Cael went 18-1 as a RS I think. Short term loss for a long-term gain is a thing.
I will gladly eat crow if Casey scores points at the NC so the team can come home with a trophy.
I know tomorrow is never guaranteed, but the points he would score in 4 yrs with his eligibility in addition to how recruiting is going shows greater promise than this year.
The single Cael example will never die. HS/Freestyle wrestling is a totally different game than it was back then. Kids are way more ready for college than ever before. Cael himself has no issue wrestling true freshmen at PSU when they are the best in the room.
That said, I will give you that specific to Casey, he does seem to have an issue with mat wrestling that, in retrospect, could perhaps have been corrected during a redshirt year. However, I don't think we ever had that indication coming in, even with all of the elite matches he had.