Oregon State vs Little Rock - Tonight!

All fair questions to ask and I always look forward to and appreciate hearing your perspective on the landscape of OSU wrestling idaho and ochobeavo .

-In regard to AA's, given that Z coached 14 AA's during his tenure, 2006-2020, it is a valid question to ask. To give the wrestlers some credit, yes it is possible, do they all AA with Coach Z, that is tougher to call based on the data.. Did CP and crew play a big role? Absolutely. Tough question to answer. We are in year 4 and CP has 5 to date, (Munoz, GWill, HWill, Kaylor and Dixon). If we continue at that pace, they will surpass Z before they match his tenure. So I would say they are ahead of schedule and clearly have shown the ability to get wrestlers to the highest levels.

-Munoz and Belton, yes I am aware the background on both. Both came from strong HS wrestling pedigrees/programs. Not hyper familiar with ASU's room, but I am aware of CP's contributions during his time there in recruiting and development. Deep, established wrestling programs lose strong wrestlers to opportunity. We have been in rebuilding phase and as you pointed out, those who transferred out transferred down a level or two. 

-Olguin, if Fresno doesn't cut wrestling who is to say he doesn't achieve the same thing there? I get your point about teaching but he was a very successful wrestler in HS. Without disrespecting CP and staff for their contributions, I think it is really important to acknowledge the work these wrestlers put in on their own as well. I wouldn't write that off...if anything, I think this supports the high standard CP spoke of in year 1 when looking at transfers and discussing what gets an offer pulled/stops them from offering, NIL, wrong values etc.. To be clear, CP and staff absolutely contributed to Matt's development and he is one of my favorite's to watch in our line up over the past several seasons.

- idaho I am not surprised about the comments about transfers loving OSU. I think CP and crew have done a great job in creating a great culture in Corvallis. The team clearly is bonded and united. 

-My concern is validated in your comment about the transfers out. All were HS recruits from CP/Eng. That is a part of the talent-in. Not every recruit will pan out, I get that, but it is pattern to be watched given only 3 HS recruits have been elevated to the starting line up in year 4 and the recruits in from the HS level since the CP era started is over 35 HS recruits. ochobeavo , this is not trying to penalize the staff it is simply an observation of fact about the state of the roster over the past 3 recruiting cycles when the data is counted. But data does bear out patterns that can give us areas of growth and show us that our ceiling as a program is higher than we think. If we can improve the initial level/ranking/ability of recruit out of HS while keeping our transfer in strong, we are looking at even greater results/strength of roster. Which in turn leads to greater team results. 

-Important to note, they are still managing their rosters from the impact of 2020. We have seen it across all sports where there are 6.7 and even 8 year seniors. This could attribute to why we have not seen more HS recruits step into the line up.

-I recognize the coaches will do what it takes to improve the room given the amount of transfers we have taken and the results, just would like to see our HS recruits elevate to starters or land stronger HS wrestling recruits from the start. Could be attributed to the changing of staff's, but CP and staff have had an uphill battle reestablishing the brand. Missed on some big recruits this cycle but potentially wouldn't have been in the convo under Z in the first place. As stated earlier, they have done a really good job elevating our brand/recognition from where Z left it. If you look at the recruiting footprint they have executed on their stated goal from year 1 dominating the NW and Westcoast. They have really  focused on the Western half of the US. WA, OR, ID and CA are strongly represented. AZ, MT and CO are present. Add in a couple from IA, 1 from PA and 1 from Florida. 

I guess the take aways in recruiting:
-We are strong in JUCO/D1 transfer development and recruiting.
-HS is a work in progress that has been improving. Wrestling recruiting still feels heavily based in long term Coach relationships. Only a handful of schools really can "brand" recruit at a elite level. NIL has had an impact as well. Patience will see this continue to grow and improve.
-We are repairing/rebuilding/rebranding/upgrading our brand. This is not a negative statement towards CP and company. They are highly capable of taking this program to heights we have not seen. As a fan, I would ask how we can help. Dollars and attendance at meets and fundraisers is obvious. Is there anything else that can help elevate OSU into the national picture as a consistent top 10 program? 

I hear you both about bumps in the road, but winning programs and cultures have high expectations and standards. Voicing concerns when those standards are not met comes with the territory. I would say that I am grateful we are in the position to be so frustrated by this loss because we do have a winning program with standards. Shows how much work CP, NE, JR, CC, Imar (when he was here) and Kosoy (when he was here) have done to rebuild OSU. If this hasn't been made clear, CP is the right man for the job and I trust him and the staff to guide us. I share with you both the feeling that this is the first bad loss of the CP era. Considering the data, a correction is surely coming and I am hope they come out and wrestle a highly capable ASU hard this weekend. 

As always, Go Beavs