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Judging by rankings and different interviews, this years starting line-up looks fairly solidified.
125. Tanner Jordan: He had a fairly strong 8-8 record last year with some pretty good wins. I expect him to become more consistent and have around a .500 dual record this year. Depth here will be a problem as neither Coapstick nor Bowman were able to win a match last year. Bailey Roybal will be redshirting here and could surprise some people.
133. Trayton Anderson: This, to me, looks like a weaker weight as Price moves up to 149 leaving a bit of a void. Anderson has shown some skill, but if he puts together a winning record, I think he would surprise some people. Caleb Gross could fight for the spot and should be a solid backup if nothing else. Cardinal may be a candidate to have his redshirt pulled if he shows that he can hang in early open tournaments.
141. Clay Carlson: Clay has been a very consistent wrestler who is ready to solidify his space among the 141 elite. That said, this is a very deep weight and he'll have to fight to get back on the podium this year. Rylee Molitor will provide depth here.
149. Zach Price: It remains to be seen how Price will react to the weight change. I expect more consistency out of him now that he doesn't have to worry about the cut to 133 but he may have trouble having recently lost the enormous height and length advantage that he had at 133. Dan Kimball will provide depth here as Alec Martin redshirts.
157. Hunter Marko: 133 and 157 are the only weight classes that I'm worried about for the Jacks. Marko proved that he could hold his own with other big 12 149 pounders last year but he lacked exceptional wins and he was never a big 149 having wrestled 141 earlier in his career and standing at 5'7. If Marko underperforms, I think that they should look at giving Cael Swenson a chance right out of the gate. He's been training in Brookings throughout the summer and was on a trajectory to be very good at the end of his senior year. Dalton Lakeman is also here
165. Tanner Cook: I keep thinking that someone is going to crack the code and show the world how to beat this guy, but it keeps not happening. After a season away from the starting line-up I expect an improved Tanner Cook. I think he has an outside shot at making the podium this season. Kenny O'Neil has proven to be a solid backup and we will likely see him in the line-up a few times this year.
174. Cade Devos: You never know what you're going to get when someone moves up two weights, but I think this move makes sense as he was always a bigger, longer 157 and I think he will have grown to the point where he is not too small for the weight. I also think that the slower pace of the weight class may do him some favors. He should be a national qualifier and it's not impossible that he ends up an AA though a lot remains to be seen about how he'll adjust to the weight. Klinkhammer and Richter will redshirt here as Caleb Orris provides depth.
184. Cade King: King really turned his performance around last year and I expect that he will be an above average 184 as he was always thought to be a tweener of sorts. He may continue to crack the rankings every now and then and should certainly qualify for nationals with the chance to win some matches. Schoon, Casperson, and Battani will provide depth though, as of now, there's no reason for me to think that they will provide a reasonable challenge for the spot. Kruger and Meyer will redshirt here.
197. Tanner Sloan: I think that most people thought that last year was set to be his year to break through and, in some ways, he did despite being plagued by injuries. The weight has gotten tougher, but I suspect that he will win some matches that people don't think that he will and he should have a very good chance to be an All American this year. There's nobody at this weight that is out of reach for him. Rogotzke and McCall will redshirt here and depth will likely be provided by the 184 pounders mentioned earlier.
285. AJ Nevills: After a year of injury, it's hard to say where Nevills fits in with the top end of the weight-class. That said, he should be a shoe-in to qualify for nationals and he may prove to have All-American potential. Trenary and McConville will continue to be very good backups and should get some good wins in tournaments.
Predictions: 7 national qualifiers, 3 All Americans, 20th place at nationals (better if they pull Cardinal and Swenson out of redshirt).
125. Tanner Jordan: He had a fairly strong 8-8 record last year with some pretty good wins. I expect him to become more consistent and have around a .500 dual record this year. Depth here will be a problem as neither Coapstick nor Bowman were able to win a match last year. Bailey Roybal will be redshirting here and could surprise some people.
133. Trayton Anderson: This, to me, looks like a weaker weight as Price moves up to 149 leaving a bit of a void. Anderson has shown some skill, but if he puts together a winning record, I think he would surprise some people. Caleb Gross could fight for the spot and should be a solid backup if nothing else. Cardinal may be a candidate to have his redshirt pulled if he shows that he can hang in early open tournaments.
141. Clay Carlson: Clay has been a very consistent wrestler who is ready to solidify his space among the 141 elite. That said, this is a very deep weight and he'll have to fight to get back on the podium this year. Rylee Molitor will provide depth here.
149. Zach Price: It remains to be seen how Price will react to the weight change. I expect more consistency out of him now that he doesn't have to worry about the cut to 133 but he may have trouble having recently lost the enormous height and length advantage that he had at 133. Dan Kimball will provide depth here as Alec Martin redshirts.
157. Hunter Marko: 133 and 157 are the only weight classes that I'm worried about for the Jacks. Marko proved that he could hold his own with other big 12 149 pounders last year but he lacked exceptional wins and he was never a big 149 having wrestled 141 earlier in his career and standing at 5'7. If Marko underperforms, I think that they should look at giving Cael Swenson a chance right out of the gate. He's been training in Brookings throughout the summer and was on a trajectory to be very good at the end of his senior year. Dalton Lakeman is also here
165. Tanner Cook: I keep thinking that someone is going to crack the code and show the world how to beat this guy, but it keeps not happening. After a season away from the starting line-up I expect an improved Tanner Cook. I think he has an outside shot at making the podium this season. Kenny O'Neil has proven to be a solid backup and we will likely see him in the line-up a few times this year.
174. Cade Devos: You never know what you're going to get when someone moves up two weights, but I think this move makes sense as he was always a bigger, longer 157 and I think he will have grown to the point where he is not too small for the weight. I also think that the slower pace of the weight class may do him some favors. He should be a national qualifier and it's not impossible that he ends up an AA though a lot remains to be seen about how he'll adjust to the weight. Klinkhammer and Richter will redshirt here as Caleb Orris provides depth.
184. Cade King: King really turned his performance around last year and I expect that he will be an above average 184 as he was always thought to be a tweener of sorts. He may continue to crack the rankings every now and then and should certainly qualify for nationals with the chance to win some matches. Schoon, Casperson, and Battani will provide depth though, as of now, there's no reason for me to think that they will provide a reasonable challenge for the spot. Kruger and Meyer will redshirt here.
197. Tanner Sloan: I think that most people thought that last year was set to be his year to break through and, in some ways, he did despite being plagued by injuries. The weight has gotten tougher, but I suspect that he will win some matches that people don't think that he will and he should have a very good chance to be an All American this year. There's nobody at this weight that is out of reach for him. Rogotzke and McCall will redshirt here and depth will likely be provided by the 184 pounders mentioned earlier.
285. AJ Nevills: After a year of injury, it's hard to say where Nevills fits in with the top end of the weight-class. That said, he should be a shoe-in to qualify for nationals and he may prove to have All-American potential. Trenary and McConville will continue to be very good backups and should get some good wins in tournaments.
Predictions: 7 national qualifiers, 3 All Americans, 20th place at nationals (better if they pull Cardinal and Swenson out of redshirt).
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