Should Have Redshirted Swiderski
- Thread starter ST8TAILG8R
- Start date
I think a good thing that could come out of this is we probably wont see another true freshman wrestle for us no matter how good they are they'll get redshirted their first year
Starting him was the right move. This team has the potential to get an NCAA trophy, they had to take their chance. In order to do that, we needed as many bullets in the chamber as possible at NCAAs and the talent was there for Casey to not only place, but place high.
His season has been unfortunate. I’m still rooting for him to turn it around, but it seems unlikely. Starting him was 100% the right move.
His season has been unfortunate. I’m still rooting for him to turn it around, but it seems unlikely. Starting him was 100% the right move.
He is still my favorite wrestler on the team. He will fight his way back.
Please stop with the redshirt debate and the coulda/woulda/shoulda's. Casey had plenty of national level experience coming in and was our best option at the weight. There are plenty of examples around the country of true freshmen tearing it up. The 'always redshirt' argument is a thing of the past.
Did this thought really need a new thread? The Casey we saw against woods at Iowa says otherwise.
Some comments/thoughts:
Casey is our best option and earned the spot so him wrestling this year I have no issue with. Retrospectively I wish they wouldn’t have hyped him the way they did. I also wonder if easing his transition like Haines or (I believe) Mendez would have helped. It would have shortened the seasons and potentially tempered the expectations-which I think may be part of his current mental glitch.
Idk. I just know I haven’t seen a drastic change in a wrestler in a single season where a major injury wasn’t the direct cause. So maybe there is far more to the shoulder than we know.
Edit: I absolutely feel for the kid. You can see how hard this is on him. He will come out the other end of this and be better off for it; in wrestling and life.
Casey is our best option and earned the spot so him wrestling this year I have no issue with. Retrospectively I wish they wouldn’t have hyped him the way they did. I also wonder if easing his transition like Haines or (I believe) Mendez would have helped. It would have shortened the seasons and potentially tempered the expectations-which I think may be part of his current mental glitch.
Idk. I just know I haven’t seen a drastic change in a wrestler in a single season where a major injury wasn’t the direct cause. So maybe there is far more to the shoulder than we know.
Edit: I absolutely feel for the kid. You can see how hard this is on him. He will come out the other end of this and be better off for it; in wrestling and life.
I am far from a diehard wrassling fan. But what I saw from him against woods proved he is ready.
I agree with this. Plus when you hear Reddings interview about how Casey dominated in the room and cleared out the weight it's easy to see why the coaches made that decision.
However with benefit of 20/20 hindsight... In the future I'm using the 5 eligible events and rotating in guys like Frost (while keeping his rs in tact). I'd let the stud TrFr go against top level guys and prove himself at a scuffle or Vegas type event before I let him burn the shirt. This reminds me of Meeks. I hope Casey can turn it around soon and have a great career. I know we're all rooting for him.
That was in December and not sure if he was hurt at the time. He hasn’t looked the same in 2023
I agree with this approach, but please don’t compare to Meeks. Meeks never had half the talent or the mindset of Casey.
Casey will be fine. And probably better for it.
I think Caseys shoulder is bothering him more than he or the coaches are letting on. I’m a media interview a couple weeks ago, he talked about changing his style and picking his attacks/being smart to avoid some of the positions that put stress on his shoulder. Unfortunately the high attack rate is what makes Casey good and I think if trying to be more conservative plus the losses has really done a lot to his confidence. Get that shoulder right this off-season and he will be fine. The staff made the right decision to not redshirt him and hindsight is always 20/20
He also has had one of the toughest schedules on the team.
Speaking of John Meeks, I was at Des Moines Valley, watching my grandson at a JV tournament. Ran into John, Kyle Larson and Mike Sr and Gabe Moreno. Made time to talk to all of them toward the end of the tournament. Great guys and all coaching in the Des Moines area
You wrestle the guy that has the best chance of performing in March. It’s not like he is losing to bad wrestlers. Scwartz just beat Hart 8-1. March is all that really matters. Can’t wait to see how Casey and team responds tonight after the lack luster performance last night.
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I never mentioned anything about either guys talent or mindset. There are however a lot of similarities. Both looked great in early season close losses to top ranked opponents. Both were considered the top recruit of his class. Pre season and early season expectations on both were very high and coaches verbally touted the special talents for both guys.
Don't misinterpret my comment as a prediction on how I think Casey's career will play out. That will be written by his results moving forward. I do think most of us don't realize or under estimate how big of a jump it is when transitioning from a "world class" level high-schooler to a AA level competitor at D1.
