Q: Rutgers has made great strides these last couple of years but what do you think it will take for them to get some All-Americans and secure some top recruits?
-- Frank P.
Foley: The Rutgers coaching staff came into the 2007-2008 season with a lot of hopes for the program. Scott Goodale was a wildly-successful high school coach with ambitious plans for New Jersey's biggest Division I program (Coincidentally Goodale was hired about the same time as other high school coaches Kevin Dresser at Virginia Tech and Steve Martin at ODU.) His first classes were loaded with talent, including #2 overall recruit Scotty Winston who is headed into his senior season without visiting the podium. Still the program has continued to recruit talent with the elephant remaining their inability to transition high school talent into All-American statues.
Scott Goodale (Photo/Tom Ciszek)Maybe it' because I like Goodale and the coaching staff, but I'm optimistic about their upcoming chances to place. In fact I think they'll be in a position soon to have All-Americans on a seasonal basis.
Dresser was in a similar predicament for the past three seasons: big classes, great regular seasons, subpar performances at NCAAs. Now, after a two All-American season which saw his former high school team Christiansburg honor its first Division I All-American (Devin Carter), the program seems on solid ground and positioned for even better outcomes in the years to come. The same will happen fro Rutgers.
Goodale and Rutgers will be producing AAs very soon (especially if they land little Ashnault) and all the worry will dissipate. They've hired NCAA champion Frank Molinaro, which should add some fire to the room, but it'll still ultimately come down to Goodale.
Good coaches are good coaches even if they're in a slump. Expect Goodale to right the Grease Trucks and start cranking out the hardware over the next three seasons, especially if they land Little Ashnault.
Q: What happened to Derrick Borlie? He seemed to drop off the face of the wrestling planet this year. I know that he left Wisconsin and heard a few murmurs/rumors that he might end up at Virginia Tech, but nothing since and nothing official. This kid wrestled extremely well in Trevor Brandvold's injury absence a couple seasons ago at Wisconsin. Can you offer any insight into why he left Wisconsin and if his wrestling career if over or just on hold one year due to NCAA regulations regarding school transfers?
-- Merris S.
Foley: Word 'round the Commonwealth is that we can expect to see Borlie wearing the Virginia Tech singlet in 2012-13. I don't think he'll have to sit out a season, unless he has an academic eligibility issue, which can arise when you transfer credits between schools.
Q: Who do you see in the starting lineup for Ohio State next year with Chris Philips and Nikko Triggas back and some more good freshman coming in?
-- Tom S.
Foley: How many young dudes can Tom Ryan stuff onto one roster? Yes, Chris Phillips has reemerged with the Buckeyes after a short-lived stint outside of wrestling. As one Ohio observer noted to me when Phillips was in high school, "He could place right now at NCAAs." Phillips was 16, but I nodded in agreement.
Nikko Triggas is expected to return to the Buckeye lineup after back-to-back redshirt seasons (Photo/Kevin Schlosser, BuckeyeWrestling.com)Nikko Triggas will be competing next year as the oldest non-LDS wrestler in Division I (fact check me). The 2010 All-American has taken consecutive redshirts, the first was the common NCAA-allotted redshirt, followed by his Olympic redshirt. There was significant grumbling in 2008 when several wrestlers took Olympic redshirts, even as they seemed far from competitive. Triggas finished fourth at the Trials.
Overall the Buckeyes are a stronger team with Triggas in the lineup, while 2011-2012 starter, freshman Johnni Dijulius will benefit from time spent on the redshirt circuit. Triggas scored 15 falls in 2010 and with an extra few years of training, fans should expect him to come up with bonus points in many of their toughest matches.
Q: What do you think Penn State's starting lineup will look like next year? With Molinaro and Wade graduating and the transfer of Lawson plus the incoming freshman, it should be interesting. My guess is Nico Megaludis, Jimmy Gulibon, Luke Frey, Andrew Alton, Dylan Alton, David Taylor, Matt Brown, Ed Ruth, Quentin Wright, Jimmy Lawson/Jon Gingrich.
-- J.T. Patkalitsky
Foley: Your guess is as good as mine, and I like your guess.
Q: Any word on Josh Dziewa of Iowa? Will he have a chance to make the lineup next year or end like the Moore brothers?
-- Robert S.
Foley: He's in a tough spot, but if Hawkeye fans think he's the answer at 149 pounds they might be misled. I've talked to a few coaches who wrestled against him this year and they all kinda said the same thing, that they think the best weight for him is 141 pounds. Yes, but is he willing and/or able to make the cut? I don't know, but Dziewa is certainly gifted. But in the Iowa system you advance not by talent, but by being more hard-nosed than the guy in front of you. So far Dziewa hasn't shown the type of gumption that earns the ass slap and "go get 'em" from the Brands bros.
Next year is a another chance for Dziewa crack the lineup, and I hope to see him competing for the chance to wrestle at Big Tens and NCAAs..
Q: I heard Fresno state might try to bring back wrestling, Have you heard anything on this?
-- Eric B.
Foley: Former head wrestling coach Dennis Deliddo and the Fresno State alumni are always working to find solutions to bring back their program, but from what I've been told nothing new seems to be in the works. I hope I'm wrong. The whole thing is sad, Fresno was a great program the provided educational opportunities to lots of California men who otherwise might not have had the chance.
Q: Has there been any college wrestling teams that has had three or more of its wrestlers go undefeated during a season? How many times has it been done?
-- Rick S.
Foley:You, of course, are referring to what Frank Molinaro, David Taylor and Ed Ruth were able to accomplish this season fro Penn State. Yes, they were the first trio to pull off such a feat. I did some research to make sure and this is what I found.
The closest trios I could find were on the 1992 and 1997 Iowa Hawkeyes. The 1992 team as led by undefeated performances by Terry Steiner and Terry Brands. However, Tom Brands was pinned by Alan Fried at Midlands. (Please turn on the volume and listen to Sandy Stevens! Hall of Famer!)
In 1997 the team was also very close with undefeated NCAA champions Lincoln McIlravy and Mark Ironside. But it was Joe Williams who upended your dream, losing to Ernest Benion of Illinois in the Big Ten finals.
In 1998 Joe Williams and Mark Ironside were both undefeated NCAA champions, but Jeff McGinness had four losses on the season.
(**If you really want to talk about incredible, read this stat. Among the Penn State trio that went undefeated only Frank Molinaro had a match closer than three points, his 6-5 defeat of Oregon State's Scott Sakaguchi at NCAAs. The trio was 95-0 and only that once did an opposing wrestler come within a takedown of the upset.**)
Q: Better wrestler: Louden Swain or Kyle Timmons? Better Wrestling Movie: Vision Quest or Win Win? Best use of singlet: With a collared shirt or to show your man strength?
-- C.B.
Foley: Kyle Timmons ALL DAY.
Don't mess with Coach from Vision QuestCollared shirt, whistle and clipboard means "I didn't come here to f&@# around!" Don't mess with that man. Do not do it.
Q: The Mullet vs. The Mohawk
-- Jason B.
Foley: Anyone can grow a mullet. Italian soccer players grow them because they think it'll land them bed with Spanish models. It takes real commitment to grow out your hair, buzz your sides, then use product to spike your hair. I like commitment, therefore the easy winner is the mohawk (Also it's essentially Joe Dirt versus Mr. T and Mr. T, well, he ain't no fool.)
How about the coifed combo created by this Portuguese heartthrob. Might his hairstyle defeat them both?? The faux-hawk mullet.
Yes, that just happened.
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