
El Jefe, any idea what the conventional wisdom is on where Cruz or Van Ness end up? Thanks in advance.
Figueroa took officials to Michigan, Arizona State, and Ohio State in that order in Oct/Nov. Given the timing, he likely couldn't squeeze in a PSU trip before wrestling season started, and then obviously that's been impossible since.
PSU is his other finalist.
None on Cruz yet, though we have a decent shot. He stated a year or so ago that he wanted to go B10, and his top schools are PSU, Iowa, Ohio State, and his hometown Fresno State. Iowa seems unlikely with Schriever and Ybarra in 2020 and Ayala in 2021. Ohio State would be unlikely if they don't get Figs. (Not on his then-list, but I'd expect Arizona State to jump into the fray if Figs goes elsewhere.)
Tough to get a read on Van Ness. Have heard different people say he's leaning Princeton or Cornell. But we're among his finalists, he's friends with Howard and Bartlett, and never say never with Cael. (Michigan and Rutgers are the other finalists.)
The other thing that may come into play with him: he's been World Team teammates with Howard 2x, Facundo 2x, and Kerkvliet 1x. (And Carson Manville 1x, though he's still uncommitted.)
None of his World Team teammates are attending or committed to the other 3 schools.
Hearing the same about SVN...
The Princeton rumors just seem so strong that seems the smart money is pointing that way (contingent on admission).
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