The future of the Hokies’ wrestling program is up in the air after its head coach leaves for Iowa.
Jim Reedy
Last week Virginia Tech swelled with optimism about its wrestling program.
With former Olympic gold medalist Tom Brands at the helm, the Hokies had championship aspirations and were, in the words of athletic director Jim Weaver, “on the verge of doing some outstanding things.”
Those hopes all but disintegrated Wednesday, as Brands was introduced as the new coach at Iowa, his alma mater, and the Hokies announced their intention to evaluate whether the program he leaves behind is even worth continuing.
As Brands spoke at a news conference in Iowa City, calling stewardship of college wrestling’s most storied program something “I’ve worked my whole career for, “Virginia Tech officials assessed the damage back in Blacksburg.
Four of Tech’s top young wrestlers likely will follow Brands to Iowa. Assistant coaches Wes Hand and Doug Schwab also could leave. And with the spring signing period opening Wednesday, the Hokies’ recruiting class is suddenly in flux.
As a result, Virginia Tech will spend the next 10-14 days evaluating whether to stick with the ambitious and expensive plans it developed to allow Brands to pursue a national championship, said Jon Jaudon, the assistant AD who oversees the wrestling program.
The Hokies have not ruled out dropping the program altogether, Jaudon said.
Hand said Brands was offered the Iowa job Tuesday and considered his options overnight. Wednesday morning, he called Jaudon and Weaver with his decision.
“Tom told us that it came down to the wrestling culture that Iowa offered, that Virginia Tech and Southwest Virginia at this point did not have, “Jaudon said.
Hand, a Hokies assistant coach since 2002, said the decision was “extremely difficult “for Brands, given the loyalty he had developed in two years at Virginia Tech.
Brands opened Wednesday’s news conference by thanking the Hokies for making his first head coaching job “a great experience. “He said he always expected to someday return to Iowa, “but it’s much quicker than I thought.”
Brands, who turns 38 on Sunday, grew up in Sheldon, Iowa, and won three individual NCAA titles for the Hawkeyes. He was an assistant coach there for 12 seasons before coming to Tech in 2004. As a wrestler and assistant coach, he had a hand in nine of Iowa’s 20 team championships.
Brands was an Iowa assistant when legendary coach Dan Gable retired in 1997, but the Hawkeyes chose to promote Jim Zalesky instead. Iowa announced last week it would not renew Zalesky’s contract after the team finished without a individual Big Ten or NCAA champion for the second straight year and placed fourth in the team standings at the NCAA meet.
The move surprised Virginia Tech officials who expected they might have at least three to five seasons with Brands before the traditional powers came calling.
“I would have thought it would have been a few years down the road, but those things are so unpredictable, “Jaudon said. “Who would have thought Iowa would fire a coach who finished fourth in the nation?”
In their first season under Brands, the Hokies finished second at the ACC championships and set program records with 16 dual meet wins and five NCAA qualifiers.
Several of the wrestlers Brands inherited quit the team, but he replaced them with a large recruiting class ranked among the best in the nation.
With nearly all of those recruits redshirted, the Hokies slumped to 1-16 this season. Now four top freshmen could depart without ever wrestling a varsity match. Brent Metcalf said he intends to transfer to Iowa, and he likely will be joined by Iowa natives Dan LeClere, Joe Slaton and Jay Borschel.
All four came to Virginia Tech because of Brands.
“It’s a bummer for me, “said Metcalf, a Michigan native. “I mean, I like it here a lot. … But at the same time, wrestling is a very important part of my life. I can get an education anywhere I go. If [Iowa is] where the best situation is, I need to go after it.”
NCAA rules allow student-athletes except football, basketball and hockey players to transfer one time from one four-year college to another without having to sit out a year, provided their original school grants them a release. Jaudon said he could not recall an instance in his seven-year tenure when Virginia Tech had denied such a request.
Incoming recruits also could waver on their commitments, including three top Christiansburg High School wrestlers. Seniors Matt Epperly and Jantzen Minton and junior Cody Gardner are “kind of up in the air right now, “Blue Demons coach Kevin Dresser said.
“My phone has been ringing off the wall with Division I coaches for those two [seniors], “Dresser said.
Yet Dresser, a former Iowa All-American who helped recruit Brands to the Hawkeyes in the mid-1980s, said all is not lost for the Hokies.
“A lot of people think the sky’s falling in Virginia wrestling, “Dresser said. “I kind of disagree with that. … Tom Brands is a great guy and even though a lot of people are upset and frustrated, I think he’s been a good thing for Virginia Tech. When you hire a big name, that’s the risk you take.”
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