This has to be one of the all time great recruiting stories, right up there with ‘get off the phone....Cael Sanderson is calling for you’
Someone needs to tell Figs that saying no to Cael is futile 😆
SVN to PSU!!
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This has to be one of the all time great recruiting stories, right up there with ‘get off the phone....Cael Sanderson is calling for you’
Someone needs to tell Figs that saying no to Cael is futile 😆
Anyone else find it a bit odd that AGSurfers thread about a recruit who hasn’t been born yet has almost 4 times as many posts as the one about us landing a super stud recruit 😃
List of All-Time Cael Sanderson Recruiting Stories would have to include:
- Jordan Conaway "get off the phone with Nebraska" (probably consensus #1 story)
- Cael pushing a plate of corn dogs on Carter Starocci, in front of Starocci's family
- Mark Hall 4x NCAA Champ letter
- Brooks Black has no shot
- Cael telling Kyle Snyder he should be a college HWT instead of 197
Any others?
Qw might be one of 1% of the greater people all around you may ever meet......that you may never meet.
Hes a super human
That family dynamic helped mold him into the person he is today, which is a good thing considering Penn State coach Cael Sanderson tested his self-discipline during his first recruiting visit during his high school junior season.
“It was the first dual where I had to make the weight to go to states and we went out to eat. He knew I was over and had to make weight for that Saturday,” Starocci remembered. “He ordered a large basket of fried corn dogs. He didn’t eat any of them and asked me like 15 times if I wanted to try one, and I kept saying no. Finally, he said, ‘Yeah, that’s not going to help you make weight, is it?’ And I said, ‘Not at all.’ It was interesting to see him do that.”
I remember Mark sharing a photoshopped picture of himself in a PSU singlet that said “4x NCAA Champ” on his Twitter during his recruitment.
While at Blair, Black (who's from York County) visited PSU (presumably an unofficial). He was the #1 HS HWT in the country for 2 years, and we were definitely in the market for one at the time.
At or shortly after the workout, Cael supposedly said "he has no shot."
It wasn't real clear what Cael meant at the time -- if it were about Black's arsenal or his prospects. But if you watch his HS matches (Flo has a lot of them), he NEVER shot in any of them. He was very good at getting HS HWTs to fall face first on the mat. Did Black not shoot because he didn't have to, or because he had no shot? Hmm ...
Anyway, Cael did not offer Black. Black went to Illinois and never made the podium. PSU instead got Nick Nevills the next year -- that worked out pretty well.
My jaw hit the floor when I saw the photoshopped photo Cael sent to Black, captioned “Zero-time All American”.
My favorite Mark Hall story will always be North Forsyth High.
Midnight in Joisey? Forget that one.
Bo still has the best recruitment spiel of all time.
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For all the great Cael stories, my favorite recruiting story pre-dates him:
It was when Sunderland took Bubba to meet JoePa. The 80-yo Joe shook Bubba's hand, then tackled him. While still on the floor, Joe taunted Troy, "I thought you said he was good!"
Flash forward a few years, to the Blue-White pre-game in the BJC. Joe struggled to climb onto the stage and looked terrible. Bubba by then was an NCAA finalist. He got on the mic and playfully demanded a rematch. Replied Joe: "Hey, give me A DAY to get ready!"
It was when Sunderland took Bubba to meet JoePa. The 80-yo Joe shook Bubba's hand, then tackled him. While still on the floor, Joe taunted Troy, "I thought you said he was good!"
Flash forward a few years, to the Blue-White pre-game in the BJC. Joe struggled to climb onto the stage and looked terrible. Bubba by then was an NCAA finalist. He got on the mic and playfully demanded a rematch. Replied Joe: "Hey, give me A DAY to get ready!"
The day I got to spend a couple hours watching a summer club tourney final with, and talking with, Cael in 2012 (I think), there were three things that stood out: one, the very chilly interaction between Cael and Marsteller (who was still a PSU commit at the time); two, the very warm interaction between Cael and Zain; and three, the poor showing on the mat by Black. I was watching him wondering how he ever wound up the #1 Hwt. Showed nothing.
What if Cael is Superman in disguise, and he even disguised his name, Kal El, into Cael?
You have to consider the possibility, right?
That’s awesome. And if you back up a year or two and include the red/greyshirts (Beard, Kerkvliet, and Starocci), I believe that’s seven top-10 P4P guys who are waiting in the wings. Amazing!
Do you mean to say PSU's run won't be over when Taylor and Ruth graduate? 😂
It seems that if SVN could grow into 157, it would be most beneficial to the team. What do people think?
If Cael lands Bouzakis, yes.
Otherwise that causes a logjam at 157 with Boone and Matt Lee, plus an opening at 149.
Based upon their performances last year, Busiello appears behind Bearclaw.
Everyone seems to think that SVN will outgrow Bartlett - why?
At what weight did SVN's father compete ?
At what weight did SVN's father compete ?
167
Also because Shayne and dad Rodney both think he's a 149 who might grow to 157, and have said so publicly.
I interpreted the comments from Shayne to mean 157 possibly 2 or more years down the road. His plan for senior year was 138.
Also, I believe Beau has said he’d be open to 133 or 141
Exactly true on all counts -- unless Van Ness hits a growth spurt earlier (as his father did during HS SR year). Though we as fans can't count on that.
Bartlett's flexibility gives Cael a nearly obscene amount of recruiting flexibility: any one of Figs, Cruz, Spratley, Arrington, Bouzakis, Cardenas, or Haines could be worked into the lineup with minimal juggling.
I Would certainly love to see Figs come to PSU!
Has Bouzakis released a short list of schools? SIAP
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From SVN's recent interview thread:
His anticipated starting weight in college will be 141 or 149, but if he grows throughout his college career he may end up at 157. His walking around weight is 150. He will wrestle 138 in high school this year.
Figs - Howard - Bartlett - SVN -> Book it.
Well for at least 2 years that is. Richie, you're next
Well for at least 2 years that is. Richie, you're next
That’s curious as last year you seemed to feel Bouzakis wasn’t a coaches priority based on being “defensive oriented.”
There's a difference between "on the coaches' radar" vs. "a priority," right?
He's the #1 ranked guy in the class and was all of last year too. He's always been on the radar (unless he's given them some reason not to be). The only question is if he's a priority.
I wouldn't have thought Facundo was a priority either, due to the Starocci + Brooks overlap. But here we are.
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