1. Jackson Morse
COMMITTED TO ILLINOIS
COMMITTED TO ILLINOIS2. Ryan Nieman
3. Jake Dorulla
5. Josh Houldsworth
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4. Mike Curby COMMITTED TO EASTERN MICHIGAN
COMMITTED TO EASTERN MICHIGAN6. Nick McDiarmidCOMMITTED TO MICHIGAN STATE
COMMITTED TO MICHIGAN STATE7. B.J. Suitor
8. Nick Smith
9. Tyler Keselring
10. Darius Wass
Scouting Report: Morse first established himself during his sophomore season when
he knocked off then nationally ranked senior and soon to be 4x state champ Mark
Weber of Goodrich. Since then, all he has done is win. He won an impressive state
title his sophomore year downing Senior National All-American and current Old
Dominion sophomore Brennan Brumley in a dominant finals match. He then officially
sealed his deal as one of the top recruits in the country last fall with an amazing day
of wrestling at the Super 32 Championships in North Carolina. In one day Morse
knocked off three nationally ranked wrestlers including Junior Freestyle National Runner
Up and 3x Florida State Champ Joe Cozart, Junior National Champ and #1 ranked Dylan
Alton of Pennsyvania, and PA State Champ Joey Napoli. The only hicckup in the past few
years for Morse was his one point loss to Taylor Massa at last year's Team State Finals,
a match that was somewhat controversial and a battle of the state's top middleweights.
This summer he further proved himself nationally with an undefeated performance at the
Disney Duals. He is well put together with a long, muscular frame and he wrestles well from all positions. The best thing about Morse is that he seems to compete the same in big matches when the lights are on, so don't expect him to get caught off guard his first year or two at Illinois, he should be ready to compete right away. Morse is ranked as the #21 recruit in the country by InterMat and there is no doubt that he will live up to that ranking and make a huge impact in the Big Ten and the NCAA - too bad we couldn't keep him in Michigan!
Grappler Video: Super 32 Finals - Morse vs Joey Napoli (PA)
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Lowell (D1)
152
157/165
122-8
2nd-1st-1st
12-0 @ 2009 Disney Duals
2008 Super 32 Champion
Scouting Report: There were some question marks about Ryan Nieman
heading into this summer regarding his ability to compete on the national
stage, however, he has officially erased all those question marks with one
heck of a summer that has seen him dominate the Disney Duals and finish
3rd in a stacked weight in Fargo wrestling in his first national freestyle
tournament. His 3rd place finish in Fargo officially put him on the map as
Nieman downed two top 100 recruits, three nationally ranked wrestlers, and
the only wrestler to win a period against him was eventual champ Josh
Dziewa of PA, who Nieman tech-falled in the first period. This kid is the
prototypical college 141 or 149lber in that he he is strong, athletic and has
that in your face style that a coach loves. He has great attacks on his feet and
is always pushing the pace, however, he also has an innante ability to stay in
good position and come out on top of scrambles. With two state titiles under
his belt, it was already evident that Nieman was tough, however, his
performances in Disney and Fargo have launched him into the forefront of the recruiting world and he should begin to get some serious looks from the nation's top programs.
Grappler Video: Disney Duals Finals - Nieman vs Shawn Greevy (PA state placer)
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Rockford (D1)
171
174
137-7
2nd-2nd-1st
9-3 @ 2009 Disney Duals
2008 USAW Preseason National Champ
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Hillsdale (D3)
171
174
130-12
Q-3rd-1st
4-2 @ 2009 Junior Freestyle Nationals
9-0 @ 2009 Junior Greco Duals
6th @ 2008 Junior Greco Nationals
2008 FILA Cadet National Greco Runner Up
2007 Cadet Greco National Runner-Up
Scouting Report: When it comes to national expierence, at Fargo in particular,
Curby is without doubt the most accomplished kid in this group. Most of his
success has come in Greco and while some people would argue that Greco-
Roman success does not say a lot for a college future, winning is winning and
his experience should leave him as prepared as anyone for the grind of college.
He is already committed to Eastern Michigan and he is a big pick up for EMU.
Curby is a quiet, humble kid who is a hard worker and much like many "Greco
Guy", he is a grinder who just keeps coming. While his Greco success is
impressive, keep in mind that he also won a high school state title last year over
John Rizgallah, who is a top recruit as well and he upended Oklahoma standout
Ronnie Balfour in Freestlye at Fargo. He has already committed to Eastern
Michigan and having coach David Bolyard to workout with everyday should be a nice fit for him.
Scouting Report: Dorulla finally got the monkey off his back last year
by winning his first state title after losing in the D1 state finals his first
two high school seasons. He has also proven himself nationally with a
big win over Iowa state champ Kyven Gadsen in last fall's Preseason
National Finals. He flies under many recruiting radars because he
doesn't wrestle summer freestyle events, however, Dorulla is without doubt one of the most talented kids coming out of Michigan this year and he has tall he physical tools to be a great college wrestler. He he is very athletic for his size and much like most Rockford greats, Dorulla can ride and turn on top with the best of them. His Disney Duals performance was solid, but not great, so really the only thing separating him from the top two here is breakout success on the national level. He is already ranked by InterMat as the #52 senior recruit in the country (as of June 09) and most likely Dorulla will graduate as a 4x state finalist and 2x state champ, however, his stock could go up even more if he chooses to wrestle at the Super 32s or Senior Nationals this year.
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Holly (D1)
145
149/157
174-11
7th-3rd-1st
5-2 @ 2009 Junior Freestyle Nationals
Scouting Report: The past 6 months have really pushed Houldsworth towards
the top of the conversation regarding this year's top recruits. He was pretty
dominant in winning the Division 1 state championship and he wrestled well in
Fargo, finishing just short of placing with both his losses coming to nationally
ranked guys. In Fargo he scored possibly the biggest win of his career when he
upended #9 ranked Luke Vaith of Minnesota. Houldsworth is built well for
college - he is strong, wrestles from good position, and really has very little
weaknesses - good takedowns, good on top, defends well...you get the picture.
Houldsworth does not have a ton of national exposure, however, he could
be a steal for some college coaches out there looking for a solid middleweight.
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Fowlerville (D2)
215
197
130-32
X-2nd-1st
12-1 @ 2009 Disney Duals
3rd @ 2008 Super 32 Championships
6th @ 2008 Cadet Greco Nationals
Scouting Report: McDiarmid is without doubt the most highly touted
upperweight in this year's group. He was an undefeated state champion last
year at 215lbs and his only loss at the Disney Duals was to the #1 ranked
wrestler in the country, Orlando Scales. In his loss to Scales McDiarmid was
leading much of the match and gave up controversial nearfall points in the third
period that cost him the match. His close loss to Scales, as well as a win over
Dallas Brown, who was 3rd in the state of Pennsyvania, further solidfied
McDiarmid as a big time recruit. He was also 3rd at the Super 32s, losing only
to highly ranked Antonio Giorgio of PA in another close match. He is already
committed to Michigan State and while McDiarmid is strong and athletic for a big
guy, his best quality appears to be his ability to compete with the nation's best.
In his matches with Scales and Giorgio he was competetive and wrestled to win, which is what he will need to do when he arrives at MSU and has to do battle with those Big Ten 197lbers.
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Swan Valley (D3)
112
125
181-2
1st-1st-1st
9-2 @ 2008 Disney Duals
Scouting Report: Suitor is the only guy in this class with a shot at
being a 4x state champ. Last year in his first year not at 103, he
dominated all the 112lbers in Division 3 en route to his 3rd title. An
injury kept Suitor out of Disney this year, which did not help his
recruiting value. He has not had the most national experience,
however, last summer he did very well in Disney and scored a huge win
over Ohio state champ Ty Mitch (who won in Fargo this year). His three
state titles, the win over Mitch, and the fact that Suitor will likely be a
125lber for life in college definitely make a strong case for him as one
of the top recruits in this class. Throwing in the fact that he has good grades (3.6 GPA/ 29 on the ACTs) is the icing on the cake.
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Ida (D3)
119
125/133
133-32
Q-1st-1st
8-4 @ 2009 Disney Duals
Undefeated @ 2009 NHSCA Duals
Scouting Report: Nick Smith came out of nowhere in 2008 to win
his first state title, however, he showed that it was no fluke by
repeating last year with a 7-2 win over Darius Wass in the finals.
This summer was he went to Disney, and while he lost 4 times, all
of his losses were to pretty tough kids, including a 9-6 loss
to #3 ranked Shane Young of PA. He also scored wins over Ohio
state runner-up David Bolger and Illinois state placer Chris
Williams. Smith has little national level expierence and he still has
room to improve, however, he has been getting better and better throughout his career as he was 37-19 as a freshman. Smith has been 119 his whole career so he shouldn't get too much bigger, but with his stocky build leads one to believe he will end up around 133 in college.
Grappler Video: 2009 Disney Duals - Smith vs Joey Bonaduce (PA)
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Greenville (D2)
119
133
140-10
1st-1st-Q
3rd @ 2008 USAW Preseason Nationals
11-1 @ 2008 Disney Duals
Scouting Report: Entering last season you could argue Keselring as one
of the top 5 in this class, and he still has the tools to remain in that
argument. He suffered a setback as the 2x state champ did not place at
this year's state tournament, however, weight issues seemed to take a
heavy toll on Keselring as he was undefeated all year up to the Regional
tournament and scored big wins all year long including a win over
Wass (#10) and the eventual champ in his weight Conor Youtsey. While
his state tournament was dissapointing, he appeared drained and did not
look like the same wrestler. That bad weekend does not change the fact
that this kid is one of the most talented wrestlers in the state of Michigan. He is slick on his feet and has an array of setups and shots in his arsenal. He has gotten out as much as anyone nationally and while he has failed to place in Fargo or score any breakout wins, he has been right in the mix with many of the nation's top wrestlers. Last fall he finished 3rd at the Preseason Nationals, with his only loss coming in way of a 4-3 barn burner to Jesse Thielke of Wisconsin, who is currently ranked 18th in the country by InterMat. His state tournament performance may have raised some question marks, however, Keselring's past success and track record of being competetive with the nation's best should still sustain his status as one of the top prospects in this class.
Grappler Video: 2009 Disney Duals - Keselring vs Keith Surber (IL)
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Swan Valley (D3)
119
141
162-7
4th-2nd-2nd
9-2 @ 2009 Disney Duals
8-3 @ 2008 Disney Duals
Scouting Report: Wass' track record is strikingly similiar to
that of former Swan Valley teammate Jared Germaine, who
entered his senior year last year as the #10 recruit as well.
Wass, like Germaine a year ago, is arguably the best
wrestler in the state never to have won a state title. Also like
Germaine, he has made up for his lack of Palace success
with a lot of national expierence and there is no doubt that
he is one of the most talented athletes in this group. This
summer in Disney he continued to thrive on the national
stage with a big win over Tyler Razauhan of Pennsyvania, who is currently the #16 ranked wrestler in the country at 119lbs according .to InterMat. He also lost a close 2-0 match Fargo Junior National Champ Ty Mitch of Ohio. While he has not won a state title, Wass has lost only 3 times in the past two years of high school wrestling: this year's state finals to Smith (#8), the Goodrich Finals to Keselring (#9), and last year's state finals by way of a 3rd period comeback to Roger Wildmo (#1 ranked Junior). He may be the most dangerous wrestler in the state as he is the kind of kid who will try anything against anybody and he is also very strong for his size. Whether he ends up winning his first state title this year or not, Wass will be a good pickup for somebody.
Grappler Video: 2009 Midwest Grand Challenge Wass vs Brent Fickle (OH)
Bullock Creek (D3)
130
141/149
170-6
5th-1st-1st
3rd @ 2009 Junior Freestyle Nationals
11-0 @ 2009 Disney Duals
Morse, Nieman headline Michigan's Top Recruits
8/13 - This year is yet another strong year for recruiting in Michigan, however, true to form the state of Michigan only has a few guys who have received significant amounts national recognition.
Jackson Morse and Ryan Nieman appear to be the obvious top two recruits based on their performances at national tournaments. Morse won the Super 32's last fall and he and Nieman both went undefeated at the Disney Duals this summer. Nieman then went on to take 3rd at the Junior Naitonals, beating a handful of nationally ranked guys. InterMat released their recruting rankings last spring and Morse was #21. He should stay right around their when the new rankings are released later this month and expect Nieman to jump into the picture fairly high as well.
Jake Dorulla, the #3 recruit on our list, was ranked as the #52 recruit by InterMat in the spring. Dorulla, Nick McDiarmid, and Mike Curby are the other guys to have placed high at major national events, however, there are a lot of other wrestlers in this class who have gotten out nationally and scored some big wins, but failed to place at Fargo, or gain a great deal of national notoriety.
A bit of advice to up and coming high school wrestlers looking to be noticed - register early and get into the Super 32s and/or start training for Fargo immediately after the high school season. While there is debate over whether Fargo is still the mecca of high school wrestling it once was, most college coaches and wrestling publications will agree that placing in Fargo remains the fastest route to national recognition. Ryan Nieman is a great example of this - prior to his Fargo performance the verdict was still out, however, following his 3rd place finish he will likely be breaking into the national rankings this fall.
The Disney Duals are doing great things for gaining exposure to Michigan's best high school wrestlers and competing against top tier competetion, however, the Duals still aren't getting the kind of exposure that Fargo, Super 32s, and the NHSCA Senior/Junior/Sophomore Nationals receive. Therefore, a lot of great Disney performances are going unnoticed by the people who do National Rankings and those same rankers are focusing heavily on the NHSCA Junior & Sophomore Nationals, which in case you forgot wrestlers from the state of Michigan are not allowed to attend (per the MHSAA). Therefore, some of Michigan's best kids remain to go unnoticed until late into their Senior seasons.
Below you will find everything you need to know about the wrestlers who we believe are the Top 10 recruits heading into the early signing period (which begins in November). This information is also featured in each wrestlers "Recruiting Profile" and if you go to the Recruiting Rankings page you can view all of the top recruits profiles. Parents and wrestlers who wish to change or update a profile can e-mail admin@michigangrappler.com.
Click here to view the entire list of Michigan's Top 70 Recruits.
Top 10 Recruits
