Y2,
That's the key. Depth. People just don't realize how deep Illinois is with their talent pool. Not to mention, they are arguably the best wrestling state in the nation based off of several stats from FARGO and JUNIOR DUALS, etc.
Ohio, NJ, and Pennsylvania are right there too so it could be a spirited debate but Illinois is definitely in the conversation.
Overall, Champ vs. Champ, Indiana is competitive with them but when you have to start diving down into the placers to get kids, that's where Illinois has a huge advantage.
We didn't have Brooks and a couple of others but Illinois didn't either, they still had a lot of studs on the shelf.