I check HawkeyeReport.com on a Sunday morning and see that I am being called out to report on what I saw at the Open Mat yesterday. I love the intensity and passion of our Iowa Wrestling fans, especially at recruiting time. No other college wrestling program in the country are even close to Iowa Wrestling fans. We are the best.
My Top Ten from yesterday:
- I will release at least three blogs for this coming week. Hopefully more.
- I was very happy with the crowd of fans in the bleachers. Great showing, as always. Even with the Penn State fans that showed up. I actually liked that and took it as a compliment. One of them wished Spencer Lee good luck on his career as he was walking out.
- Another very good practice. Last Saturday (Sept 16th) was as high of intensity in the Iowa wrestling room that I have seen in the last seven years. Maybe the best.
- I complimented Coach (Travis) Rutt on his work as the Iowa Wrestling Strength Coach as he is doing a great job. You can definitely see how much bigger especially our heavier weights are in the form of muscle. I see these guys on a regular basis and I can easily see the difference from the end of last season. We have some big dudes in that room.
- I am very impressed with our Recruiting Class of 2017. Any talk on HawkeyeReport.com about Warner needing this or that or lacking is laughable. Between what I have seen myself and hear about him, Jacob Warner is even better than I thought he was. Give him a year doing what he is doing now and look out. Murin has come a long ways in just the last month and has impressed me. Wilson is a physical beast with some good potential. Axmear is just what you would expect from a small town Iowa guy, tough. Costello has a good work ethic and hustle, especially for a Hwt. Spencer Lee is…Spencer Lee. What a great class. Add in Stickley, who is under the radar, and this is one heck of a class that right out of the gates should have you excited about their future as Iowa wrestlers.
- Do the HWC guys ever look good. The insurgence of resources, a new coach, new members, and the amazing support of the fans for fundraising already shows on our guys. Meyer and Brooks are getting down to weight for the upcoming UWW U23 WTT and look tough. Having those two and Telford working with our young guys is huge. Cannot forget Burak as he has put on more muscle than anyone in the program in the last six months. Love seeing Burak wrestling with Warner and Telford being there for our heavyweights. Great to see the torch passed on to the next generation that I have seen happen in that room for over thirty years. Huge part of Iowa Wrestling. Massive.
- It was good to see former Iowa Hawkeyes Lee Weber (Don Bosco HS) and Chuck Yagla (Waterloo Columbus HS). I look for more alumni in two weeks for Homecoming. I will keep you posted on the Open Mat for October 7. 11 AM kickoff for the football game so probably in the 8 – 8:30 AM range I would guess.
- I would have to say that Iowa Wrestling presented what Iowa Wrestling is all about to the recruits that were in town. We can thank all of the Iowa fans at Open Mat and football fans for a lot of that. Tip of the hat to the Iowa Wrestling fans in the room yesterday and the Iowa Football program and fans on national TV that made me proud to be an Iowa Hawkeye. I am hoping for some recruiting verbals in the coming two weeks. I will keep you posted.
- If you have never been to one of these Open Mats, you are really missing out. Well worth the trip.
- Hopefully this is what the posters on HawkeyeReport.com were looking for.
The season cannot start soon enough.
As always, it is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.
