OSU Signee Jalin Harper and Other Cowboy Targets Win Folkstyle National Titles

The first leg of the “Triple-Crown” of wrestling was this weekend and one definite future Cowboy and a few others that are on the radar picked up titles there.

USA Wrestling describes the Triple Crown as such. “The Triple Crown is awarded to any athlete who wins a USA Wrestling national title in folkstyle, Greco-Roman and freestyle the same year. It has become one of the most prestigious honors in youth and high school wrestling.”

Jalin Harper — 160 pounds (Manhattan, Kansas)

Jalin Harper was the lone Cowboy that has already signed with OSU wrestling in the tournament. He bounced back well from his loss in the final of his high school state tournament to take the national title at 160 pounds here. His weight wasn’t especially stacked with a lot of big name recruits, but this is still a legit tournament, definitely tougher than his state tournament, and this was a big win for him. You want to see him continue to win stuff like this and develop as the summer goes. Harper’s a definite redshirt, but could eventually build into a contributor in the lineup.

Introducing your @USAWrestling National Champion (160 lb Junior Division), Jalin Harper! Congratulations, J. Proud of you! @jalinharperr @harpdreams3 @kimharper34 @TribeWrestling @CowboyWrestling pic.twitter.com/LpS2mVDoGD

— Manhattan Wrestling (@MOKWCKS) March 30, 2018

This next group of Folkstyle Champs haven’t committed to OSU, but the Cowboys definitely have them on their radar and several could end up in orange and black.

Jason Henschel — 106 pounds (Goddard, Kansas)

I wrote about Henschel a few months ago in a Kansas recruiting write up. He’s just a sophomore, so at the moment OSU can’t formally be reaching out to him outside of letters. Henschel is a little undersized being only at 106 as a sophomore, but he can definitely fill out to 125 by the time he hits college. I broke down wrestling scholarships and to me he’s one of those under the radar types that isn’t garnering much national attention, but could be an asset at OSU. He is a big fan of the program. He’s close by and he has ties to Tyler Caldwell. He won a title here and is already a Kansas State Champ. He’s potentially a kid I could see going to NEO for 2 years with an opportunity to start and receive a little more scholarship money. Then try to develop a bit and come over to OSU. He’s a very passionate OSU fan though and may want to come straight here if that’s an option.

AJ Ferrari — 195 pounds (Allen, Texas)

Ferrari pretty comfortably won this tournament and really was only pushed in one match winning the semifinal 3-1. In the final he beat Wyatt Hendrickson, another wrestler that the Cowboys have shown some interest in. Ferrari is the “Big Fish” of the 2019 class. Most have him projected as the No. 1 overall recruit. OSU is already starting to connect with early even though they technically can’t totally dive in to recruiting him yet as he’s just a sophomore. We’ve written quite a bit on how they have already developed a natural connection there. OSU and Ferrari really are a pretty solid fit.

Geography’s huge as OSU is the closest to him, but you can throw in a number of other things. Ferrari’s from a big Italian family as are John Smith and Zack Esposito. The size fit is perfect, OSU already has big time recruits locked in at 74, 84, and heavyweight, so he slots in perfectly at 197. That’s also a big selling point because he’ll have guys that can push him in the room. I’ve only seen one guy go to OT with Ferrari this year and that was future Cowboy Anthony Montalvo.

There are a lot of things that naturally make the connection here, but other programs will be in the mix as well and all have their selling points. PSU standout Bo Nickal went to the same high school and one of his current teammates is on the way to Ohio State, so if I had to guess it’ll be between OSU and those programs.

I don’t think the Nickal connection is extremely deep. Naturally they know each other, but the Nickal’s weren’t originally from Allen and have since moved, also Bo’s a lot older. Personally, I think tOSU will be the biggest threat to the Cowboys in the battle for Ferrari because they have a kid connected to him that is actually around his age, but overall I think OSU could have the edge. He made some comments on his recruiting the other day and said he has some Big 12 and Big Ten schools he’s considering, but he’s not decided on anything yet. The Big 12 school he’s referring to is definitely OSU and my assumption with the Big 10 schools is tOSU and PSU. He also mentions his faith and a Christian background being important. That’s definitely something you see in the current room at OSU. If you ever meet any of the young Cowboys or follow them on social media that’s definitely a theme with them.

I love our team at Oklahoma State! Work our butts off then get together to learn about the Lord. Best combo in the world GOD and wrestling!

— Kaden Gfeller (@K_G_wrestling) January 11, 2018

Kyle Haas — 182 Pounds (Maise, Kansas)

Kyle Haas is just a freshman and pretty well dominated his way to a Cadet title here. He’s also Tyler Caldwell’s brother, so unless Tyler takes a new job or maybe a big time academic school is after him you should expect him to be a Cowboy.

Maize freshman Kyle Haas was down 5-3 in the 182-pound regional final.

Then this happened. pic.twitter.com/HmxLcQYqZ6

— Hayden Kyle Barber (@HK_Barber) February 17, 2018