Hope this clears the air....
I dont know if you would call it "shady" but more along the lines of shocking, confusing, betraying...
Epperly committed to VT under the impression TB would remain the head coach for YEARS to come. He was told verbatim, "I (tom Brands) told my wife i wanted to find a place to settle down, a place where i can come home and lay my keys on the counter for good" Probably what any coach would do and say wanting to capture a top recruit. At this time I do not know if Iowa were in talks with TB about a position at Iowa bc the firing of Zalesky did not happen until 5 months later.
After the wrestling world was dealt the news of Zalesky being fired, rumors started to spread of TB returning back to his stomping grounds of Black and yellow. It was at the bingo hall (where christiansburg had practices) shortly after this news was released that TB and Epperly had a meeting.. Brands told Epperly he was going back to Iowa, Epperly was not being held by the university and was free to explore other options at this time. A few weeks later Wes hand, who was the assistant at VT and eventually transferred to Iowa with Brands, contacted Epperly at his home and offered him the opportunity to follow them to Iowa, no scholarship.
Epperly refused, wanting to see how things played out at VT and had also learned that all freshman and incoming freshman (who had signed a NLI) would be held to their contract for ONE year and after that year if they felt the need necessary they could then transfer with no penalty.
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In response to this post by HokieJack)
Posted: 02/22/2017 at 3:34PM