I'll have my team preview up later tonight since the team is sending 15 to compete at The Citadel's open tournament this weekend to help figure out who will emerge at 133 and 149 in particular. I've heard Popolizio is even going to the tourney himself to watch in person.
Anyway, here are his full thoughts on each weight class from mid/late September … preview tonight will have different quotes, but figured I could roll this out to whet everybody's appetite.
125
"A lot of depth. I think [redshirt freshman Jakob] Camacho, with his experiences and what he’s done this past year, he’s got some big wins and has been the most consistent.
"[Redshirt freshman] Zurich Storm isn’t far off, and both of those guys are very good options for us. We can always use one guy up if we needed to, but Camacho beat Zurich a couple of times [last year] in open tournaments. Camacho is already talking about competing to win a national title, so he’s out there in front a little bit right now."
Note: Storm is listed as entering this weekend's Battle At The Citadel at 133, which means he's throwing his hat into the the battle royale at 133 pounds. The Pack will have six different guys competing there at that weight.
133
"133 is a wild card, I’m not counting any of these guys out. [Redshirt junior] Kellen Devlin has the potential to be very good for us. We recruited him to be the guy and then you’ve got a guy like [redshirt freshman] Jarrett Trombley that showed a lot of promise this past year and is coming off a redshirt.
"I see [freshman Mike] Madara, who challenged Trombley this past season in a freestyle match — it was basically 3-3 and he lost on criteria — getting into the mix. And then don’t count out a guy like [freshman] Kai Orine, who is tough as nails too. He was out in September with a minor surgery, but he’s as scrappy as can be and he’s a winner.
"We’re wrestling our best guys this year, so I’m going to leave it up to these guys to figure it out, but that’s a question mark weight class. I love the fact that we have five guys and someone is going to rise to the top. I wouldn’t be surprised if you see a couple different faces throughout the year and then by the end of the year we’ll figure out who is the guy."
141
"[Redshirt junior] Tariq [Wilson] has it locked up. He’s the real deal. I think going up a weight class is going to do him well because I think he was hurting his body being down at 133 and didn’t realize it. He was sacrificing so much. I just feel like he’s made up that size and done what he needs to do to be 141. It’s going to fit very well for him as tall as he is.
"I think he can be a factor nationally, right away. There are always good guys at the top, but it comes down to him believing he can win. He’s going to have to show that and be able to beat somebody that’s really good. He’s got all the tools that he needs to. I love the fact that he’s bigger, because him and Hayden [Hidlay, the two-time All-American at 157 pounds] are real fun to watch wrestle live in practice; it’s just a clash of styles. They make each other better, even though Tariq is smaller — he’s not much smaller, but when it comes down to competing, Hayden’s got a lot more weight on him."
149
"The tradition continues [where the Pack is likely to have multiple guys wrestle here throughout the year], but I do like the attitude and the depth that we’re going to have there right now. The three guys that are going to be right in the mix of things are [redshirt sophomore] A.J. Leitten, [redshirt freshman] Matt Grippi and [redshirt freshman] Matt Fields.
"It’s a lot like 133 — I think you’re going to see us cycle through every one of those guys. They’ll all have the opportunity. We can wrestle off all day long and a new guy would win, but I want to see who can beat the best guys in the country. I think it’s going to come down to consistency. All three guys are top-20 guys, I just don’t know who’s the guy that will start for us.
"149 across the country right now is kind of an open weight, so we need somebody to step up and compete there."
157
[Redshirt junior] Hayden [Hidlay] is on track, he wants his title. He’s got to continue to get better and work at the pace that he’s working, but he’s doing everything he needs to do to win a national title. He just has to go take it. He has to know there’s a target on his back, people are trying to beat him and study him; that’s what makes him great, he’s aware of that.
"He’s dealt with some of that stuff in the past. He’s going to get everybody’s best match, but I think if we learned anything with him he’s a competitor and the tighter the competition, the more he’s going to rise to the occasion. It’s hard to be at your best five months out of the year, we know we just have to be at our best at the end of the year."
165
"I like that we’ve got a couple of options. [Redshirt junior] Thomas Bullard has the most experience, but we recruited [redshirt freshman] Tyler Barnes to be a national champ here because he’s produced in the past. [Sophomore] Alex Faison has improved tremendously, so we have depth now.
"I watch in the room some days, and those guys go back and forth with each other. It’s going to be fun to watch those guys wrestle off, but I think Thomas has the nod right now, just based on experience. We’ll see if Barnes steps up and wants to take the spot, but he’s got to beat some good guys because Thomas is no joke."
174
"Same thing there. We’ve got [redshirt junior] Daniel Bullard, who has shown he can compete with the best guys in the country, and I think you’re going to see someone … we’re at a point where guys want to find their way into the lineup.
"[Sophomore] Jacob Ferreira transferred in [from Bucknell] and wants to drop down to 174, because he feels like he can give that a good push. That was the whole point of him wanting to come here; he felt like he could make our lineup.
"Those guys [the Bullards] have to know there are guys trying to take their spots, and it’s going to make them better. We’ll have depth, and the luxury with Barnes is he can be in between both weights if needed. There’s a good balance of guys to go back and forth.
"A guy like [redshirt freshman] Jake Cook is working hard and showing some promise. He’s just behind the eight ball because he missed most of last year with injuries, but he’s in that room and working hard. It’s nice this year to have some options."
184
"[Redshirt freshman Trent Hidlay] is a guy that wants to compete for a national title, he wants to be in the limelight. He’s a competitor, he loves the attention of winning and you’re going to have a lot of fun watching this kid compete in Reynolds. He’s going to make a name for himself, and I’ll put it out there and say he’s going to be one of the most exciting guys we’ve ever had wrestle for NC State, right off the bat."
197
[Redshirt junior Nick] Reenan will be our guy. He probably won’t be our guy all year, just coming off that injury and making sure we’re where we need to be. I don’t think he’s a guy that needs to be battle tested with 30 matches, but we’ll get him 15-16 matches for the year that we need to and let him fly at the end of the year. We’ll pick and choose for him. We have depth now. We can move guys around and find a 97 pounder for us.
"He’s the missing link to this team. We need him to go out, produce and be a national champ this year.
"[When it's not Reenan] we’ve got options. I think [sophomore] Tyrie Houghton is a good fit for us. Chris Garrison has been real tough in the room. He’s a true freshman, and then [freshman] Christian Knop if he can get healthy he’s another guy we recruited in here to do some damage.
"We recruited to get some depth this year where we needed it, and we’ve got some talented depth."
Heavyweight
"[Who is going to start is a] million-dollar question, but I can tell you this — whoever we put out this year is going to be good. I already see two guys that have improved tremendously. [Sophomore] Deonte [Wilson] has made huge strides from last year, working with Nick [Gwiazdowski, former NCAA champion and world medalist] all summer, and then now having some other guys to push him. These guys are trying to be the guy.
"[Freshman] Owen [Trephan] has a huge upside. He’s already put on about 30 pounds of muscle. It’d be great to have Deonte wrestle this year and redshirt one of them if we can, but my goal is to put out the best guys this year, so if it’s Owen, it’s Owen; if it’s Deonte, it’s Deonte.
"Both of those guys have a redshirt year so we can figure that out and swap them the following year, if needed. There’s a lot of time to go before we start so maybe wrestle-offs and our open tournament will dictate some of that.
"Deonte has matured a lot. He got thrown into the fir, being a true freshman and getting thrown into the lineup at this level is sometimes not easy. Look at Reenan his true freshman year; it wasn’t easy. Deonte didn’t have a much different year [than Reenan as a freshman] and he actually placed fourth at the ACC — I don’t think Reenan placed fourth. Fast-forward and Reenan was one of the better guys in the country [last year] before he got hurt.
"You can see the progress. A year makes a world of different in college wrestling."
Like I said, team preview posts tonight … it's wrestling season!
Anyway, here are his full thoughts on each weight class from mid/late September … preview tonight will have different quotes, but figured I could roll this out to whet everybody's appetite.
125
"A lot of depth. I think [redshirt freshman Jakob] Camacho, with his experiences and what he’s done this past year, he’s got some big wins and has been the most consistent.
"[Redshirt freshman] Zurich Storm isn’t far off, and both of those guys are very good options for us. We can always use one guy up if we needed to, but Camacho beat Zurich a couple of times [last year] in open tournaments. Camacho is already talking about competing to win a national title, so he’s out there in front a little bit right now."
Note: Storm is listed as entering this weekend's Battle At The Citadel at 133, which means he's throwing his hat into the the battle royale at 133 pounds. The Pack will have six different guys competing there at that weight.
133
"133 is a wild card, I’m not counting any of these guys out. [Redshirt junior] Kellen Devlin has the potential to be very good for us. We recruited him to be the guy and then you’ve got a guy like [redshirt freshman] Jarrett Trombley that showed a lot of promise this past year and is coming off a redshirt.
"I see [freshman Mike] Madara, who challenged Trombley this past season in a freestyle match — it was basically 3-3 and he lost on criteria — getting into the mix. And then don’t count out a guy like [freshman] Kai Orine, who is tough as nails too. He was out in September with a minor surgery, but he’s as scrappy as can be and he’s a winner.
"We’re wrestling our best guys this year, so I’m going to leave it up to these guys to figure it out, but that’s a question mark weight class. I love the fact that we have five guys and someone is going to rise to the top. I wouldn’t be surprised if you see a couple different faces throughout the year and then by the end of the year we’ll figure out who is the guy."
141
"[Redshirt junior] Tariq [Wilson] has it locked up. He’s the real deal. I think going up a weight class is going to do him well because I think he was hurting his body being down at 133 and didn’t realize it. He was sacrificing so much. I just feel like he’s made up that size and done what he needs to do to be 141. It’s going to fit very well for him as tall as he is.
"I think he can be a factor nationally, right away. There are always good guys at the top, but it comes down to him believing he can win. He’s going to have to show that and be able to beat somebody that’s really good. He’s got all the tools that he needs to. I love the fact that he’s bigger, because him and Hayden [Hidlay, the two-time All-American at 157 pounds] are real fun to watch wrestle live in practice; it’s just a clash of styles. They make each other better, even though Tariq is smaller — he’s not much smaller, but when it comes down to competing, Hayden’s got a lot more weight on him."
149
"The tradition continues [where the Pack is likely to have multiple guys wrestle here throughout the year], but I do like the attitude and the depth that we’re going to have there right now. The three guys that are going to be right in the mix of things are [redshirt sophomore] A.J. Leitten, [redshirt freshman] Matt Grippi and [redshirt freshman] Matt Fields.
"It’s a lot like 133 — I think you’re going to see us cycle through every one of those guys. They’ll all have the opportunity. We can wrestle off all day long and a new guy would win, but I want to see who can beat the best guys in the country. I think it’s going to come down to consistency. All three guys are top-20 guys, I just don’t know who’s the guy that will start for us.
"149 across the country right now is kind of an open weight, so we need somebody to step up and compete there."
157
[Redshirt junior] Hayden [Hidlay] is on track, he wants his title. He’s got to continue to get better and work at the pace that he’s working, but he’s doing everything he needs to do to win a national title. He just has to go take it. He has to know there’s a target on his back, people are trying to beat him and study him; that’s what makes him great, he’s aware of that.
"He’s dealt with some of that stuff in the past. He’s going to get everybody’s best match, but I think if we learned anything with him he’s a competitor and the tighter the competition, the more he’s going to rise to the occasion. It’s hard to be at your best five months out of the year, we know we just have to be at our best at the end of the year."
165
"I like that we’ve got a couple of options. [Redshirt junior] Thomas Bullard has the most experience, but we recruited [redshirt freshman] Tyler Barnes to be a national champ here because he’s produced in the past. [Sophomore] Alex Faison has improved tremendously, so we have depth now.
"I watch in the room some days, and those guys go back and forth with each other. It’s going to be fun to watch those guys wrestle off, but I think Thomas has the nod right now, just based on experience. We’ll see if Barnes steps up and wants to take the spot, but he’s got to beat some good guys because Thomas is no joke."
174
"Same thing there. We’ve got [redshirt junior] Daniel Bullard, who has shown he can compete with the best guys in the country, and I think you’re going to see someone … we’re at a point where guys want to find their way into the lineup.
"[Sophomore] Jacob Ferreira transferred in [from Bucknell] and wants to drop down to 174, because he feels like he can give that a good push. That was the whole point of him wanting to come here; he felt like he could make our lineup.
"Those guys [the Bullards] have to know there are guys trying to take their spots, and it’s going to make them better. We’ll have depth, and the luxury with Barnes is he can be in between both weights if needed. There’s a good balance of guys to go back and forth.
"A guy like [redshirt freshman] Jake Cook is working hard and showing some promise. He’s just behind the eight ball because he missed most of last year with injuries, but he’s in that room and working hard. It’s nice this year to have some options."
184
"[Redshirt freshman Trent Hidlay] is a guy that wants to compete for a national title, he wants to be in the limelight. He’s a competitor, he loves the attention of winning and you’re going to have a lot of fun watching this kid compete in Reynolds. He’s going to make a name for himself, and I’ll put it out there and say he’s going to be one of the most exciting guys we’ve ever had wrestle for NC State, right off the bat."
197
[Redshirt junior Nick] Reenan will be our guy. He probably won’t be our guy all year, just coming off that injury and making sure we’re where we need to be. I don’t think he’s a guy that needs to be battle tested with 30 matches, but we’ll get him 15-16 matches for the year that we need to and let him fly at the end of the year. We’ll pick and choose for him. We have depth now. We can move guys around and find a 97 pounder for us.
"He’s the missing link to this team. We need him to go out, produce and be a national champ this year.
"[When it's not Reenan] we’ve got options. I think [sophomore] Tyrie Houghton is a good fit for us. Chris Garrison has been real tough in the room. He’s a true freshman, and then [freshman] Christian Knop if he can get healthy he’s another guy we recruited in here to do some damage.
"We recruited to get some depth this year where we needed it, and we’ve got some talented depth."
Heavyweight
"[Who is going to start is a] million-dollar question, but I can tell you this — whoever we put out this year is going to be good. I already see two guys that have improved tremendously. [Sophomore] Deonte [Wilson] has made huge strides from last year, working with Nick [Gwiazdowski, former NCAA champion and world medalist] all summer, and then now having some other guys to push him. These guys are trying to be the guy.
"[Freshman] Owen [Trephan] has a huge upside. He’s already put on about 30 pounds of muscle. It’d be great to have Deonte wrestle this year and redshirt one of them if we can, but my goal is to put out the best guys this year, so if it’s Owen, it’s Owen; if it’s Deonte, it’s Deonte.
"Both of those guys have a redshirt year so we can figure that out and swap them the following year, if needed. There’s a lot of time to go before we start so maybe wrestle-offs and our open tournament will dictate some of that.
"Deonte has matured a lot. He got thrown into the fir, being a true freshman and getting thrown into the lineup at this level is sometimes not easy. Look at Reenan his true freshman year; it wasn’t easy. Deonte didn’t have a much different year [than Reenan as a freshman] and he actually placed fourth at the ACC — I don’t think Reenan placed fourth. Fast-forward and Reenan was one of the better guys in the country [last year] before he got hurt.
"You can see the progress. A year makes a world of different in college wrestling."
Like I said, team preview posts tonight … it's wrestling season!
