When coach Heath Eslinger suspended three starters a couple of days before the Southern Conference tournament, the immediate thought was that he had sabotaged the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's wrestling season.
The Mocs went through their league schedule undefeated on their way to a sixth straight championship.
But what of the postseason?
UTC finished a dismal fourth in the conference tournament and qualified only two for the NCAAs, and one of those was an at-large invitee.
Sabotage the season? Yes. But the sabotage likely will become a cornerstone in Eslinger's unexpected expectations of producing not only conference championships but also All-Americans and, eventually, NCAA tournament finalists.
Eslinger plans to be at his alma mater a long time. He might otherwise have closed his eyes and allowed those who knowingly violated his rules to wrestle.
The suspensions came for what might commonly be called violation of team rules. The violations fell more under a rigid code of conduct Eslinger instilled to govern academic and social conduct. Some in the athletic department reportedly were stunned that Eslinger would suspend athletes for reportedly bending an elbow once or twice at a party.
"The decisions we made were what was best for the individuals, for the team and for the program," he said.
Yet few outside his wrestling family understand that anyone who signs on with Eslinger will be asked to embrace a Spartan lifestyle with a strict code that includes intense training, a high-powered drive to excel athletically and academically and a commitment to sacrifice.
"Having good intentions is not enough," he said. "You have to be willing to take the path for success."
In other words, meaning to do the right thing and actually doing it are worlds apart to a man who believes in the concept of developing the total person rather than the consummate wrestler or student.
When asked about academic performance ratings, Eslinger said there was no reason that wrestling teams should have a problem recruiting good students because there were only 82 (Division I) wrestling programs as opposed to the plethora of college football and basketball programs.
When he talked of recruiting, he said the group of wrestlers UTC is considering probably had close to a cumulative 3.5 grade point average. But having the grades and the ability won't be enough to get in at UTC.
Eslinger says he has kids who work hard and make good grades and most often meet the social standards he has set. He had said earlier that Dean Pavlou and Jason McCroskey, the Mocs' two NCAA qualifiers, were great examples of his ideal student-athlete but that numerous others on the team also filled that bill.
"What we want to do is protect them with kids who have the same ideals," he said. "We are looking for kids who have great academics and a great work ethic."
The list of signed wrestlers includes Baylor's Cole Hayes and Trey Stavrum, Cookeville's Joe Proctor, Levi Clemons from Osceola, Fla., and Jody DeAngelo from Southern Alamance near Raleigh, N.C. Hayes and Stavrum have been four- and five-year starters at Baylor and Proctor a mainstay in Cookeville's climb to Tennessee respectability. DeAngelo and Clemons have been ranked among the nation's top 10 prospects at 125 and 171 pounds, respectively.
Current budget restraints somewhat limit the Mocs' recruiting, but as Eslinger says, the Mocs staff is concentrating more on what it can do rather than what it cannot. It's sort of hard to restrain hard work, right? That said, one should believe that UTC is looking at recruits from as far away as New York and Ohio and as close as 10 miles from their home at Maclellan Gym.
"We signed five early and we hope to sign seven or eight more in the spring," Eslinger said.
Each will be asked, along with their new teammates, to raise their level of sacrifice:
- In the weightroom, how much strength will be gained from the end of one season to the end of another?
- With regard to technique, what will each do to truly improve?
- Socially, what things will each be willing to give up so he can attain something better?
"It's about succeeding," Eslinger said. "We want to have two guys at each weight class who believe they can win the conference and can compete to be an NCAA champion."
The Mocs have a half-dozen wrestlers who can compete right now at the national level. Eslinger thinks they can have 10 on any day for any dual meet or tournament, but he wants only those applicants with a sincere-to-the-roots commitment to succeeding.
"If we bring 10 kids into the program, we expect to have nine who will finish," he said.