Top recruit Youtsey taking Military route, committs to Army

8/23 - The top recruit in Michigan's class of 2011 announced his
college plans today as Mason senior-to-be Conor Youtsey verbally
committed to wrestle for the Army at West Point.  The 2x state
champ said that while other programs had a lot to offer, the military
life was too appealing to give up.

"Army has a great team and I think Joe Heskett is going to
awesome things to build the team up, but I think it was more the
military, Cadet lifestyle at West Point that sold me," said Youtsey, "I
had some interviews with high ranking officers and Colonels and
they made me feel right at home."

The decision for Youtsey came down to a pair of Ivy League
schools in Cornell and Penn, as well as Michigan State, whose
campus is less than 30 minutes from Youtsey's home.  The
decision, he said, was not an easy one to make.

"I looked at some Ivy League schools like Penn and Cornell and
had some interest, but the main one for me besides Army was
Michigan State.  Coach Minkel made me a great offer and I think
coaches Roger Chandler and Chris Williams are great lightweight coaches who could have done some great things for me.  I also felt really close to their program, but the Military aspect was the difference," said Youtsey.

Following his senior season at Mason High School next year, Youtsey will head to New York to begin his military career at West Point.  He says he plans on redshirting, or the military equivalent of a redshirt, his freshman year and will then have 4 years of eligibity in the Army lineup, where he looks to do big things.

"I plan on starting at 125 after redshirtings and I think that with Joe Heskett the program will go to the next level.  I don't think they have had the motivation and leadership in the past and I think Army wrestling and West Point will be on the map here in the next couple of years," said Youtsey.

Youtsey, who earned Junior Freestyle All-American honors in Fargo this summer at 119lbs, is the top ranked recruit coming out of Michigan this year according to MichiganGrappler.com's Recruiting Rankings.  He is a 2x Division 2 State Champion, as well as a 2010 FloNationals Champion.  He is rated as the #55 recruit in the country according to InterMat.

Click here to watch Youtsey's interview with Michigan Grappler.

Conor Youtsey's Recruiting Portfolio
Michigan Grappler Recruiting Central




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