Colby Covington to Iowa State

ISU2007 · 04-07-2008, 01:28 PM

I have heard the same bad news about Covington. I know Brands was in Fort Dodge (Iowa Central Community College) two weekends ago. I know that Brands wasn't offering much of a scholarship before, which was the reason Covington was thinking Iowa State. He must have upped his offer when he found out he might lose Covington to the cyclones.

Iowa is a better fit for Covington as the 165 pound slot is his for sure. At Iowa State, he would probably end up at 174 or at 165 beating out his friend Carr.

Still hoping Covington commits to ISU on Wednesday.

JonDMiller · 04-08-2008, 11:01 AM

"Just another example that Sanderson is a better national recruiter than Brands. Most of Brands recruits come gift wrapped."

Let's make a deal; Brands gets the best in the state of Iowa, and ISU can compete with the Ohio State's, the Oklahoma State's, the Minnesota's, the Penn State's, etc, for the best of the best around the rest of the Midwest.

Deal?

Bobber · 04-08-2008, 11:08 AM

Not so sure about that Jon. Cael did get that heavy weight out of Waverly.

jahfg · 04-08-2008, 11:40 AM

Covington is pretty much a done deal to the Hawkeyes. It is probably the best choice for him personally. As for us, it hurts to not only lose him, but lose him to an already stacked team. He will provide relief for them at 165. I think it is a two team race the next two seasons and this certainly didn't help. It sounds like Nate Carr Jr. is battling injuries. I hope someone can step up and be a solid 10-15 ranked 165. If we can fill that spot, we have a very tough lineup with:

125-Clark, national qualifier
133-Fanthorpe, 7th
141-Gallick, 5th
149-Mueller, 2x national qualifier
157-Sanderson, 7th
165-Carr, Sorenson, Spangler
174-Reader, 7th at 165
184-Ward, highly recruited out of Illinois
197-Varner, 2x finalist
HWT-Zabriskie, 6th place (should be in the 1-4 range next season)

ISU2007 · 04-08-2008, 02:18 PM

Posted on thewrestlingtalk.com

Junior College national champion Colby Covington has decided to wrestle for head coach Tom Brands and the University of Iowa next season. Covington, who won the national title at 165 pounds for Iowa Central in 2007 and then redshirted this past season, will sign with the Hawkeyes on Wednesday.

"I really like the system they have up there," said Covington. "I trust Brands and the coaches and they're going to make me into the wrestler I want to be. I think Brands is an awesome coach and real passionate about making his wrestlers the best. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to be the best and won't rest until I have done that."

Covington picked the Hawkeyes over Iowa State and Oklahoma State, among others, after watching Iowa's dominant performance at nationals in St. Louis last month. The Oregon native, who has three years of eligibility remaining, could fit into the lineup next season at 165, which will be wide open after the graduation of two-time national champion Mark Perry.

"I think it's the best place for me to meet the goals that I have, which is to be a three-time NCAA champ and Olympic champ." Covington said. "When you have nine other starters who have the same goal, then it's a process that's fun to see how good you can get in the rise to the top. "

Wrestling unattached during his redshirt year, Covington placed third at the Midlands in December. There, he lost in the quarterfinals to Iowa State's Jon Reader, but also beat two eventual NCAA qualifiers in Indiana's Matt Coughlin and Purdue's Luke Manuel. Covington may have the chance to meet up with them again in the Big Ten next season, where he looks forward to wrestling the Iowa style.

"I think I fit in well with the style they wrestle, which is to push the pace and dominate," said Covington. "There's nothing more that I like than to break people. I don't want to win, I want to dominate."

The late signing period for college wrestling opens this week on Wednesday, April 9. During the early signing period in November, the Hawkeyes added four in-state high school recruits in Nate Moore (125) from Iowa City West, Matt McDonough (130) from Linn-Mar, Mark Ballweg (135) from Waverly-Shell Rock, and Grant Gambrall (171) from Iowa City West.

Madclone1 · 04-08-2008, 05:53 PM

Originally Posted by JonDMiller

"Just another example that Sanderson is a better national recruiter than Brands. Most of Brands recruits come gift wrapped."

Let's make a deal; Brands gets the best in the state of Iowa, and ISU can compete with the Ohio State's, the Oklahoma State's, the Minnesota's, the Penn State's, etc, for the best of the best around the rest of the Midwest.

Deal?

How immature . . .what a . . . when are you going to leave it alone Jon?

CyForPresident · 04-08-2008, 06:03 PM

This sucks. CC got 3rd at Midlands this year. Hopefully Carr Jr. can step up.

theshadow · 04-08-2008, 06:09 PM

I think that article came from HawkeyeReport, and was subsequently taken down. One of the more notorious posters at HR copied/pasted that sucker all over before it was removed, including the Oklahoma State board and themat.com forums.

ericlambi · 04-08-2008, 08:27 PM

Between Carr and Covington, which would we have rather had if we could choose only one?

Clonehomer · 04-08-2008, 08:36 PM

Originally Posted by JonDMiller

"Just another example that Sanderson is a better national recruiter than Brands. Most of Brands recruits come gift wrapped."

Let's make a deal; Brands gets the best in the state of Iowa, and ISU can compete with the Ohio State's, the Oklahoma State's, the Minnesota's, the Penn State's, etc, for the best of the best around the rest of the Midwest.

Deal?

We'll see how long Brands can keep these recruiting classes up. With only 9.9 scholarships available he's got to be either reducing or yanking 'ships from guys that thought they'd have them. I'm sure Covington isn't going there on his own dime.

JonDMiller · 04-08-2008, 09:12 PM

Originally Posted by Clonehomer

We'll see how long Brands can keep these recruiting classes up. With only 9.9 scholarships available he's got to be either reducing or yanking 'ships from guys that thought they'd have them. I'm sure Covington isn't going there on his own dime.

You are going to be correct here, because with only 9.9 rides, the coffers of excellent wrestlers will fill up quickly, and at some point, there won't be room for any more.

ISU2007 · 04-09-2008, 09:24 AM

It is official - Covington to Iowa

hawk central | Hawkeye Wrestling

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Iowa lands prized juco transfer

By Andy Hamilton
Iowa City Press-Citizen

Iowa wasn't Colby Covington's original choice, and he might not have initially been the No. 1 priority for the Hawkeyes.

But in the end, they might turn out to be quite a match.

The 165-pound junior college national champion from Iowa Central said he will sign a letter of intent today to join the current kings of Division I.

"He'll fit right in," said Iowa Central coach Luke Moffitt, who won a Big Ten title during his time with the Hawkeyes. "His attitude right away stuck out to me that (Iowa is) his kind of program with the way Iowa is with (coach) Tom Brands."

Covington picked the Hawkeyes over Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Ohio State, Arizona State, Northern Iowa and others.

"I really respect Brands," Covington said. "He's a real good coach. He's not focused on winning team titles, he's focused on making everybody individual champs. A team trophy will come with that; 300 points will come with that. The biggest thing is he's worried about each and every wrestler on his team. He's a really good guy, I really respect him, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to be the best and be the national champion."

Covington committed to Arizona State in the fall but didn't sign a binding letter of intent in November. He committed to the Cyclones in early March, but Brands turned his attention toward recruiting after Iowa claimed its first national title in eight years and won over Covington during a visit to Fort Dodge three days after the conclusion of the NCAA Championships.

"In the beginning, I wanted to be a Hawkeye, we just had to get a couple details figured out," Covington said. "I feel really good with my decision because that's where I want to be, I want to be a Hawkeye and I want to win in black and gold. But they had to take their time to get that national title, and then they were worried about me. I had a lot of schools talking to me, and I was going each and every way, but it's good to make a decision and get the process over with."

The timing of Covington's arrival couldn't be better for him or the Hawkeyes. The native of Springfield, Ore., comes into a room stocked with talented workout partners but devoid of an incumbent at his weight. Iowa must replace two-time NCAA champion Mark Perry Jr. at 165.

"I think Colby's ready to step in and place in the top three right away," Moffitt said. "He's to the point where he's starting to outgrow our room and he needs the next level."

Covington is the fifth member of a high-powered recruiting class that will fortify an already rich roster. The Hawkeyes signed four of the top Iowa high school wrestlers -- West High's Nate Moore and Grant Gambrall, Linn-Mar's Matt McDonough and Waverly-Shell Rock's Mark Ballweg -- in November.

Covington has three years of eligibility remaining at the Division I level. He went 26-0 during his first season with the Tritons and redshirted this past year. Wrestling unattached, he placed third behind Perry and Iowa State's Jon Reader in December at the Midlands Championships.

"Coaching wise, he's right where you want to see your kids," Moffitt said. "He has a lot of passion, has a lot of fire and he's real motivated to take things to the next level. You see some kids that leave a two-year program and they have their doubts about going into a big-time school. Obviously, with Iowa being the top program in the country right now, if he had the attitude where he kind of doubted himself we wouldn't be talking right now, but he's got a lot of confidence and fire going to this next level."

Reach Andy Hamilton at 339-7368 or ahamilton@press-citizen.com.

CyPlainsDrifter · 04-09-2008, 10:02 AM

Originally Posted by Madclone1

How immature . . .what a . . . when are you going to leave it alone Jon?

His true junior high actions have shone through since the wrestling NC for iowa. It's quite pathetic.

CyPlainsDrifter · 04-09-2008, 10:05 AM

Originally Posted by Clonehomer

We'll see how long Brands can keep these recruiting classes up. With only 9.9 scholarships available he's got to be either reducing or yanking 'ships from guys that thought they'd have them. I'm sure Covington isn't going there on his own dime.

Very true. If nothing else, by us going after Covington, it made Brands give him scholly money he wasn't willing to give before and that means less money available for others. An added benefit, is he just gave that money to a guy Reader beat at the midlands. While it's no big blow to us, he is a good (not great) get for iowa's hole at 65.

leg4cy · 04-09-2008, 10:08 AM

If Carr can stay healthy, I think his athlecism and pedigree will allow him to excel in the Iowa State room. No worries for me.