The Best Recruits Still Available & Overall Early Period Recruiting Grades
The Best Recruits Still Available & Overall Early Period Recruiting Grades
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Wild Week In Recruiting as Early Period Opens
Willie Saylor, Editor
Willie Saylor, Editor
While over 400 wrestlers have already given verbal pledges to their colleges of choice, the NCAA’s Early Signing Period didn’t begin until last Wednesday. The period to officially sign the National Letter of Intent, a binding agreement between student athlete and the university, runs until November 21st.
With the early signing period comes a flurry of activity. It’s both the first time that schools can public comment on commitments, and an intangible deadline for high-profile recruits that want to relieve the recruiting pressure.
So while it’s an annual event, this year may have been one of the craziest. Typically you’ll hear of two or three recruits changing there commitment over the course of a year. We found out four kids did such last week alone.
Dalton Brady, who originally declared for Arizona State, is no committed to Utah Valley. Zach Gentzler changed from Lehigh to Oklahoma State. Ethan Ramos from Virginia to North Carolina. And Nick Kee from Missouri to Appalachian State.
Fifteen wrestlers committed to DI schools on the NLI’s opening day. A dozen more on Day II. With the increase in activity, our SR Big Board is being wiped clean.
The top unspoken-for recruit is New Jersey’s #24-BJ Clagon. Other than that, the entire Top 50 is accounted for. After Clagon, the next available recruit is big man, Jo Jo Tayse, at #58. Overall, just 14 of our Top 100 recruits are free agents.
Still Available
Top Staff Grades
There’s been more than a few kids that opted for unexpected schools. It could be attributed to ‘bigger’ programs running out scholarship dollars. Or it could be that the power programs are so loaded that they dissuade kids from navigating a room full of studs just to break in to the line-up.
I have a third theory: young energetic coaches who that understand the value of recruiting.
I’ve been critical of the recruiting efforts of Michigan and Pitt in the last five years. But they redeemed themselves in the biggest of ways. And it’s no coincidence that both are rejuvenated by emerging assistants: Donny Pritzlaff and Sean Bormet in Ann Arbor, and Jason Peters in PA.
My third staff “A” goes to a bunch of the Ivy League schools. Columbia, Princeton, and Harvard have all done a great job early in this cycle. Each of them have secured multiple Top 100 recruits. It’s not by accident, and it’s not a one-year aberration. Make no mistake about it, they’re working their tails off on the recruiting front. Expect them to keep the momentum going in the coming years.
Other “A’s” are earned by Clarion’s Troy Letters, who wrangled two Top 100 recruits thus far, and Utah Valley’s Greg Williams, who nabbed three.
My last two unofficial thumbs up goes to those in the Dakotas: Roger Kish and Manny Rivera at North Dakota State, and Chris Bono at SDSU who are out-recruiting their historical hauls.
Early Recruiting Class Rankings
*Note: Generally speaking, I value quality over quantity.
1. Michigan Wolverines
Commitments:
#3-Ben Whitford, MI (149)
#7-Adam Coon, MI (HWT)
#25-Domenic Abounader, OH (184)
#30-Brian Murphy, IL (157)
HM-Payne Hayden, MI (197)
Ernest Battaglia, IL (165)
2. Pitt Panthers
Commitments:
#8-Cody Wierioch, PA (174)
#18-Edgar Bright, OH (141/149)
#23-Mikey Racciato, PA (149)
#28-Ryan Solomon, PA (184/197)
HM-Nick Zanetta, PA (133)
HM-Aaron Rothwell, WI (184)
3. Virginia Tech Hokies
Commitments:
#4-Joey Dance, VA (125)
#17-Kevin Norstrem, FL (141)
#48-Zach Epperly, VA (174)
#65-Dennis Gustafson (133/141)
HM-Jaret Haught, WV (197)
4. Oklahoma State Cowboys
Commitments:
#14-Dean Heil, OH (133/141)
#19-Anthony Collica, OH (149)
#87-Keilan Torres, OK (174)
HM-Zack Gentzler, KS (125)
Davey Dolan, OK (141)
5. Ohio State Buckeyes
Commitments:
#1-Bo Jordan, OH (165)
#22-Nathan Tomasello (125)
6. Penn State Nittany Lions
Commitments:
#2-Zain Retherford, PA (141)
#27-Matt McCutcheon, PA (184/197)
#39-Garrett Hammond, PA (157/165)
Cody Law, PA (165)
7. Illinois Fighting Illini
Commitments:
#6-Isaiah Martinez, CA (157/165)
#9-Brooks Black, PA (HWT)
HM-Kyle Langenderfer, IL (149)
8. Stanford Cardinal
Commitments:
#21-Connor Schram (125/133)
#33-Garrett Krohn (184)
#70-Nathan Butler (HWT)
Keaton Subjeck, CA (174)
9. Missouri Tigers
Commitments:
#5-J’Den Cox, MO (HWT)
#44-BJ Toal, OH (184)
#79-Parker VonEgidy, NC (174/184)
10. Minnesota Golden Gophers
Commitments:
#11-Jake Short, MN (149)
#29-Nick Wanzek, MN (157)
HM-Nate Thomas, MN (125)
11. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Commitments:
#12-Anthony Ashnault (149/157)
#51-Tyson Dippery, PA (141)
HM-Nick Gravina, NJ (165)
HM-Taylor Jackson, FL (184)
Josh Patrick, PA (125)
Garrett Connor, OH (197)
12 (tie). Virginia Cavaliers
Commitments:
#38-Tyler Askey, GA (165/174)
#55-TJ Miller, NJ (141/149)
#56-Andrew Atkinson, VA (133/141)
Emilio Martinez, CO
12. (tie) Harvard Crimson
Commitments:
#13-Eric Morris, PA (184)
#69-Brad Perkins, MO (125)
#72-Tyler Grimaldi, NY (165/174)
Colton Peppelman (165)
Honorable Mention (Top 100 + HM): Arizona St. (2), Binghamton (5), Cal Poly (3), Cal-State Bakersfield (2), Clarion (2), Columbia (2), Harvard (3), Iowa (3), Iowa State (2), Michigan State (3), Nebraska (3), North Carolina (5), NC State (3), North Dakota State (8), Northwestern (2), Oklahoma (2), Old Dominion (3), Princeton (2), South Dakota State (4), Utah Valley (4), Wisconsin (4).