Andrew Campolattano will (officially) wrestle for Ohio State

[silvermedal]

Cody Gardner simply seemed uncommitted to the rigors of D1 wrestling. As a Buckeye fan, I think Campo changing his mind from football to wrestling just indicates that he prefers the latter. The pressure to go football must be enormous and it looks like he just decided to go with his heart.

My concern is he'll be Patrick Bond--all world in high school but unspectacular in college.

[Gold]

Silvermedal,

I think there's the potential for that with about 98% of high school stars, and not really Campolattano any more than most of them.

I'm thrilled to have a guy with his potential coming to tOSU, especially when he seems humble enough and to have a great attitude.

I know he lost, but there's still a lot to be impressed with in his Dapper Dan match. In the first period, he slips in an inside trip beautifully, but isn't able to finish because the other guy was huge and brutely. So, Camp immediately transitioned to a single. They went out of bounds and, again, he wasn't able to finish. In the lighter weights, an exchange like that wouldn't be of much interest, but you don't see it too often with the big guys. That he's able to move that way with his size is incredible, and he knows how to wrestle, too. He's perfect for 197 in my mind, and that's been a weight of concern for the Buckeyes ever since Bergman bumped up to heavyweight.

As I've said earlier in this thread, I see a bit of a risk in him, but there's no doubt in my mind that he's worth taking it. I'm much more comfortable with him in scarlet and gray than the opposing singlet. My only wish is that (and I know you'll agree whole-heartedly with this) he would redshirt this year.

[silvermedal]

Gold: Point well taken. Here's my response.

Ohio State has put together a monster class but many Buckeye fans are viewing it differently than we would have a few years back. Instead of being excited, we're wondering if Ryan will bring along these prospects the way we all thought he would when he was hired. There's a concern about guys with injury history (Courts and
Garcia) as well as the fear that some guys might need more time to develop than they'll be given (H. Stieber, Tessari and DiJulius). And then there's the "can't miss" stud--Campolattano--that of course can miss. There shouldn't be this sense of paranoia but there is. Tom Ryan came to Ohio State and did a tremendous job with Humphrey, Palmer, Jaggers, Bergman and Pucillo. But excepting Pucillo, who transferred in, all were already in Columbus when he arrived. His only AA recruits have been Sponseller and Triggas. There's a long list of guys that have come to Columbus since Tom Ryan arrived that have either not panned out (most) or failed to develop as expected. Now we're sitting on a boatload of young talent but wondering if past issues will continue or have been resolved.

Sorry to be a Debbie Downer. I'm glad the Bucks have signed Campolattano and am excited for this new class. But the bandwagon will not be filled until we see more guys develop like Heflin rather than Nemec.

As an aside--Bucks also have Tyler Lehmann working out at the Ohio RTC at the moment. If he receives appropriate academic accreditation, he'll be a Buckeye. If that happens, Campolattano may have no other choice than to wrestle Hvy.

Second Aside--I think Kenny Courts is a monster talent. I also like Garcia alot too.

[Gold]

This is a very interesting class. If Lehman gets through, it's basically 7 top-35 recruits. That's a ton of studs for one class. I completely agree that there is not a single "can't miss" in this class, though. The good thing is, there are too many studs to not have some hits.

With regards to Lehman vs. Campolattano... Lehman has had tremendous results on the senior circuit lately. I think it's safe to say he would be the better starter at 197 this year, but I expect that to change in a year or so (provided Campolattano develops as a college wrestler). This is unfortunate, because I think they are both good sized for 197, and the weight jump either below or above 197 is a big one.

[Snackem]

Momentary threadjack here: Anyone know if Garcia has been doing any freestyling and if so what weight he's been doing it at? Does he project at 65 or 74?

[Gold]

He's been at least practicing freestyle at 74 kg (163 lbs). He projects as a 65, possibly a 74 at some point.

[silvermedal]

Snackem: Given that he's already been out of high school for a year, the plan as I understand it is for Garcia to step in at 165 right away. Not like Ohio State has a lot of other options either. Cupboard was bare after Colt.