Gladly...I will just work my way through the weights. 125-Matt McD...he is a redshirt freshman and is already tearing peoples heads off. At this point he can finish just about any shot. He started the year off being a little more aggressive than his skills could support and reached for shots way too much, but he has been working on that and it shows and will continue. He can wrestle hard all 7 minutes and still has plenty left after. 133-Dan Dennis...Obviously slowed down by injury but is better now. It will take a little bit of time to get back on it with the conditioning but he will be there in less than a month. He is very aggressive and very quick with everything he does. Again, can go 7+ minutes hard and not tire. He has been steadily improving over his whole career and wont stop now. 141-Either Marion or Slaton...Marion is good but could still use some work. He is very quick and seems to have a pretty good gas tank. He needs to learn to stay out of trouble, which brands is good at coaching, so that will improve the longer he is there. I cant say a whole lot about Slaton because i havent seen him much this year, but from what i have he is looking good. He is very strong and very explosive. Not sure about his conditioning but we saw what he has for skill 2 years ago. 149-Metcalf...there isnt a whole lot to say here, he is metcalf. He sometimes has trouble finishing shallow shots, but he doesnt get in on many of those. As long as the person chooses to wrestle him, aka not be mueller at UNI, he will roll them. 157-Janssen...Obviously the weak link on the team. He has confidence issues. He has great shots but tends to not go at it with confidence. He has the speed but needs to build the trust in himself, with which should come from more mat time and getting some wins. 165-Morningstar(aka Morningstall)...I have always been disappointed with him. He obviously is a slow paced wrestler, which doesnt really fit into an iowa team full of go-getters. He needs to work on being more offensive. He has great shots when he uses them and really wants to. He has always been a defensive wrestler but i read an article saying brands is going to be getting on him pretty hard for it. 174-Jay...He is looking amazing right now. Aggressive but not too aggressive, quick but not too quick. He is strong and has great takedowns. When he has them down they stay there unless he wants them up. He can use arm bars as well as anyone. He is a steamroller and will keep going all year. 184-Keddy...Rebuilding from an off-season injury. This article should explain...
press-citizen.com | Iowa City PluckPersona | Iowa City Press Citizen 197-Who knows...if beatty is back it will all depend on how his recovery went and everything. Lofthouse is really a 184-pounder trying to fill in the spot for now. Hwt-Dan...Obviously he hasnt wrestled yet, but from what i hear is he is looking better than ever. If he comes back like he went out last year, he will roll. He has been keeping in shape during his recovery so that shouldnt be and issue. Last year he showed that he is a very quick hwt that tires others quickly and has moves you dont usually see in this size. He has great takedowns that arent just upperbody crap like most hwts. But we will have to see how he comes back, i bet its great. Overall they have a very intense team. The conditioning is impressive, which will pay off in the tournament setting. They have definitely not hit a ceiling, they are just below that peak, which is where you want to be at this point.