Watch out for the Cowboys!

I spent probably over a year waiting for the fire and fight from one of the most talented rosters in the country and low and behold we got it at the Southern Scuffle.

Last year Oklahoma State never really seemed to click. And in Chattanooga this week, the pistols were firing - mostly in synch. Those that were supposed to win, did. And they got a couple awesome performances from others.

To be sure, there were a couple areas that we can question - so we'll go through and give each of the Cowboy starters a grade.

Before the tournament Nomad wrote the preview with his predictions. We'll use that as a baseline and discuss if they met those expectations and how they looked doing so.

125: Nick Piccininni - Champion

Pre-Tourney Prediction: 1st

The Performance: Picc obliterated the field and put up points while doing it. His 1st period scoring differential was 28-1, with a total differential of 71-3.

On the other side of the coin is that Picc didn't hit a single ranked wrestler and the only other one in the bracket was #20-Gabe Townsell who finished 8th.

But the bottom line is Picc stormed through and looked great doing it. He's squarely in the thick of the AA race and, ranked 4th, on the cusp of finalist potential.

Willie's Grade:  A

133: Daton Fix - Champion

Pre-Tourney Prediction: 1st

The Performance: Much like Picc, Daton had a super high pace, bonusing his way to the finals with three techs and a major. The first time he hit a ranked opponent was in the finals when he beat Austin Gomez 6-3 and two takedowns to none. 

Daton still hasn't allowed anything other than an escape point this year. He looks perfect at 133 which allows him to wrestle a high pace. He's currently ranked 6th because he hasn't hit the guys in front of him, but sky's the limit for him. 

The result at Scuffle (a title) was predicted, but he looked great doing it.

Willie's Grade: B+

141: Kaid Brock - 2-2 (Default)

Pre-Tourney Prediction: 2nd

The Performance: Brock gets a C by default. Literally because he wrestled two matches and defaulted. He won 13-5 and 6-1. We learned nothing about his current abilities in a season where he hasn't looked himself. He's 7-3 on the year and ranked 11th. Obviously the talent is there to AA for a third straight year. 

Willie's Grade: C

149: Kaden Gfeller - Champion

Pre-Tourney Prediction: 2nd

The Performance: Gfeller turned in a sterling performance, winning his second straight Scuffle title. Both titles were in strong brackets. Last year at 141 Gfeller beat Nick Lee in the finals after Lee pinned Alber in the semi's. This year at 141, Lee dominated his way to the title at Scuffle while Alber did so at Midlands.

Gfeller moved up and won this bracket by beating Verkleeren, teching Rohlfing (who beat Patrick Lugo this year), and beating #6-Mitch Finesilver. 

#7-Jarrett Degen was also in the bracket. So you have to figure that upon the next rankings update, Gfeller, who is 13-0 on the season, goes to #6 at minimum and perhaps as high as #4.

In both the winning of the Scuffle and in the rankings, OK State gets a gigantic boost - from an outside AA shot to one proven to be among the Top 8. 

I'd give G an A+ but he did have two close matches - one to Verkleeren and one to Finesilver.

Willie's Grade:  A

157: Jonce Blaylock - 6th

Pre-Tourney Prediction: Andrew Shomers, 4th

The Performance: When it comes to grades, this one is tricky. 

If Shomers, who is currently ranked #20 and didn't compete at Scuffle, is the starer, then assessing Blaylock's performance as it projects to the conference and NCAA tournament is irrelevant. 

Blaylock was 4-3 taking 6th with a few decent wins (Straw, Mossing, Klucker) and losses to Nolf, Carson, and Paul Fox. It was about the performance you'd expect from Blaylock but doesn't hint to potential NCAA points.

Willie's Grade: C

165: Chandler Rogers - 6th

Pre-Tourney Prediction: 3rd

The Performance: Not much to take away from Chandler's Scuffle. He was seeded high so he posted two falls before falling to Chance Marsteller 3-1 in semi's. In his next match he was leading 1-0 late in the 2nd with Shane Griffith when he appeared to pull his hamstring.

Rogers gets a B for doing about what we thought he'd do, but more than a grade, let's hope he gets healthy. He was reportedly on crutches after the tourney.

Willie's Grade: C

174: Joe Smith - Runner Up

Pre-Tourney Prediction: 3rd

The Performance: You could make a case that Joe Smith's Scuffle performance single handedly gives the entire Cowboy team a high grade. 

The back half of the line-up, while uber talented, has been in flux while trying to put the right pegs in the right holes.

Smith looked phenomenal with a high pace, excellent speed, and good direction changes. Few people have ever made David McFadden look the way Joe did. He also went toe-to-toe with the Mark Hall until being taken down in the final seconds.

Joe should move from 8th in the rankings to about 5 or 6, but more importantly, this performance answers so many questions as Joe was off out of competition for so long that we didn't really know where he was at. He projects to a clear AA contender with the potential for some bonus points.

Willie's Grade: A+

184: Jacobe Smith - 4th

Pre-Tourney Prediction: No Entry (Jacobe @ 174)

The Performance: Very interesting situation here with Smith, who made his first appearance at 184. 

Upon first glance at the brackets, I thought he'd be 2nd or 3rd and lose to either Deprez in the semi's or Shakur in the finals.

He ended up losing to Hunter Bolen (who would certainly get an 'A+' if we were doing Tech grades) in the quarters and then DePrez for 3rd.

So it was close to as expected. But Jacobe will probably stay put in the rankings around the #11 area making him a fringe AA/blood round match guy.

Willie's Grade: B-

197: Dakota Geer - 4th

Pre-Tourney Prediction: 2nd

The Performance:  Like Nomad I would have pegged Geer for 2nd here. He looked like a stone cold killer his last few bouts at 184 and I thought he could use his quickness at 197 to his advantage.

While a 4th place finish with a a 2nd place projection isn't too egregious, it was what I saw in the matches that left me a little disappointed. Geer looked a little slow and a little sloppy and didn't wrestle with the same sort of confidence that saw him dictate positions and assert himself in recent outings.

Perhaps it's the first time up at 197. As it stands, the loss to #16-Sleigh for 3rd will probably push him back to the teens. I'm of the opinion that Geer will rebound and that we'll see a better version of him as a 197 going forward and into conferences. But for his grade at the Scuffle I gotta ding him.

Willie's Grade: C-

285: Derek White - Champion

Pre-Tourney Prediction: 3rd

The Performance: A truly outstanding performance for White who not only won but wrestled with confidence and authority. He pinned #19-Thomas Haines, controlled every aspect with returning AA Nick Nevills, and was never in danger against #3-Anthony Cassar.

Surprisingly, Cassar couldn't muster a score on White. And it was just the second time all season that Cassar didn't score double digit points in a bout (the other was a 7-2 win over Nevills at Keystone). 

With the Scuffle title, White is now 11-1 on the year with his only loss to Gable in a 1-move match. White won't vault in the rankings as he's currently #5 and is looking at moving to #3 or 4. But he now has to be considered as a potential finalist contender and a shoe-in to score significant points at NCAA's.

Willie's Grade: A

The Oklahoma State Cowboys at Southern Scuffle - Runners Up

Pre-Tourney Prediction: 2nd

The Performance: Four champs at the Scuffle and three wrestlers that beat highly ranked guys they weren't picked to. There are still some questions in the line-up, like Kaid's health and 157. But Jacobe and Geer were solid in their first outings at new weights and Gfeller, Joe, and White answered the bell in fantastic fashion.

Beyond that, it was awesome to see the Cowboys, across the board, wrestle like they did. They always have slickness and technique, and now they have that mean streak and fire back.

Ultimately they maintained contact (28pts) with the consensus #1 team in the country (without a 141) and probably upped their projected team points for NCAA's. It would have been nice to see Geer and Jacobe win one more bout, and a healthy Kaid. But their chances at a team trophy look considerably improved.

Willie's Grade: A-