The Huskers showed they still have some real questions to answer after how their final dual of the calendar year went against South Dakota State. Despite getting the 21-17 win, Nebraska had multiple guys up a weight class and did some major lineup shuffling.

At 133 pounds, last year’s starter Kyle Burwick took the mat against #17 Derrick Cardinal in place of Jacob Van Dee, the redshirt freshman who has been the starter so far this season. Then at 174, we saw a shocking development when Bubba Wilson, a two-time NCAA qualifier at 165, took the mat and nearly knocked off #3 Cade DeVos. 

In another surprise move, Nebraska bumped its 184-pound backup Brandyn Van Tassell up to 197 so that Silas Allred (#12 at 197) could wrestle at heavyweight. According to head coach Mark Manning, the decision was based on their thinking that Allred could beat SDSU’s Luke Rasmussen up a weight while also avoiding a cut down to 197 because Allred has been dealing with some nagging injuries.

“Nothing against their heavyweight, but we thought we could beat their heavyweight with Silas,” Manning said. “He’s been fighting another injury, so we’ve been battling some things there.”

Coincidentally, Allred was forced to medically forfeit the match when he hit his head late in the first period and appeared momentarily dazed before staggering back and having to undergo concussion testing. He’s currently in concussion protocol but will be ready to go in January, according to Manning.

As for 133 and 174, Nebraska’s most wide-open weights, those starting spots are still up for grabs. At 133, it’s a competition between Van Dee (7-3 on the year) and Burwick (3-2). Van Dee is 2-0 in duals while Burwick is 0-1 after falling to Cardinal 6-1.

“Burwick and Van Dee, that’s a fluid situation right now and we’ll see how it plays out,” Manning said.

As for 174, Nebraska already had a three-man race there between junior Elise Brown Ton (12-4), sophomore Adam Thebeau (6-3) and true freshman Christopher Minto (9-2). Now throw in a healthy Bubba Wilson up a weight, so there’s no shortage of options. 

“(Wilson) got bigger over the summer. He had an injury here early on that kept getting reinjured — he broke a rib. We didn’t know about it. He wrestled the Navy Classic with a broken rib. Trying to tough it out and say ‘Hey, I’m the guy,’” Manning said. “He’s big enough for the weight, he got up over 180 over the summer — he got a lot bigger and stronger. 174 is fluid — they’re all in the mix there.”

Against DeVos, Wilson was very impressive defensively, giving up just one takedown early in the match, but he wasn’t able to get in on his offense. Wilson dropped a close 4-2 decision but still made a statement up a weight class against one of the best in the country.

As for the other options at 174, Brown Ton has a solid record on the year but dropped his only dual match 8-3 to NDSU’s Gaven Sax. Thebeau is 1-0 in duals but went 1-2 at CKLV, while Minto made it to the Navy Classic final where he fell to #25 Danny Wask 5-0. 

Young Guys Growing Up in the Room

Nebraska has an exceedingly young team this year. With only one senior on the squad in #3 Peyton Robb at 157, the Huskers have a whopping 18 freshmen on its roster — five redshirt and 13 true freshmen. That’s more than half of Nebraska’s total wrestlers. As it stands, all 13 true freshmen are set to redshirt but still may be called upon so they need to be ready to go.

According to Manning, the challenge there becomes getting the young guys to grow up and develop while not being in the lineup.

“Even if they’re not in the lineup, it’s about development and it’s about getting them ready. As freshmen, you can wrestle five dual meets or tournaments. What if someone goes down? If Caleb Smith goes down, is Alan Koehler ready to go?” Manning said. “Is the practice and the mentality behind the practice, is it there for him to be able to step on the mat? We always try to tell them you’re one guy away from being in the lineup because someone could get hurt or get sick. We’re in a high-injury sport — guys get banged up. So, who’s going to be the next man up? They understand why they’re doing what they’re doing. Communication is huge and we do a good job of being very transparent with our guys.”

As for the guys in redshirt that Manning has been impressed with so far in their first season on campus, there’s Koehler (125), Ethan Stiles (157), Minto and Ethan DeLeon (184). Despite missing nearly the last month due to a knee injury, Koehler has still shown great signs, while Stiles is 10-1 on the year after winning the Younes Hospitality Open. DeLeon is 4-1 on the season.

“Koehler is going to be really good, we already know that. Stiles has come on — we knew he was going to be real good and he’s won an open tournament already,” Manning said. “Minto has been a big surprise — he’s done really well when he’s wrestled. He’s really engaged and he loves it. Ethan DeLeon has been doing a really good job, too.”

Manning Seeing Progress from Pinto

A season ago, Nebraska’s #5 Lenny Pinto finished his redshirt freshman season with a 22-11 record but went 1-2 at NCAAs, something Manning said didn’t sit right with Pinto. The result was a more motivated Pinto who made a decision to up his game and jump some levels.

“Lenny has made a big jump this year, even from October to now. He’s just made a bigger commitment and he’s made a jump in his mentality for wrestling. He had a bad taste in his mouth from the NCAA tournament last year,” Manning said. “And it doesn’t happen by magic, it happens by you taking intentional steps to improve in areas mentally, physically and emotionally. Lenny’s definitely done that.”

Pinto is now 11-2 on the year with a win and a loss to #4 Dustin Plott. He’s also has wins over #11 Jaden Bullock and #12 Dylan Fishback this year. This past weekend, he beat U20 World bronze medalist #24 Bennett Berge of SDSU 8-2.

Pinto has already wrestled #1 Parker Keckeisen of UNI once this season, dropping an 8-4 decision at CKLV. He's one of just three wrestlers to prevent Keckeisen from scoring bonus points this year, along with Fishback and #2 Bernie Truax of Penn State. The Husker sophomore will get another crack at Keckeisen soon when Nebraska hosts UNI and Wyoming for a triangular on Jan. 6.

Development is the Main Focus

This Nebraska coaching staff prides itself on its ability to develop talent and get them to jump levels, something we’ve seen them do over and over again. As we hit the holiday break, that’s Manning’s top priority before Big Ten season rolls around.

“There’s always positions you can get better in, and we’re a long way away from being a finished product. We have to keep improving, and really what I mean by that is development from 125 to heavyweight on our team,” Manning said. “I’m a big development guy, so it’s all about keeping guys hungry and keeping them focused — keep getting better. It’s not about winning a wrestling match, it’s about getting better.”