'24 TN DL Carson Gentle (Tennessee)

#451
#451
walkenvol said:
Looked up his wrestling stats from last year. 31-5 and a third place finish in the D2 state Tournament. Those are not “elite” and won’t earn him any mention on a national level whereas Navarro is top 10 ranked nationally which is “elite”. Doesn’t mean Gentle won’t be successful at UT and the wrestling experience is usually helpful training, especially for linemen.

What impressed me was Gentle also played in some basketball games last year at McCallie. I don’t recall ever seeing an athlete playing basketball and also wrestling during the same season at a school with top level athletic programs.

I’m also a big believer in CRG so any recruit he takes has the potential to do well if they avoid injury and embrace his coaching.
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What are is your background to say he's not an elite wrestler in Tennessee? I'm talking by Tennessee standards. I'm just curious how familiar you are with the sport.

He's been wrestling since middle school, I know his middle school coach and his high school coach. He's a 3 time state placer (4th at 220 as a freshman, 3rd at 220 as a sophomore, 3rd and 285 as a junior). He's currently projected as the best D2 285 and expected to win a state title this season. He finished 6th in regions last year because he had to medical forfeit out of the tournament. His loss in the state semis was a close match to a guy he previously beat, and 1 week after his medical forfeit. His other loss that I find was to Max Fisher from MBA who was the eventual state champion, and that loss was for injury time. D2 isn't as densely saturated with wrestling talent, but the guys at the top of every weight class in that division are what would be considered "elite" by Tennessee standards, and occasionally get national recognition. Gentle probably hasn't competed at national tournaments to get any national recognition which is what is required for southern wrestlers to get recognized.

If you don't want to call him elite, the least you can say is he's "really damn good" which is what I'm sure coach Herring and Connell would say. The kid has been at it a long time.
 
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#452
#452
buckfama said:
He did have a Georgia offer and did an official visit? Wouldnt you consider that an elite offer? Notre Dame?

And he has told everyone that he has shut down his recruitment.

Someone already broke down his measurables comparing them to an elite NFL d lineman.

Why are you so against giving this young man any credit? Or the coaching staff?
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If Rodney Garner wants him that is all you should need to know
 
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#453
#453
SoilVol said:
What are is your background to say he's not an elite wrestler in Tennessee? I'm talking by Tennessee standards. I'm just curious how familiar you are with the sport.

He's been wrestling since middle school, I know his middle school coach and his high school coach. He's a 3 time state placer (4th at 220 as a freshman, 3rd at 220 as a sophomore, 3rd and 285 as a junior). He's currently projected as the best D2 285 and expected to win a state title this season. He finished 6th in regions last year because he had to medical forfeit out of the tournament. His loss in the state semis was a close match to a guy he previously beat, and 1 week after his medical forfeit. His other loss that I find was to Max Fisher from MBA who was the eventual state champion, and that loss was for injury time. D2 isn't as densely saturated with wrestling talent, but the guys at the top of every weight class in that division are what would be considered "elite" by Tennessee standards, and occasionally get national recognition. Gentle probably hasn't competed at national tournaments to get any national recognition which is what is required for southern wrestlers to get recognized.

If you don't want to call him elite, the least you can say is he's "really damn good" which is what I'm sure coach Herring and Connell would say. The kid has been at it a long time.
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.
 
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#454
#454
SoilVol said:
What are is your background to say he's not an elite wrestler in Tennessee? I'm talking by Tennessee standards. I'm just curious how familiar you are with the sport.

He's been wrestling since middle school, I know his middle school coach and his high school coach. He's a 3 time state placer (4th at 220 as a freshman, 3rd at 220 as a sophomore, 3rd and 285 as a junior). He's currently projected as the best D2 285 and expected to win a state title this season. He finished 6th in regions last year because he had to medical forfeit out of the tournament. His loss in the state semis was a close match to a guy he previously beat, and 1 week after his medical forfeit. His other loss that I find was to Max Fisher from MBA who was the eventual state champion, and that loss was for injury time. D2 isn't as densely saturated with wrestling talent, but the guys at the top of every weight class in that division are what would be considered "elite" by Tennessee standards, and occasionally get national recognition. Gentle probably hasn't competed at national tournaments to get any national recognition which is what is required for southern wrestlers to get recognized.

If you don't want to call him elite, the least you can say is he's "really damn good" which is what I'm sure coach Herring and Connell would say. The kid has been at it a long time.
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You’re obviously close to Mr Gentle. Nothing I said was a cut or slight to him and I’m optimistic he will do well at UT. I’ve spent my life around the sport of wrestling and know what “elite” is and at this point his resume doesn’t support that claim. Compare him to Scott Wells’ high school resume and you might understand. Maybe we simply have a different opinion of “elite”, but we both are happy CG is a Vol.
 
#455
#455
walkenvol said:
You’re obviously close to Mr Gentle. Nothing I said was a cut or slight to him and I’m optimistic he will do well at UT. I’ve spent my life around the sport of wrestling and know what “elite” is and at this point his resume doesn’t support that claim. Compare him to Scott Wells’ high school resume and you might understand. Maybe we simply have a different opinion of “elite”, but we both are happy CG is a Vol.
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Agree. At the very least those are the kind of stats I would expect from any kid that is good enough to earn an offer to play SEC football and has been committed to the sport for a long time. Not elite though.
 
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#456
#456
walkenvol said:
You’re obviously close to Mr Gentle. Nothing I said was a cut or slight to him and I’m optimistic he will do well at UT. I’ve spent my life around the sport of wrestling and know what “elite” is and at this point his resume doesn’t support that claim. Compare him to Scott Wells’ high school resume and you might understand. Maybe we simply have a different opinion of “elite”, but we both are happy CG is a Vol.
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I think we have a different opinion of "elite". Maybe "elite" was an over statement. He's not competing on the national level, no. Ftr, I'm not close to him but I am close to the Connells.

Apparently his little brother is a better athlete and wrestler fwiw. Very happy we got Carson, I think he's going to be a good one.

We probably know each other or know of each other if you're affiliated with wrestling in TN.
 
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#457
#457
walkenvol said:
Looked up his wrestling stats from last year. 31-5 and a third place finish in the D2 state Tournament. Those are not “elite” and won’t earn him any mention on a national level whereas Navarro is top 10 ranked nationally which is “elite”. Doesn’t mean Gentle won’t be successful at UT and the wrestling experience is usually helpful training, especially for linemen.

What impressed me was Gentle also played in some basketball games last year at McCallie. I don’t recall ever seeing an athlete playing basketball and also wrestling during the same season at a school with top level athletic programs.

I’m also a big believer in CRG so any recruit he takes has the potential to do well if they avoid injury and embrace his coaching.
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#458
#458
SoilVol said:
I think we have a different opinion of "elite". Maybe "elite" was an over statement. He's not competing on the national level, no. Ftr, I'm not close to him but I am close to the Connells.

Apparently his little brother is a better athlete and wrestler fwiw. Very happy we got Carson, I think he's going to be a good one.

We probably know each other or know of each other if you're affiliated with wrestling in TN.
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#461
#461
Vols_In_Cambridge said:
He won 25 straight matches including Johnny Drennan invitational, Bradley Central invitiational, and McCallie Invitational -- beating several GA/AL/KY/TN state champion in each. Then he got kneed in the nose and concussed in duel (he was leading at the time). So one loss there and 3 forfeits were non-matches in district tournament (showed up, but did not wrestle to qualify for state) while recovering from concussion (not cleared from concussion). He did lose a match in state tournament-but had easily beat the #1 and #2 earlier in season. Qualified for national preps and placed 10th--two spots below All American.
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This^

I think he goes undefeated this year. If he loses it'll be to an out of state opponent.
 
#463
#463
BigOrangeTrain said:
No sorry I don’t consider his offer list as elite. Does that mean he won’t be elite? Absolutely not. I hope he is. I just don’t see elite in his film. Some others do. Ok he **** down his recruitment. That’s good.

A fan on a message board comparing his measurables to NFL DL is beyond dumb imo. I mean I think he is a solid player no doubt. I trust the staff. I just think we can do better. I think the main reason people are talking about him is because he is an instate guy. I would be willing to bet if he were from Iowa say, people wouldn’t be bringing up elite.
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At this point, measurable are basically all wr can go on. That and the eye test. If you're really open to information, then using his measurable and co.oating him to an NFL player is not a bad way to do it. Those are really, really good numbers.

And put the cherry on top of Garner wanting him, plus how he flashes on film, I think he will be a good player for us.
 
#467
#467
yourhighschoolsports.com

Recruit Snapshot: Carson Gentle - Your High School Sports

Recruit Snapshot: Carson GentleCarson Gentle, defensive end, linebacker, and tight end for McCallie School (Chattanooga, TN) has put together a career thus far that will make every coach aware of his story smile. Gentle is a tough young man that has done everything right to earn the situation he...
yourhighschoolsports.com

Carson Gentle is a complete player, a bright young man, and a great leader on his team on and off the field. He has had his success playing against the best competition that the state of Tennessee can offer week in and week out. Gentle developed the technique and effort to play at a high level, and then developed his body to match up with his skill. And all of that pales away to the absolute physicality that Gentle plays with. He delivers a blow on every play, they never seem to fade or wear on him, and they all hurt. Gentle is the boxer that ears his opponent’s best punches, smiles back at him, and caves the opponent’s face in with repeated, stiff, sharp, straight jabs. Watching Gentle play is how defense is supposed to be played, with technique and toughness.
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#469
#469
Vols_In_Cambridge said:
agree with this-but in my opinion, Charles Power is the best non-coach/media personality at evaluating talent. You will notice that the quality of ratings from his former employer went down when he left for his current company.
Many (not all) of the guys at rating services are more "fan boys" than talent evaluators. That does not make them bad people--but they know very little about what really an exceptional football player-particularly for OL/DL/LB positions. Charles Power's evaluations consistently show that he has watched and comprehended game film. He is not perfect (nor are any coaches), but he is pretty good.

Charles Power rating for Carson Gentle is 89.
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Said this about the service “talent evaluators” for years.
 
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#470
#470
walkenvol said:
Looked up his wrestling stats from last year. 31-5 and a third place finish in the D2 state Tournament. Those are not “elite” and won’t earn him any mention on a national level whereas Navarro is top 10 ranked nationally which is “elite”. Doesn’t mean Gentle won’t be successful at UT and the wrestling experience is usually helpful training, especially for linemen.

What impressed me was Gentle also played in some basketball games last year at McCallie. I don’t recall ever seeing an athlete playing basketball and also wrestling during the same season at a school with top level athletic programs.

I’m also a big believer in CRG so any recruit he takes has the potential to do well if they avoid injury and embrace his coaching.
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You are confusing elite with “the best”.
Out of all the wrestlers in the state at the highest level of private school competition, there is only 2 better than him…..that’s elite.
 
#471
#471
Franklin_Vol09 said:
You are confusing elite with “the best”.
Out of all the wrestlers in the state at the highest level of private school competition, there is only 2 better than him…..that’s elite.
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Elites subjective.

He's a great wrestler. I'm sure he could find a college to wrestle at. He wouldn't wrestle at a Big 10 school which is the SEC of wrestling.
 
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#472
#472
Franklin_Vol09 said:
You are confusing elite with “the best”.
Out of all the wrestlers in the state at the highest level of private school competition, there is only 2 better than him…..that’s elite.
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Personally I think most years Tennessee doesn’t have any elite wrestlers. Maybe one or two. The number that have gone on to have success in college is pretty low
 
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#473
#473
StanfordVol said:
Personally I think most years Tennessee doesn’t have any elite wrestlers. Maybe one or two. The number that have gone on to have success in college is pretty low
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The best wrestlers in the state are definitely at private schools. One of my best friends produced and wrote the documentary Home | priceoflegacy

Fantastic documentary on highschool wrestling.
 
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