"It's a great day to be a Badger".
Clark, Rowley others?
Rowley would be big.
Nicolar Rivera - Stoughton wrestler is always a fair guess.
Maybe to late for transfer portal?
Rowley is a good guess since we know he finished up his visits.
Per Willie:
My man @JamesRow_1 will commit tomorrow at 10am ET. One of the finest young men and finest families i've ever had the privilege of being involved with.
Hopefully the first of many.
That will be awesome news
If it's Rowley we're going to have a nice 184/197 combo with him and Braxton for a few years.
Quote from: MakingABadgerer on October 14, 2021, 06:19:15 AM
WHEN it's Rowley we're going to have a nice 184/197 combo with him and Braxton for a few years.
Don't worry I fixed it for you!
At a minimum, UW needs a guy at Rowleys level or better per recruiting class to compete in the top 10 consistently. They would need 2 or 3 of them per class to have the depth to compete with PSU, Iowa, etc.
Assuming it is him, we would have 3 years in a row where we got a really high level guy (Braxton, Hamiti, and Rowley). No disrespect to Barnett, Burwick, Zargo, Copass, Christensen, and Bobzien, as they are/were very good recruits as well, but maybe a step below those 3 as recruits.
Would be big if he commits!
Welcome to Wisconsin!
https://twitter.com/JamesRow_1
Big for the program in the future. He also fills a big need at 174/184. Can't ask for a better training partner than Braxton and a coach to push him in Reader.
To be able to bring in out of state talent that have world freestyle medals, it likely takes a full scholarship or close to it. I think it is worth it and needed, but it also does not leave a lot remaining $ for lower level in state talent. For those that complain we don't offer much to lower level in state talent, just remember that scholarship money is likely being allocated to world medalists.
This is a big one!
https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/7173907-james-rowley-has-made-his-college-decision
Quote from: vsmf2010 on October 14, 2021, 10:56:02 AM
This is a big one!
https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/7173907-james-rowley-has-made-his-college-decision
Flo has him ranked as the #8 overall wrestler in the 2022 class.
Very exciting news. I love when they recruit young men with great character and leadership skills who also happen to be world class wrestlers. I think he is an exceptional recruit.
With Bobzien and Rowley committed, that is a very good combo. Now time to add depth and possibly another nationally ranked recruit.
Who is available at this point?
Greyson Clark would a great addition. Good luck at Super 32.
Quote from: Harris on October 14, 2021, 06:55:38 PM
Greyson Clark would a great addition. Good luck at Super 32.
I would love a twofor with Clark and Scoles! Build the fence as Alvarez use to say.
Rowley!!! LFG!!!!!
Really excited to get yet another high level recruit coming to Madison.
Looking forward (closing out this year and next year), in addition to depth all over, it looks like we need a 157 and another 174/184 depending on what weight Rowley goes in college. If Hamiti continues to fill out, we might eventually need a 165 instead of a 174/184.
With the COVID year last year, it is hard to know who is interested in staying an extra year and how that impacts available scholarships.
Quote from: mkm13 on October 14, 2021, 05:56:24 PM
With Bobzien and Rowley committed, that is a very good combo. Now time to add depth and possibly another nationally ranked recruit.
Who is available at this point?
+1
Quote from: Ghetto on October 14, 2021, 10:36:56 PM
Rowley!!! LFG!!!!!
Really excited to get yet another high level recruit coming to Madison.
If they could have landed Rowley and Whiting that could have cinched up 165-197
149 Clark?
157 Scoles?
165 Hamiti (locked)
174 Whiting (??)
184 Rowley (locked)
197 Amos (locked)
That would be a solid lineup...
I think Whiting and Rowley have had some back and forth matches.
Quote from: factfinder on October 17, 2021, 03:38:22 PM
Quote from: Ghetto on October 14, 2021, 10:36:56 PM
Rowley!!! LFG!!!!!
Really excited to get yet another high level recruit coming to Madison.
If they could have landed Rowley and Whiting that could have cinched up 165-197
149 Clark?
157 Scoles?
165 Hamiti (locked)
174 Whiting (??)
184 Rowley (locked)
197 Amos (locked)
That would be a solid lineup...
I think Whiting and Rowley have had some back and forth matches.
Whiting is committed to Missouri..
this Wisconsin kids, Missu connect is really starting to bug me :)
With Copass now gone, that should open up additional scholarship money. At a minimum, we still need high end 157, 174, and HWT recruits, plus depth everywhere. I thought I saw that 14 of the top 50 for the 2023 recruiting class are already committed, meaning we need to start getting commits from that class soon as well.
Quote from: mkm13 on October 19, 2021, 08:31:07 AM
With Copass now gone, that should open up additional scholarship money. At a minimum, we still need high end 157, 174, and HWT recruits, plus depth everywhere. I thought I saw that 14 of the top 50 for the 2023 recruiting class are already committed, meaning we need to start getting commits from that class soon as well.
In fairness, Empey was the #53 overall recruit in his class, ahead of Copass per Willie Saylor
Quote from: BuckyMatt on October 19, 2021, 10:29:49 AM
Quote from: mkm13 on October 19, 2021, 08:31:07 AM
With Copass now gone, that should open up additional scholarship money. At a minimum, we still need high end 157, 174, and HWT recruits, plus depth everywhere. I thought I saw that 14 of the top 50 for the 2023 recruiting class are already committed, meaning we need to start getting commits from that class soon as well.
In fairness, Empey was the #53 overall recruit in his class, ahead of Copass per Willie Saylor
Well, Empey is from sTOUGHton you know... ;D
Quote from: BuckyMatt on October 19, 2021, 10:29:49 AM
Quote from: mkm13 on October 19, 2021, 08:31:07 AM
With Copass now gone, that should open up additional scholarship money. At a minimum, we still need high end 157, 174, and HWT recruits, plus depth everywhere. I thought I saw that 14 of the top 50 for the 2023 recruiting class are already committed, meaning we need to start getting commits from that class soon as well.
In fairness, Empey was the #53 overall recruit in his class, ahead of Copass per Willie Saylor
Are you saying losing Copass didn't open up scholarship money, or with Empey we don't need a high end HWT recruit in the next year or 2?
Do you have a list of Empey's results against other high end/future college wrestlers? I see he lost 10-1 to Bennett Tabor at the Cheesehead in 2020, Gabe Christemsen 13-2 at the Cheesehead in 2019, and Sam Mitchell 5-4 in the 2019 state finals. To be ranked 53rd by Willie, I assume he must have some wins against high level wrestlers as well. Do you know against who? This is not meant to be a negative on Empey at all, just was not aware he was considered to be that high level of a recruit. Winning in the big 10 is extremely difficult.
Quote from: BuckyMatt on October 19, 2021, 10:29:49 AM
Quote from: mkm13 on October 19, 2021, 08:31:07 AM
With Copass now gone, that should open up additional scholarship money. At a minimum, we still need high end 157, 174, and HWT recruits, plus depth everywhere. I thought I saw that 14 of the top 50 for the 2023 recruiting class are already committed, meaning we need to start getting commits from that class soon as well.
In fairness, Empey was the #53 overall recruit in his class, ahead of Copass per Willie Saylor
Willie must have been drunk off those bud heavies
Copass 3rd rated HWT in the class and the 7th rated recruit in the nation in the class of 2021
Losing Copass hurts
He replied to a tweet that "Nothing happened to make him leave UW, just a personal decision, UW was great to him but not where he wanted to be"
Purdue is 1 hour from his home town...
Every scholarship money has value. If Hillger is around for 2 more years, losing Copass only hurts if his allocated scholarship money can't be given to someone else with equal or better talent. That will be on the coaching staff to figure out.
As we say in football, "We all we got, we all we need, we go to battle with the guys who want to be here!"
It looks like Empey is going 197 anyways. But I think he will be a very solid big ten wrestler for the badgers. Copass never struck me as a kid that was going to take the next step into being a good college wrestler. It is tough to take that next step. Very few can do it
I hope they are recruiting 220 lb. Sophomore State Champ and Fargo Champ Koy Hopke from Amery. I know he wrestles for Pinnacle in Minnesota but this young man is the real deal.
Quote from: Harris on October 19, 2021, 01:14:38 PM
I hope they are recruiting 220 lb. Sophomore State Champ and Fargo Champ Koy Hopke from Amery. I know he wrestles for Pinnacle in Minnesota but this young man is the real deal.
Koy Hopke would be a great get for sure. Seems like a young man with lots of upside.
As far as Empey and Copass.
Empey does not have a lot of national results because he was a 3 sport kid and I do not think he wrestled much in the offseason. Great athlete (1st team all state football and competed on Stoughton 800 meter relay team which seems a bit unusual for someone that big). Clearly a bright kid and/or a hard worker. 4.0 student intending to major in Civil Engineering.
In regard to Copass, I was certainly excited to have someone ranked that highly coming to wrestle for the Badgers. However I did watch quite a few of his matches and I did wonder how well he would translate to Big Ten wrestling. He is a really big guy who wrestles more of that old school heavy on the head, lots of pressure style but does not have a tremendous amount of offense. He did not move particularly well on his feet or on the mat from what I saw. The top end of Hwt wrestling is really dominated now with great athleticism. Gwiz, Snyder, Gable, Paris, Kerkvliet, Cassar etc... not to mention the last 2 Badgers Hwt AA's Trent and Connor have been very good athletes who move very well.
Quote from: vsmf2010 on October 19, 2021, 01:45:49 PM
Quote from: Harris on October 19, 2021, 01:14:38 PM
I hope they are recruiting 220 lb. Sophomore State Champ and Fargo Champ Koy Hopke from Amery. I know he wrestles for Pinnacle in Minnesota but this young man is the real deal.
Koy Hopke would be a great get for sure. Seems like a young man with lots of upside.
As far as Empey and Copass.
Empey does not have a lot of national results because he was a 3 sport kid and I do not think he wrestled much in the offseason. Great athlete (1st team all state football and competed on Stoughton 800 meter relay team which seems a bit unusual for someone that big). Clearly a bright kid and/or a hard worker. 4.0 student intending to major in Civil Engineering.
In regard to Copass, I was certainly excited to have someone ranked that highly coming to wrestle for the Badgers. However I did watch quite a few of his matches and I did wonder how well he would translate to Big Ten wrestling. He is a really big guy who wrestles more of that old school heavy on the head, lots of pressure style but does not have a tremendous about of offense. He did not move particularly well on his feet or on the mat from what I saw. The top end of Hwt wrestling is really dominated now with great athleticism. Gwiz, Snyder, Gable, Paris, Kerkvliet, Cassar etc... not to mention the last 2 Badgers Hwt AA's Trent and Connor have been very good athletes who move very well.
Agreed with this! Also Pete Christensen could be a big factor at HWT. He has a redshirt which I am assuming he will use this season, which means he will have 2 more seasons after this season because of the free year. So we could have Hillger for 2 and then Christensen for 2 obviously projecting a ways out. Amos could possibly move up or get a new recruit, etc.
Super 32 is coming up soon. Bobzien is the 2 seed at 132. Greyson Clark is the 7 seed at 132. There is a good chance these 2 run into each other at the quarterfinals. Will be curious how that goes. Would be nice to get both.
Quote from: mkm13 on October 21, 2021, 01:22:16 PM
Super 32 is coming up soon. Bobzien is the 2 seed at 132. Greyson Clark is the 7 seed at 132. There is a good chance these 2 run into each other at the quarterfinals. Will be curious how that goes. Would be nice to get both.
+1
Are the brackets out for Super 32? I checked the website and I could not find them yet.
Quote from: Rat on October 22, 2021, 03:23:39 PM
Are the brackets out for Super 32? I checked the website and I could not find them yet.
Willie has seeds on Rokfin but don't believe I have seen brackets yet.
Bobzien has not lost yet, but a lot of close matches. Clark jist lost to someone from Minnesota, so they wont meet in the quarters.
Bobzien just lost to Mac Church, a top 50 nationally ranked recruit.
Clark hung on to win against Frost from Iowa.
Bobzien lost again. For whatever reason, had a tough time scoring much this weekend. Even his wins were very close. I know this is a very tough tournament, but still less than you would expect from a higher ranked recruit.
Clark won again, so he is still going.
You have to be impressed when guys like Clark fight their way through the backside of the bracket. It shows how determined, tough, and gritty they are. Bobzien is a Greco guy so maybe his leg attacks need some work. I wasn't able to watch his matches and am just speculating. It's fun to follow some high school wrestling during football season.
Clark lost, so now wrestling for 7th.
It appears the Badgers may be recruiting Joel Adams (HS Junior) out of NE. Coach Bono and coach Reader like his tweet after Super 32. Adams lost in the super 32 finals 5-4 and is a 2 time Fargo Champ.
I was very impressed with Clark top game, often a missed talent with HS kids that dominate.
Bono with another its a great day to be a badger tweet.
Reader responded with HUGE, so likely either a HWT, or highly ranked.
Willie also tweeted Greyson Clark will commit in the next day or so...
#2 P4P SR Jesse Mendez Crown Point IN 138
This kid is from Indiana and is the #2 P4P kid in the country. It is not my intent to say he is coming to WI. I am just wondering where this kid is going to wrestle.
Jesse Mendez School List - Arizona State, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio State, Princeton, Purdue (per Flo)
Is anyone aware of top prospects that have Wisconsin on their list? The last two I knew of were Rocco Welch and James Rowley. Also, is anyone aware of recruits/transfers taking visits in Madison lately?
Quote from: kabrvi on October 29, 2021, 07:32:33 AM
#2 P4P SR Jesse Mendez Crown Point IN 138
This kid is from Indiana and is the #2 P4P kid in the country. It is not my intent to say he is coming to WI. I am just wondering where this kid is going to wrestle.
Indiana has offered him $80,000 for an NLI deal to sign there. Confirmed by Willie.
To clarify, who offered the 80k?
I am curious what exactly is allowed now and what is not.
For example, can donations to the WRTC go to specific college athletes? or what makes it legal vs not?
Quote from: mkm13 on October 29, 2021, 09:08:30 AM
To clarify, who offered the 80k?
I am curious what exactly is allowed now and what is not.
For example, can donations to the WRTC go to specific college athletes? or what makes it legal vs not?
Willie said it was being talked about all over at Super 32 and was confirmed.
I am not saying he wasn't offered 80K, just trying to understand who. Based on your response, the University of Indiana offered 80K. That seems surprising to me.
If that is happening in wrestling, I can't imagine what is happening in basketball and football. Just doesn't seem to make sense the university can do that. I would have expected businesses, etc could be doing NLI deals, not the actual school itself.
Quote from: mkm13 on October 29, 2021, 10:01:20 AM
I am not saying he wasn't offered 80K, just trying to understand who. Based on your response, the University of Indiana offered 80K. That seems surprising to me.
If that is happening in wrestling, I can't imagine what is happening in basketball and football. Just doesn't seem to make sense the university can do that. I would have expected businesses, etc could be doing NLI deals, not the actual school itself.
Yes, but it was in relationship to committing to Indiana I guess.
Greyson Clark to Wisconsin!!! Clark and Bobzien create a nice group of light weights to follow Burwick, Barnett, and Zargo.
I've got a good feeling about Greyson and his future success at Wisconsin. I love his wrestling style and work ethic. He is going to fit right in with the current group of guys. Great get for the team. Super exciting.
The AWA pipeline to Badger Wrestling is strong!!
Currently have #17 Rowley and #40 Bobzien in the class of 2022. Clark is #64 in the class of 2023.
good to see Clark commit! I will be curious to see how Bobzien, who has had more greco success at this point, will transition to college folkstyle wrestling.
Quote from: mkm13 on October 29, 2021, 10:40:02 AM
good to see Clark commit! I will be curious to see how Bobzien, who has had more greco success at this point, will transition to college folkstyle wrestling.
I think once Gross gets his hands on Bobzien it will be a deadly combination of Greco on the feet and phenomenal mat wrestling and scrambling. I really like Seth's ability to get his light weights wrestling on the mat and we have only seen what he can do for a few years. Give a guy 4 or 5 years in the room with him and we will start seeing some really tough wrestlers at the lighter weights. Couple that with Reader and Newt Smerchek working with the big guys and we got great upside. Loving this team.
I think Clark is going to be great. I was really impressed with his riding at S32. If he was on a college mat I feel he would have had some turns and less stop/start, guy escaped with :30 left but had quite a few restarts. On a bigger mat, Greyson rides him out and coupled with Gross/Bono on scrambling and turns, a lot of upside.
Who's next? It's a great day to be a Badger!!
Coach Reader looking for future Badgers in Nebraska today! Kael Lauridsen (#9 120) and Joel Adams (#2 138) visited the Badgers during the Buffalo dual I think. ;D
https://twitter.com/Jon_Reader/status/1481219318000066561?s=20 (https://twitter.com/Jon_Reader/status/1481219318000066561?s=20)
Bo Basset asked Reader on twitter when he is coming to Pennsylvania! Reader coached him at the Cadet Worlds this past summer.
Good things are happening in Madison.