By Rob Sherrill

Talk about getting even. Last year at this time, we were talking about the dominance of Big Ten teams during the early signing period, which this year concluded Nov. 19.

            The top-five spots — and seven of the top nine — were occupied by Big Ten teams in 2008. But, scholarship limits being what they are, recruiting trends ebb and flow.

            Do they ever.

            This year, it’s the Big 12 that started fast out of the gate. Oklahoma State, Nebraska and Oklahoma give the conference a 1-2-3 start at the top. And Iowa State (No. 15) and Missouri (No. 16) make it a clean sweep for the conference, all five teams solidly inside the Top 25 in WIN’s fall recruiting analysis.

            Perhaps the most compelling recruiting story continues to be the battle in Virginia between Virginia’s Steve Garland, Virginia Tech’s Kevin Dresser and Old Dominion’s Steve Martin.

            All three have proven to be masters at selling and signing top-tier recruits. All three have demonstrated the ability to recruit nationally. And all three have a head start on top 10 classes.

            Garland signed more recruits ranked in WIN’s top 20 at their respective weights — six — than any other school in our November Top 25 rankings. Dresser and Martin each added five nationally-ranked recruits, with Dresser’s ten early commitments leading all 67 Division 1 schools that signed at least one recruit.

            The Ivy League continues to impress as Cornell’s Rob Koll and Columbia’s Brendan Buckley made the cut and Harvard’s Jay Weiss came within an eyelash. Navy’s Bruce Burnett hauled in an impressive class that will improve the depth of the Midshipmen. And many coaches who didn’t add quantity did add quality.

            In the Big Ten, Minnesota’s J Robinson and Wisconsin’s Barry Davis, who brought in top-five classes last year, were at it again, both starting strong. So too did Iowa’s Tom Brands and Michigan’s Joe McFarland.

            Rookie coach Mark Branch wasted no time putting Wyoming on the map with a strong November haul. Think Tennessee-Chattanooga’s Chris Bono couldn’t pull it off two years in a row? He did. A pair of Pennsylvania coaches, second-year Clarion coach Teague Moore and Bucknell’s Dan Wirnsberger, also scored.

            Two California coaches who missed by a whisker were Cal Poly’s John Azevedo, who continues to build depth into his program, and Cal-State Fullerton coach Dan Hicks, who scored big with a seven-recruit class, his best November group yet.

            By our count, 202 seniors — the same number as last year — took themselves off the board by making early commitments to Division I schools. Here are some highlights of the big winners in the early recruiting process.

            1. Oklahoma State: Coach John Smith made a strong opening statement by signing seven prospects who already have combined for 16 state titles, including three top-three recruits. Job one was keeping three-time Oklahoma champions — Dallas Bailey (165) of Catoosa High and Chris Perry (184-197) of Stillwater High — at home. He also shored up the 125-pound class with Illinois champion Jon Morrison of Orland Park Carl Sandburg High and a third three-time Oklahoma champion, Ladd Rupp of Perry High. Albert White (149-157), a former four-time Illinois champion, heads to Stillwater from North Iowa Area CC. Smith’s nephew, two-time Oklahoma champion Zach White (197) of Woodward High, and Blake Rosholt (285) of Ponca City High complete this class.

            2. Nebraska: Coach Mark Manning didn’t make this list last year, but this year is a different story as he signed six recruits from six different states. Not surprisingly, two are prospective 125-pounders: state champion David Klingsheim of Brentwood (Calif.) Liberty High and three-time Michigan champion Kyle Waldo of Rockford High. Cody Compton (157-165) of Bonne Terre (Mo.) North County High has been a Fargo star and Caleb Kolb (174-184) of Grove City (Pa.) High is a star in the making. Manning also inked an early Oklahoma State verbal, two-time Kansas champion C.J. Napier (133-141) of Columbus High and picked up one of his state’s top seniors, two-time state champion Michael Klinginsmith (149-157) of Kearney Catholic High.

            3. Oklahoma: Normally active during the early signing period, coach Jack Spates’ absence from this list last season was another stunner. His Sooners smashed their way in this year with five highly-regarded signees, four from the top five. He went to his native Northeast United States for three-time New York champion Alex Ekstrom (133) of Palmyra-Macedon High and Jake Kemerer (165) of Greensburg (Pa.) Hempfield High and also grabbed Missouri twins Nick (141) and Matt Lester (149) from Eureka High. He also picked up three-time Oklahoma champion Jared Patterson (125) of Cushing High, a three-sport athlete even at his size.

            4. Virginia: Garland’s newest class is filled with upside. Who’s the best? Is it the most highly-ranked recruits, No. 6 Jonathan Becker (184-197) from Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic High or No. 7 Zach Clemente (141-149) of Troy (N.Y.) LaSalle Institute? One of the hungriest, Nicky Gordon (141) of Kingston (Pa.) Wyoming Seminary? Or a three-time state champion like local Andrew Williams (133-141) of Yorktown Tabb High? Whatever way you pose the question, the answer has many possibilities. Jonathan Fausey (184-197) of Herndon (Pa.) Line Mountain High will be battling Becker in the Cavaliers wrestling room and Shane Milam (157-165) of Owings Mills (Md.) McDonogh School adds middle-weight depth.

            5. Virginia Tech: Dresser’s ten recruits fill virtually an entire future line-up. He ventured south and west and landed Cody Tyler (125) from Missouri powerhouse Kansas City Oak Park High, two-time Texas champion Erik Spjut (133) of The Woodlands High, four-time Alabama champion Hayden Countryman of Prattville (Ala.) High and two-time Georgia champion Taylor Knapp of powerful Suwanee Collins Hill High to battle it out for 149 and 157. Tops among four Virginia recruits: two-time state heavyweight champion Andrew Miller of Bassett High and diamond in the rough Andrew Clement (174-184) of Chesapeake Grassfield High. Yet another Graham recruit going Division I is Brian Stephens (141-149).

            6. Minnesota: Robinson loaded up in the lower and middle weights. He signed three three-time state champions, Bart Reiter (125) of Gilbertville (Iowa) Don Bosco High, David Thorn (133) of nearby St. Michael-Albertville High and double Junior National finalist Alec Ortiz (165-174) of Newberg (Ore.) High. Several other locals will stay home: Danny Zilverberg (125) of Plymouth Wayzata High, Pat Smith (141) of Chaska High and two-time champion Kevin Steinhaus (157) of Kerhoven-Murdock-Sunburg High.

            7. Wisconsin: Four of Davis’s five recruits — all from different states — have won state titles and four are nationally ranked. Davis raided Ohio powerhouse St. Paris Graham High for the second straight year and came away with standout Zach Neibert (133-141), then went farther east for state champions John Prezzia (141) of Hookstown (Pa.) South Side Beaver High, Brendan Ard (174-184) of Watchung Hills (N.J.) High and Derrick Borlie (197) of Winchester (Va.) Millbrook High. Only Kalvin York (157) of nearby Belleville High hasn’t yet won a state title and as a three-year workout partner of current Badger freshman Cole Schmitt, nobody questions his ability.

            8. Iowa: A year after taking care of business at home by cleaning up eastern Iowa, coach Tom Brands reached east for two-time Illinois champion Tony Ramos (125) of Carol Stream Glenbard North High and west for three-time Utah champion Ethen Lofthouse (174) of Hyrum Mountain Crest High. He’ll also keep two more Iowa City West High stars, Dylan Carew (141-149) and Derek St. John (157), at home next year.

            9. Old Dominion: Go-getter Martin hit five different states to sign five ranked recruits. He stayed local to pick up heavyweight Jack Burbank from Virginia Beach Frank W. Cox High, then headed west. Eric Dunnet (125) of Voorhees (N.J.) Eastern High and Justin LaValle (133) of Apple Valley (Minn.) High showed this summer they’ll be winners. John Nicholson (157) of Des Moines (Iowa) Roosevelt High will follow brother James to Norfolk and two-time Oklahoma champion Joey Sheridan (174) of Tulsa Union High is another blue-chipper.

            10. Cornell: Five of Koll’s six recruits will shore up the lower weights. Two-time New York champion Mike Nevinger (133-141) of Gainesville Letchworth High and state champions Kyle Dake (133-141) of Lansing (N.Y.) High and Craig Eifert (141-149) of Mason (Mich.) High are nationally ranked and Tyler Biscaha (125) of Jackson (N.J.) Memorial High and Cody Kelly (133) of Greenville (Pa.) H.A. Reynolds High are state place-winners. At the other end is two-time Colorado champion Stryker Lane (HWT) of Norwood High.

            11. Michigan: The signing of top-five prospect Eric Grajales (133) of Brandon (Fla.) High alone is enough to put coach Joe McFarland in the argument. More support comes from one of Michigan’s most underrated wrestlers, two-time state champion Brandon Zeerip (157-165) of Hesperia High and National Prep champion Sean Boyle (125) of Blairstown Township (N.J.) Blair Academy.

            12. Northern Iowa: Coach Brad Penrith is on his way to his best class in years with six recruits. He stayed local by adding two-time Iowa champion Jake Demmon (125) of Eddyville-Blakesburg High and traveled west for a pair of upper weights, Colorado standout Brice Wolf (174) of Greeley Central High and Ryan Loder (184-197) of Granite Bay (Calif.) High. Also headed to Cedar Falls are Georgia champion Joey Lazor (133-141) of McDonough Union Grove High and four-time Missouri champion Aaron Senzee (141-149) of St. Louis CC-Meramec.

            13. Ohio State: The heart of coach Tom Ryan’s newest class is a pair of three-time state champions, Ian Paddock (133) of Warsaw (N.Y.) High and Collin Palmer (141-149) of Lakewood St. Edward High. Both appear on their way to four state crowns. Ryan also picked up state runner-up Nick Heflin (174) of Massillon Perry High and stayed local for Jacob Vaughan (125-133) of Columbus St. Francis de Sales High.

            14. Wyoming: Mark Branch is wasting no time upgrading the Cowboys’ talent level. Leading his November class is a pair of three-time state champions, Tyler Cox (125) of Gillette Campbell County High and Jim Belleville (149) of Olympia (Wash.) A.G. West Black Hills High. Also signing were Colorado champion Jake Eitzen (125-133) of Estes Park High and California place-winner Patrick Martinez (157-165) of Temecula Valley High.

            15. Iowa State: Fresh off a class that contended for the nation’s best last year, coach Cael Sanderson signed just two recruits. But Graham star David Taylor (141), a three-time state champion, makes any class of any size a success. Two-time champion Trent Weatherman (157) of highly-regarded Huxley Ballard High also signed.

            16. Missouri: Concentrating on the middle weights, coach Brian Smith picked up three more in-state recruits: state champion Bradley Wisdom (133) of Farmington High, two-time champion Kellen Bounous (149-157) of Monett High and Kyle Bradley (149) of St. Charles Francis Howell Central High. He also mined Ohio for another plum from the Troy Christian family tree, state champion Zach Toal (165).

            17. Indiana: Coach Duane Goldman added two quality recruits. Four-time New Mexico champion Max Ortega (141-149) of Rio Rancho High will follow his brother, Matt, to Bloomington. Two-time New York champion Ryan LeBlanc (165) of Morrisville-Eaton High is another winner.

            18. West Virginia: Southwestern Pennsylvania has always been a fertile Mountaineer recruiting ground and coach Craig Turnbull scored again with two-time state champion Shane Young (125) of Harrison City Penn-Trafford High. Mac Mancuso (184) of Absecon (N.J.) Holy Spirit High was a state champion as a sophomore and Rocco Wellek (133-141) of Erie (Pa.) Cathedral Preparatory High was a state placewinner.

            19. Lehigh: Coach Pat Santoro signed just two recruits, but both are state champions. Joey Napoli (141-149) of Mechanicsburg Cumberland Valley High will try to repeat in a loaded weight class this year and two-time New York champion Austin Meys (184) of Clifton Park Shenendehowa High was the Division 1 Outstanding Wrestler a year ago.

            20. Bucknell: Dan Wirnsberger signed six recruits, working northern Pennsylvania for three upper weights: Corey Lear (165) of Benton High, Darin Rockwell (184-197) of Towanda High and National Prep champion Joe McMullan (197) of Kingston Wyoming Seminary. He also picked up depth down low, led by state champion Zac Hancock (141) of Troy (Ohio) Christian High. Derrik Russell (133) of Jackson (N.J.) Memorial High and Jack Ingram (133-141) of Marion (Mass.) Tabor Academy also signed.

            21. Columbia: Brendan Buckley continues to score big, with three ranked recruits committing. He dipped into California’s strong senior class, picking up Tyler Sheridan (149) of Concord DeLaSalle High and Junior All-American Stephen West (165-174) of Clovis Buchanan High. Robert Dyar (125) of Vestavia Hills (Ala.) High was a double Junior All-American and Ryan Doyle (141) of Lewisville (N.C.) Forsyth County Day School and Nick Mills (184) of Hunting Valley (Ohio) University School also committed.

            22. Navy: Bruce Burnett’s six recruits all have finished in the top three in their state or the National Prep Championships. Graham contributes yet another Division 1 recruit to the mix, James Mannier (165-174). The biggest name is two-time Virginia finalist Shane Gentry (125) of Stafford Colonial Forge High, and Raymond Borja (125-133) of Alexandria Hayfield High also reached the Virginia state finals. Burnett also mined home-state Maryland for twins Tyler (149-157) and Zach White (157-165) of Walkersville High and Ben Hatef (197) of Hyattsville DeMatha High.

            23. Tennessee-Chattanooga: Chris Bono has the Mocs back in the hunt this year with a class that will add depth, led by three-time Texas champion Jeremy Sandoval (133) of Colleyville Heritage High and two-time Georgia champion Alex Hudson (141-149) of Marietta Sprayberry High. Alex Eggers (149) of Kissimmee (Fla.) Osceola High was a state runner-up and Jake Young (174) of nearby Ooltewah High was a state champion as a sophomore.

            24. Edinboro: Two-time Virginia champion Michael Garofalo (125) of powerful Stafford Colonial Forge High and New York champion John Greisheimer (157) of Wantagh High, who carried his upset state win into a solid off-season performance, are coach Tim Flynn’s top signees. New York place-winner Zach Buoniauto (184) of Miller Place High adds depth.

            25. Clarion: There’s no substitute for young, energetic coaches, and Teague Moore is hitting the ground running with recruiting as well. He lured two of southwestern Pennsylvania’s best, Joe Waltko (133-141) of Wexford North Allegheny High and James Fleming (157-165) of West Mifflin High. Nick Milano (165) of Erie Cathedral Preparatory High was fourth in state and Delaware finalist Alex Thomas (184-197) of Georgetown Sussex Vo-Tech High also committed.