Incoming Penn State wrestling Coach Cael Sanderson has finalized his first recruiting class in fine fashion. The wrestling gurus at Intermat have ranked Penn State's class sixth best in the country one spot behind returning Big Ten champ Iowa and four spots behind Minnesota the highest ranked Big Ten school. Penn State had a small class but more than made up for it in quality. I'll let Intermat do the work for me:
6. Penn StateTop 100 Recruits: No. 1 David Taylor (Graham, OH), No. 5 Ed Ruth (Blair Academy, NJ)
Impact Transfer: Cyler Sanderson (Iowa State/Wasatch, UT)
Other Notable Recruit: Luke Macchiaroli (Corona, AZ)
Commentary: What this group lacks in quantity, it more than makes up for in quality. New head coach Cael Sanderson inherited Ruth, who signed in the early period under the previous Penn State coaching staff. Two incoming freshmen -- Taylor and Macchiaroli -- had signed National Letters of Intent to wrestle for Sanderson at Iowa State. However, when Sanderson left, they were released and chose to join the coached that had recruited them in Happy Valley. Also coming along with Cael Sanderson is his brother Cyler, who will be a senior this coming season, and was an All-American in 2008 at 157 pounds.
It was already announced that David Taylor will redshirt next season but I would think that Macchiaroli would probably get a chance to start as a true freshman. He's projected to wrestle 197 in college and Penn State has a dearth of talent at that weight, he could be an instant impact. Also noted is the transfer of Cael's younger brother Cyler who will strengthen the lineup for his final season and help the Sanderson transition go a little smoother. Cyler was an All-American two years ago but just missed out last season. Cyler's transfer was also made official Tuesday.
Posts
4 comments:
I don't know the first thing about collegiate wrestling but I'll be damned if I don't get excited about news like this...
Five years from now: State College, PA will be known as the wrestling capital of the U.S.
HHV,
It's hard not to get excited. I was explaining this to a friend over the weekend and I think I came up with the best way of describing PSU's hiring of Cael. I told him hiring Cael Sanderson is the equivalent of hiring the Joe Paterno of wrestling, and I don't think that's overstating it.
I think its a little premature to label him the Joe Paterno of wrestling, there's certainly the potential for that to play out. I can't think of a proper analogy to substitute, regardless the impact of Sanderson's hiring is absolutely monumental and far reaching.
Not from a success standpoint, no simply because Cael's only been around for 3 years but from a living legend standpoint he's just as larger-than-life as JoePa. Every kid that wrestles knows Cael Sanderson just like every young football player knows Joe Paterno.
Now knowing my luck I probably just jinxed him and he'll be a huge flop.
Post a Comment