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James Aston ('05 wrestling signee)

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PickeringtonDad

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Thursday, May 5, 2005<NOSCRIPT></NOSCRIPT><TABLE width=470 valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD>Aston inks with Ohio State
By Nick Georgandis
Sports Editor

Thursday, May 5, 2005 2:56 PM CDT

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=216 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=photo-right>
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</TD></TR><TR><TD class=photo-right width=216>Katy High School all-time leading rusher and three-time state champion wrestler James Aston will suit up in both sports next year for the Ohio State Buckeyes. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Katy High School senior James Aston has signed a letter of intent to play football and wrestle for The Ohio State University next fall.

Aston is the Tigers' all-time leading rusher and is a three-time state champion wrestler as well as a nationally-ranked grappler.

Aston was the Most Valuable Player of the Tigers' 16-15 victory over Southlake Carroll in the 2003 Class 5A Division II state championship game and finished the year.

In two years on varsity, Aston amassed 4,634 yards rushing. In 2003, he carried the ball 376 times, a school record and followed that up with 373 carries in 2004.

His 2,452 yards rushing in 2004 were the most ever by a Tiger in 14 games and 113 yards short of Bill Jatzlau's single-season record of 2,565 yards in 15 games.

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=5 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle><!-- AdSys ad not found for sports:middle --></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>In the final game of his career, Aston rushed for 298 yards on 45 carries against Clear Lake.

As a wrestler, Aston has few parallels in Texas state history, winning the state title as a 171-pounder in 2003, as a 189-pounder in 2004 and as a 215-pounder in 2005. He last lost a high-school wrestling meet during the state tournament of his freshman year.

The Buckeye football team has been a perennial power in the stacked Big 10, finishing the 2004 season 8-4 overall and 4-4 in conference, with a final ranking of 20th in the country.

The Ohio State wrestling squad finished tied for 50th at the NCAA championships this past season in Oklahoma City, sending three competitors to the event

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Rivals has him listed as a two-star guy. 5'8", 190 lbs. 4.5 40-yard dash.

Just for the purpose of clarification, If he takes a wrestling scholarship and then joins the football team, he would still count against the football 85.
 
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Neither Insiders or Fans Only has anything on him in their databases. Google turns up info on his wrestling exploits.

If he plays football he would count as a football schollie.
 
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Chances are he'll never suit up for the football team. Remember JD Bergman played in last year's Spring Game? By fall he was no longer on the roster. Number one, the scholarship situation is tricky to deal with unless football has an extra one lying around. Number two, I would think the training for wrestling would be different than the training for football.
 
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That's what I'm wondering about. I mean, in terms of on-field results, he seems to have the stuff. I didn't see an offer list of any kind for him though, and I wonder about his grades (Not speculating one way or the other, just pointing out that I haven't been able to find anything.) I realize some guys are probably still under the radar even at the end of the process, but I find that highly unlikely for a skill postion player on a state champion team in Texas.
 
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Dispatch

OSU WRESTLING
From gridiron to the mat
Freshman from Texas working way into wrestling shape
Friday, February 10, 2006
Jeremy McLaughlin
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
<!--PHOTOS--> <table class="phototableright" align="right" border="0"> <!-- begin large ad code --> <tbody><tr><td> <table align="center"> <tbody><tr><td align="center">
20060210-Pc-F5-0500.jpg
</td></tr> <tr><td class="credit" width="200"> NEAL C . LAURON | DISPATCH </td></tr> <tr><td class="cutline" width="200">James Aston, bottom, of Ohio State lost 6-4 in overtime to Mitch Kuhlman of Minnesota in his first match as a Buckeye. </td></tr> </tbody></table> </td></tr> </tbody> </table>
Three weeks after he stood on the sideline during Ohio State’s Fiesta Bowl victory, James Aston stood on the St. John Arena wrestling mat in front of the second-largest crowd in OSU wrestling history.
Getting there had been a rush. The freshman from Katy, Texas, had little time to practice, let alone get into condition. His debut came against top-ranked Minnesota. Though OSU coaches were reluctant to put the 197-pounder in a big match, they wanted to see how he handled pressure.
Aston blocked it out. He wrestled on instinct, which for him means being the aggressor.
"That’s more of how I’ve wrestled my whole life," Aston said. "I’ve never been the type of guy to sit back. My idea going into the Minnesota match, even though it was my first match, is I wanted to go out there and (win by technical fall)."
His assertive style nearly worked. The three-time Texas high-school champion controlled most of the match with the Gophers’ Mitch Kuhlman, but Aston lost 6-4 in overtime partially because of fatigue.
It revealed the potential that OSU coaches noticed when they recruited Aston. With two more weeks of preparation and another match, Aston will gauge his progress when the Buckeyes (5-10, 0-5 Big Ten) travel today to Purdue (8-9, 0-6) and face No. 4 Michigan (13-2, 5-0) at home Sunday.
"(Aston) is an aggressive guy," coach Russ Hellickson said. "It’s a great attitude to have, but sometimes you have to temper that with maturity because (college wrestling) is such a different level. But you’ve got to like his enthusiasm and the picture in his mind of what he wants to be is a good start."
Aston’s life has been a blur since arriving in Columbus six months ago. He was a football walk-on and served as a scout-team running back. Once the bowl game was over, Aston dived right into wrestling. When wrestling ends, he will begin spring football in hopes of earning playing time as a running back or on special teams next season.
"It’s been tough, going from football where it is lift heavy, eat and just play football to a totally different lifestyle (with wrestling)," he said. "I’ve been working like crazy to get in shape. It’s been a tough month.
"I think my shape is getting where I can wrestle tough for a while, so I can start working on technique and hopefully I can peak right before the Big Ten (tournament)."
There are advantages and disadvantages to Aston’s situation, assistant coach Mitch Clark said. The upside is most wrestlers are tired this deep into the season. Aston has fresh legs.
"The downside is he doesn’t have the experience and savviness you acquire in six months of wrestling and it’s a tough transition from high school," he said. "His talent will make up for that."
Aston wants to play football and wrestle through next year before focusing on one. At this point, he doesn’t have a preference. Until then, he is focused on learning match situations, such as holding a late lead.
"Right now my goal up until the Big Ten is to wrestle a tough seven minutes — and get my timing down," Aston said. "My technique is there, but I need to wrestle some more matches to get my timing down on the way people move. Once that happens, I think I’ll be a tough threat at the Big Ten."
[email protected]
 
Upvote 0
osugrad21 said:
Dispatch

OSU WRESTLING
From gridiron to the mat
Freshman from Texas working way into wrestling shape
Friday, February 10, 2006
Jeremy McLaughlin
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
<!--PHOTOS--> <table class="phototableright" align="right" border="0"> <!-- begin large ad code --> <tbody><tr><td> <table align="center"> <tbody><tr><td align="center">
20060210-Pc-F5-0500.jpg
</td></tr> <tr><td class="credit" width="200"> NEAL C . LAURON | DISPATCH </td></tr> <tr><td class="cutline" width="200">James Aston, bottom, of Ohio State lost 6-4 in overtime to Mitch Kuhlman of Minnesota in his first match as a Buckeye. </td></tr> </tbody></table> </td></tr> </tbody> </table>
Three weeks after he stood on the sideline during Ohio State’s Fiesta Bowl victory, James Aston stood on the St. John Arena wrestling mat in front of the second-largest crowd in OSU wrestling history.
Getting there had been a rush. The freshman from Katy, Texas, had little time to practice, let alone get into condition. His debut came against top-ranked Minnesota. Though OSU coaches were reluctant to put the 197-pounder in a big match, they wanted to see how he handled pressure.
Aston blocked it out. He wrestled on instinct, which for him means being the aggressor.
"That’s more of how I’ve wrestled my whole life," Aston said. "I’ve never been the type of guy to sit back. My idea going into the Minnesota match, even though it was my first match, is I wanted to go out there and (win by technical fall)."
His assertive style nearly worked. The three-time Texas high-school champion controlled most of the match with the Gophers’ Mitch Kuhlman, but Aston lost 6-4 in overtime partially because of fatigue.
It revealed the potential that OSU coaches noticed when they recruited Aston. With two more weeks of preparation and another match, Aston will gauge his progress when the Buckeyes (5-10, 0-5 Big Ten) travel today to Purdue (8-9, 0-6) and face No. 4 Michigan (13-2, 5-0) at home Sunday.
"(Aston) is an aggressive guy," coach Russ Hellickson said. "It’s a great attitude to have, but sometimes you have to temper that with maturity because (college wrestling) is such a different level. But you’ve got to like his enthusiasm and the picture in his mind of what he wants to be is a good start."
Aston’s life has been a blur since arriving in Columbus six months ago. He was a football walk-on and served as a scout-team running back. Once the bowl game was over, Aston dived right into wrestling. When wrestling ends, he will begin spring football in hopes of earning playing time as a running back or on special teams next season.
"It’s been tough, going from football where it is lift heavy, eat and just play football to a totally different lifestyle (with wrestling)," he said. "I’ve been working like crazy to get in shape. It’s been a tough month.
"I think my shape is getting where I can wrestle tough for a while, so I can start working on technique and hopefully I can peak right before the Big Ten (tournament)."
There are advantages and disadvantages to Aston’s situation, assistant coach Mitch Clark said. The upside is most wrestlers are tired this deep into the season. Aston has fresh legs.
"The downside is he doesn’t have the experience and savviness you acquire in six months of wrestling and it’s a tough transition from high school," he said. "His talent will make up for that."
Aston wants to play football and wrestle through next year before focusing on one. At this point, he doesn’t have a preference. Until then, he is focused on learning match situations, such as holding a late lead.
"Right now my goal up until the Big Ten is to wrestle a tough seven minutes — and get my timing down," Aston said. "My technique is there, but I need to wrestle some more matches to get my timing down on the way people move. Once that happens, I think I’ll be a tough threat at the Big Ten."
[email protected]
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Good read!
 
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