When I was at the Grapple on the Gridiron last fall, I ran into an old friend, Mike “Moosehead” Manganello. I have known Mike since he was a true freshman at Iowa fresh out of Mt. Carmel High School in South Chicago. Good guy who eventually was our varsity Hwt. at Iowa.
Mike was not shy in telling me about his boy Austin O’Connor back home in Chicago. He knew that I wrote a blog and let me tell ya, Mike was all over me. Let’s just say he gave Austin O’Connor a ringing endorsement about how tough he was. There was no mention about State titles won, his record, or any accomplishments. Just a repeated theme of how tough Austin O’Connor is. Now you have my attention. I recently called St. Rita High School in Chicago and got their wrestling coach’s name and number. Coach Mark Murphy could not tell me enough times how competitive Austin O’Connor is. Again, no talk of accolades. Just talk of O’Connor being tough and very, very competitive. Sounds like an Iowa Wrestler.
What are your summer plans for competition?
Austin O’Connor: I just got back from Virginia Beach. My two big summer competitions will be Junior Duals and Fargo.
What weight are you wrestling at now?
Austin O’Connor: 145.
Do you have a Top 5 list of colleges you are looking at right now?
Austin O’Connor: I would say my Top 5 right now are UNC, Missouri, Illinois, Virginia Tech, and Old Dominion.
Do you have any plans for a major in college?
Austin O’Connor: Business.
What do you think about Iowa’s recruiting class of 2017 so far?
Austin O’Connor: I have seen it. It looks pretty tough.
How would you describe your wrestling style?
Austin O’Connor: I would say it’s more aggressive and attacking. I get the other kid to slow down a little bit and to wear them down.
What are your wrestling goals?
Austin O’Connor: I want to finish getting my four high school state titles. And then hopefully eventually winning four NCAA titles and an Olympic title.
Any idea when you will be making your college decision?
Austin O’Connor: I would say probably the latest would be the signing day in November.
I have heard a lot of great things about you as you come highly recommended. Good luck this summer and in your career.
Austin O’Connor: Thank you.
I just went out on YouTube and found a match. O’Connor defeated Tristan Morgan of Oklahoma 6-3 at Junior Duals last summer. Morgan was a big recruit who just finished his redshirt freshman season at Oklahoma State. That’s a pretty good win for a sophomore.
Austin O’Connor is first team All-American on the Asics team. He comes highly recommended. I stated in a blog last week that should Iowa add Warner, Berge, and O’Connor to their class, the recruiting Class of 2017 would be the best recruiting class in the history of Iowa Wrestling. They would surpass the legendary Class of 1987 that included Tom and Terry Brands. After doing research on Austin O’Connor, I am even more confident that a recruiting class with those wrestlers would be the greatest recruiting class in the history of Iowa Wrestling.
The main reason that I want Austin O’Connor to be an Iowa Hawkeye has absolutely nothing to do with the ranking of a recruiting class. The main reason I want this guy in the Black and Gold of Iowa Wrestling is that Austin O’Connor is a tough guy you want on your side. To me, it is that simple. Wrestling is the toughest sport. When tough people tell me that one of their own is tough, I believe them. With O’Connor’s toughness and competitive nature, “The Room” of Iowa Wrestling is the place for him. And so is 15,000 fans cheering him on in Carver Hawkeye Arena.
Make no mistake about it, Austin O’Connor is a blue chip 5* recruit. And I keep mentioning that he comes highly recommended. When you look at his Top 5 choices, they all have former Iowa wrestlers either as a head coach, an assistant coach, or both. That should tell you something.
The signing day for National Letter of Intent is Wednesday, November 9th. Some college will be getting one tough wrestler. I will be disappointed if Iowa Wrestling does not have Austin O’Connor signing with them. You want Austin O’Connor on your side.
