Cassiopi and Brands both have created problems for Iowa next year; albeit good problems. I just wonder if it's worth it for them to roll out Tony from a standpoint of future lineups. Sure, he'll AA, but can't help but think that Keuter will feel slighted if he gave up a year of football just for this to happen.
So do we think anyone stateside catches up to Gable on the mat if this does not pan out? He's already been out of commission because of WWE, but pair it back with the football now, and you'd have to think this is the longest stretch of time he's been off a mat.
If we get Rocky at 285, HWT is going to get even deeper than it has been. How many of the top 8 even return again? Kerk, Hendrickson, Feldman, Schultz, Slavikouski? Then that doesn't even begin to count those who missed out on the podium... sheesh.
I'm willing to throw some lesser names that hold some weight still: RBY, Sebastian Rivera, Zahid Valencia.
What really interests me though are names that would be absolute left field coaching choices that would probably result in less than stellar results: Suriano and Gable are the two names that immediately come to mind when thinking about this.
Dude has to make a living! I think that Mark has passion for the sport still, but it just lies in the coaching and administration side of it now. Plus - some athletes want a life outside of the competition. Maybe Mark just was done worrying about having to prep himself to compete. He sounded like he had no desire to cut weight, and wasn't going to be at the top of the totem pole with 86k due to size; a true tweener situation.
I've said it once, and I will say it 1,000 more times...
Carter does NOT work as a heel, no matter how hard he tries. I can't see any realistic future in which he is a coach with his generally b*tchy attitude either.
Wondering how the recent news with Brooks's suspension could affect DT's initial start to this role. Gotta imagine he will be splitting time between NLWC and Okie State if he's next man up.
I think it's easy to lose sight of the fact that Gable is only in his early 20's. We've all made some pretty bad mistakes in that age range, dedicated ourselves to things that have not panned out, etc. To think that he colossally f'd up though is laughable. He is still more than capable of making more world and Olympic runs. If he chooses to return to freestyle full time, I do not see why he would not be the colossal favorite to be our rep.
I used to hate on Gable as I think most did during his freshman/early sophomore season. Now I am just hoping that this stint is looked back on as a footnote in a long & promising career.