Ask Paniro Johnson a question and you’ll get a fully-formed answer, a side story and maybe even a joke or two.

The versatile Iowa State 149-pounder’s seen it all and will excitedly tell you all about it — including the lowdown on what it’s been like competing at three different weight classes this season in part because of the Cyclones’ spate of season-ending injuries.

“To be honest, this year, the weight cut for me really hasn’t even set in,” said Johnson, who has wrestled at 149, 157 and 165 this season. “I thought it would be a lot harder than it was. I feel the same I did when I wrestled people at 165 and 157. The guys are just getting smaller. I feel the same.”

Better, even. Johnson enters this weekend’s home dual season-ending matches against Arizona State and Pitt ranked #7 by FloWrestling at 149. He’s been taken down just once this season. He’s 17-3 after missing all of last season because of a voided suspension that stemmed from an embattled state investigation into sports gambling on campus. So Johnson’s wrestling like he’s on borrowed time — while fully aware that he retains three full seasons of NCAA eligibility.

“Imagine that emotional rollercoaster,” Iowa State assistant coach Brent Metcalf said. “And how focused his training was or wasn’t last year, and now you finally get (another) chance. To him, (it was) just knocking the rust off. He’s got more levels. I’m gonna continue to challenge him. I do it every single day in the room and I’ll do it here publicly that Paniro Johnson’s got more levels. He could separate himself from guys. He can be a guy that majors the vast majority of guys, and when we’re talking closer matches, we’re talking about the top three or four guys. That’s the sort of ability he has, but that’s gonna come along with him believing it, too, not just coach saying it.”

Johnson’s scored bonus points in just four of his 17 wins this season, so there’s a gulf between believing and knowing. He’s working to confidently bridge that gap.

“We watched this video (this week) before practice about being afraid to get scored on, or being afraid to lose, stuff like that,” Johnson said. “I’m just trying to wrestle with no fear, because I believe in myself in every position.”

Metcalf — a two-time national champion at Iowa — bolsters that belief, then demands more.

“(He’s) probably the only coach who would tell me, ‘You can be the national champ right now, you just gotta do this,’ you know?” said Johnson, who qualified for the NCAA Championships in 2023. “But I love that. And I really believe it. My teammates really believe it. Everybody around me really believes it. So I’ve just gotta go out there and perform and wrestle like I’m the best.”

Medical Redshirts Abound And A Silver Lining Forms 

Iowa State’s now lost four wrestlers — and three All-Americans — to injury this season. Casey Swiderski, Connor Euton, Yonger Bastida and Anthony Echemendia all plan to seek medical redshirts, and will likely get them, but Metcalf said the NCAA’s more relaxed position on such hardship cases wasn’t necessarily a factor in either condition.

“I think that’s a really great question,” Metcalf said. “It’s a question that’s been talked about a lot on message boards and on (social media). I think each one is individual. Anthony — that’s a unique situation where, ironically, he could have went (against) Oklahoma State (10 days ago), and had he (done that), he’d have no redshirt option, right?”

Complications emerged for Echemendia mere days after that dual meet loss to the Cowboys, so being cautious and protective paid off in more ways than one for the Cyclones.

“We’re gonna look out for what’s best for each guy,” Metcalf said.

So nothing’s changed in that regard — and Echemendia’s health issues have allowed Jacob Frost to emerge as a bright spot in this injury-addled season. He leads Iowa State with 22 wins and joins his twin, Evan, to form a potent one-two punch at 133 and 141. Evan Frost’s ranked fifth at 133. Jacob’s climbed to ninth at 141.

“I’ve never seen two people (who) are more alike and identical than those two,” said Cyclone assistant Derek St. John, who works directly with Jacob Frost, while Metcalf does the same with Evan. “They have the same tendencies and the same wrestling overlap.”

Good Things Come To Nates Who Wait 

Iowa State 197-pounder Nate Schon wondered if he’d ever crack the lineup even once. Injuries and other issues forced one of the Cyclones’ most highly-ranked recruits of the Class of 2022 to toil entirely behind the scenes — until this season, which has been a rocky but productive one.

“I had never cut weight before, so that was a big adjustment,” said Schon, who is 13-7 this season with five wins by fall. “It’s just a different level here, too. You can’t explain it. You have to be put in the fire to understand it, but I remember one match in particular — that West Virginia match — I just went out there and I hadn’t cut my weight right. I couldn’t feel my body. That’s a real thing. So you’ve gotta be prepared at this level and you’ve gotta be calculated with everything you do.”