Well, am I panicked? No way. Am I concerned,? A bit.
The spectre over every program, Iowa included, is injury and Covid. Our current squad and what we expect will happen over the next 2 months is definitely strong enough to win a championship. We could even see more than 4 champs in a perfect storm.
What we don't have is the kind of depth that can absorb the loss of one of our hammers whereas Iowa has some hammers behind hammers at a couple of weights.
Wick (or Surriano, or Griffith) would have pretty much solved world hunger for us this year in terms of filling a critical gap, with guaranteed high AA points. I am still over the moon excited for what Facundo might bring to the table, but as a true freshman, we need to allow him time to develop. Both he and Edsel could give us anywhere between no points to a low AA. Ditto for the Claw or Joe. Even Hilldebrandt, when you look at his wins and losses, coupled with 3/4 of a year away from wrestling, could deliver next to nothing st nationals. There is no way of knowing this early for any of the three weights.
You can see the focus on bonus delivering already, which will make for an exciting dual season and more points at nationals. We are definitely narrowing the gap with Iowa, and the addition of the Ivys hurts them more than us IMO.
It's going to be a fun ride, but if a blue bird transfer portal guy drops in our laps in either of the two middle weights I'll be elated. I would rather see us keep Facundo's shirt on this year and see HR spin completely out of control.