Ohio State Wrestling (2015/2017/2018 B1G Champs, 2015 National Champs, 2019 National Runners-up)

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In case anyone is wondering why I'm raving about Marcus Blaze and stressing that we have to win this recruitment, see below. Absolutely insane.

 

[ScriptOhio]

Blaze is destroying U20's, he's our next great Ohio wrestler. You can mark that one down. Really hoping it is in Columbus though. Watch out for PSU...I know, shocker.

Top analyst expects Penn State wrestling, Ohio State to battle for No. 1 recruit

Penn State wrestling and Ohio State appear to be on a collision course for the commitment of the nation's top recruit, one leading analyst believes.

basicbluesnation.com

Top analyst expects Penn State wrestling, Ohio State to battle for No. 1 recruit​

Penn State wrestling and Ohio State appear to be on a collision course for the commitment of the nation’s top recruit, one leading analyst believes.

Cael Sanderson and Penn State wrestling could soon be in for a fight with Big Ten rival Ohio State for the current No. 1 prospect in the 2025 recruiting cycle and the top high school wrestler in the country, Marcus Blaze.

On an episode of FloWrestling Radio earlier this month, analyst Christian Pyles explained that he expects Blaze’s recruitment to come down to the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions.

“To me, I think it’s down to Penn State or Ohio State, if I had to guess,” Pyles said. “I think Purdue is obviously still in the mix.

“But does he want to stay home? A couple of hours? He’s like two hours from Columbus; it sounds like Marcus is kind of a homebody. He’s still talking to Michigan. Perrysburg (Ohio) is only an hour – it’s basically a suburb of Ann Arbor – a lot of people commute from Perrysburg into Ann

Arbor. So, yeah, Michigan is maybe in the mix. But I think it’s Ohio State and Penn State.”

In April, Marcus Blaze included Penn State wrestling and Ohio State on his list of six finalists. Also included was Purdue, where his brother is a rising sophomore in the Boilermakers wrestling program, Michigan, Iowa, and Cornell.

Marcus Blaze is the “top dog” of elite high school wrestlers​

A three-time Ohio state champion, Blaze is 157-2 going into his senior year. Finishing third in the 57 kg weight class at Olympic Team Trials in April, the 2025 recruit is now the U.S. National Team’s alternate for the 2024 Summer Olympics following Thomas Gilman’s retirement.

Blaze proved his merit in more ways than one at the Trials, defeating Penn State wrestling signee and No.1 2024 prospect Luke Lilledahl as well as top 2026 recruit Jax Forrest. The evaluators took notice, as Blaze has been FloWrestling’s pound-for-pound top high school wrestler for two consecutive months.

“Of that bunch, Luke, Jax, Marcus, [Anthony] Knox, he’s the top dog of that crew,” Plyes said. “That crew, we’re going to look back in like five years, there are going to be a lot of NCAA titles and many of those NCAA titles are going to be coming at the other wrestlers’ expense. You can’t go wrong with any of those guys on your team.”
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[RB07OSU]

Top analyst expects Penn State wrestling, Ohio State to battle for No. 1 recruit

Penn State wrestling and Ohio State appear to be on a collision course for the commitment of the nation's top recruit, one leading analyst believes.

basicbluesnation.com

Top analyst expects Penn State wrestling, Ohio State to battle for No. 1 recruit​

Penn State wrestling and Ohio State appear to be on a collision course for the commitment of the nation’s top recruit, one leading analyst believes.

Cael Sanderson and Penn State wrestling could soon be in for a fight with Big Ten rival Ohio State for the current No. 1 prospect in the 2025 recruiting cycle and the top high school wrestler in the country, Marcus Blaze.

On an episode of FloWrestling Radio earlier this month, analyst Christian Pyles explained that he expects Blaze’s recruitment to come down to the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions.

“To me, I think it’s down to Penn State or Ohio State, if I had to guess,” Pyles said. “I think Purdue is obviously still in the mix.

“But does he want to stay home? A couple of hours? He’s like two hours from Columbus; it sounds like Marcus is kind of a homebody. He’s still talking to Michigan. Perrysburg (Ohio) is only an hour – it’s basically a suburb of Ann Arbor – a lot of people commute from Perrysburg into Ann

Arbor. So, yeah, Michigan is maybe in the mix. But I think it’s Ohio State and Penn State.”

In April, Marcus Blaze included Penn State wrestling and Ohio State on his list of six finalists. Also included was Purdue, where his brother is a rising sophomore in the Boilermakers wrestling program, Michigan, Iowa, and Cornell.

Marcus Blaze is the “top dog” of elite high school wrestlers​

A three-time Ohio state champion, Blaze is 157-2 going into his senior year. Finishing third in the 57 kg weight class at Olympic Team Trials in April, the 2025 recruit is now the U.S. National Team’s alternate for the 2024 Summer Olympics following Thomas Gilman’s retirement.

Blaze proved his merit in more ways than one at the Trials, defeating Penn State wrestling signee and No.1 2024 prospect Luke Lilledahl as well as top 2026 recruit Jax Forrest. The evaluators took notice, as Blaze has been FloWrestling’s pound-for-pound top high school wrestler for two consecutive months.

“Of that bunch, Luke, Jax, Marcus, [Anthony] Knox, he’s the top dog of that crew,” Plyes said. “That crew, we’re going to look back in like five years, there are going to be a lot of NCAA titles and many of those NCAA titles are going to be coming at the other wrestlers’ expense. You can’t go wrong with any of those guys on your team.”
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It'll be us or Penn State, and it'll be an absolute war. He is the best Ohio wrestler to come out since Stieber and Taylor. All chips in, hopefully we can get our collectives to see the upside in getting a deal together for an elite guy like Blaze, though I don't think that matters too much to Marcus. He'll ultimately go where he thinks will develop him for the Olympics. Great news is he'll likely have Bouzakis and Mendez going with him if he comes here, plus Logie coaching him. That's a lot of firepower even aside from Ryan being a great recruiter. Question is can that win him over on a recruit that Cael has made priority #1? Shrug of the shoulders there.