Nov. 6, 2014
GoPSU Blog Coverage -- Full Video Coverage
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; -- Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling head coach Cael Sanderson took part in the squad's season opening media day on Tuesday in the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex. Over two dozen media showed up for the event and the questions for the Lion mentor were varied and detailed. The following is a transcript of Sanderson's presser from Tuesday, Nov. 4, in the LWC.
Q: Are you redshirting Zain and Nico?
That's the plan right now. That can change obviously as the season goes along. We will see where we are at; we will find out on Sunday where we are at as a team. I think Nico deserves a year, he stepped in right away as a true freshman, same with Zain. Two guys stepped in and helped us win national championships. We thought it would be in their best interest to give them a chance to slow down a little bit and get a little bit bigger, work on technique and just prepare for the future.
Q: Is there a fine line between what is best for the team and what is best for the individual?
Yes, absolutely. I think there is a fine line, but it depends on where you are at with your line up and with your team. At the time, we needed those guys to step in right away, it was important. We are very happy with the results. Both guys stepped in and were title contenders as true freshmen, which is pretty remarkable. They made a difference for us as a team with their momentum, hustle and example. The good news is we will have Nico next year. We won't have him this year, but we will have him a year later. Obviously Conaway we feel very comfortable with him at 125; we missed him in our line up last year.
Q: How has [Conaway] improved?
Conaway is a kid who never wants to go home. We have to say, "Hey, Jordan, you need to get out of here. You need to go home for a few days or for the weekend." He trains all summer long and we obviously can't require them to or even persuade them at all, in any way, to train in the off season. But, he is here working because he wants to be the best. I think he is a 125 pounder; I think we will see that this year. He stepped in at 133 as a freshman and did a great job wrestling undersized and now he gets to wrestle his weight class.
Q: Who will your starter be at 157, on Sunday and going forward?
This Sunday we are going with Cody Law. Dylan Alton is back, but he needs a little bit more time. He had surgery after the season last year, but we are very confident. Cody has looked very good; he looks very strong. He is one of those guys that we are excited to see compete and see where we are at that weight class.
Q: How was the offseason in general, especially with figuring out the lineup?
Well that is never ending as a coaching staff. We are not just thinking about this year only, we have to be two, three, four years ahead; that is where the recruiting comes into play. That's when you are making decisions on where to put scholarship money or not. You have to look at your lineup and make decisions, use your best judgment and your experiences, both good and bad in the past. The recruiting and planning for your team never ends. We are pretty busy. With the Nittany Lions wrestling club being hosted here, we have an unbelievable training situation going on right now. The Puerto Rican National Team has been here for a couple weeks. Jaime Espinal, Olympic gold medalist, and Franklin Gomez are here year round, but the wrestling team has been here for a while. We've had a Canadian team in here. In this room, there are people working year round. In the summer we had guys on the world team, Ed Ruth, Jake Varner and David Taylor who was on the National team as well, along with Frank Molinaro. We are just trying to provide an environment where these wrestlers can reach their goals both on the NCAA level and beyond.
Q: You have three guys healthy at heavyweight. How has the battle there played out so far?
The battle is just beginning at that weight class. A couple of the guys weren't able to wrestle off yet, so we are not finished with that yet. As a program it is easier to just have your guy and go with him, but sometimes it just isn't that easy. We have three fifth year seniors in Ruggear, Lawson and Gingrich; they all have a lot of experience. They all have the potential to do well. But, that is a must-score-points weight class for us this year at the national tournament.
Q: When do you expect Andrew [Alton] to get back on the mat and start wrestling again?
Andrew is a late December, early January. I'm not sure. I am always going to be optimistic; I am going to stick with that.
Q: How much do you think having Frank [Molinaro] back will help those two [Dylan and Andrew] get going and get their confidence back?
The Alton situation is tricky because they have been battling injury after injury; that is a different type of game than getting your confidence back. If they were healthy they obviously wouldn't be in this situation, but that is just what happens; that's the hand they're dealt. We will see, this is their last opportunity. It is going to take a lot of hard work, focus, commitment and self confidence to be successful, to overcome those obstacles. That's the challenge. That's why we are here.
Having Molinaro back has been very good for our program. He brings great intensity and he is training still, as he has his sights on the 2016 Olympics. Everyday is the same with him; constant, high intensity. That passion, I think, is the most important part of coaching; sharing your passion with the guys and Molinaro shares his passion every day. He loves what he is doing, he loves to train and he is a great asset to the program and to the guys in the middle weights that he spends a lot of time with.
Q: Going back to redshirts, last year Ohio State did something similar... - If there is a perception that you guys are doing something similar, how would you respond?
I think it would be easy to say that by looking at our line up and looking at the kids we have that are true freshmen. If we didn't have that group, I don't think that would really be the talk. I think a red-shirt year for those freshmen would be very beneficial for them. There isn't really a need in those weight classes where we have to throw somebody in. We have guys that we feel can be successful. Maybe our guys on paper aren't right there yet, but we have until March to get these guys ready to score points at the national tournament and be their best. This year is a different type of a challenge. We were sort of favored the last couple of years, depending on who you were talking to. It was very competitive, obviously, with the Minnesotas, the Iowas, Cornells and Oklahoma States, but we felt very confident. This year is a different dynamic; we have to climb, we have to improve, we have to make progress. That is exciting for us. Every year is different, regardless, because you always have change-over, obstacles and blessings. We will see what we can do this year. We will see how well we can coach.
Q: Looking at the conference, is the conference, from top to bottom, the strongest you've seen since you have been here?
It's not getting any weaker, especially with adding two solid programs into the mix. The Big Ten in wrestling is really strong. You have teams in there that aren't just trying to win the Conference, they are trying to win Nationals. I think that is a pretty good indicator of the strength of the conference just by how often does the conference with the National Championship. The Big Ten wins the National Championship very often in wrestling.
Q: Where does Kade Moss fit in this year? He had a big summer in Greco Roman.
He had a solid summer. He made the University World Greco Team and did very well. From the feedback I got he wrestled very hard, he was very aggressive and used conditioning as a factor which is something that will really pay dividends in college wrestling. He is the guy we are going to go with on Sunday. He has a history of success. He was a four-time state champion in high school in Utah. He has had success and he is a tough kid, a very good kid with a strong work ethic. We are going to have to see. He is going to have to get some experience and develop as he moves a long, but he has the type of mentality that we feel that he can do that. He can be someone that can really help out team this year. That is a huge weight class for us if Zain is redshirting. If we didn't feel like we had someone who could step in and wrestle there, we wouldn't be giving Zain a year just to train and improve.
Q: What do you expect from Matt Brown?
Everything. Every year we have our team vote on the leaders and who they feel are the leaders and he always wins that award. He leads by example and we just need him to step it up and lead the program. Focus on the team and if he does that, he is going to get the results he needs. He is a leader and he is a guy that we are going to rely on very heavily this year. His mentality before matches is confidence. He is a two time All-American and a guy who has been in the NCAA finals so he knows what it takes.
Q: If Andrew is out for two months, maybe more... How do you see those two (Zack Beitz and Luke Frey) playing out at 149?
Luke is a guy that has battled injuries in his career, but when he is healthy he is very good. We saw that with him placing at the Scuffle. But, Beitz is a kid that is like a Conaway, he is here all summer long training, loves wrestling, does a great job and I think he has improved quite a bit from last year. He had an opportunity to wrestling in big dual meets. He had a big win against Iowa, Ohio State and was close in the Minnesota dual. But he has the experience and he competes regardless of the situation. As you saw last year he was just inches away from scoring take downs, he was getting to the legs but wasn't capitalizing. But, that is something that he has spent a lot of time on this summer. He is a guy that we are counting on. I think he can win and we believe in him. He has put the time in; he's a competitor. I'm just excited to see where we are at. We will see where we are at on Sunday.
We want to know what we've got. You can wrestle in here every day and be a superstar, but we want to see how you will compete when it matters. That's a big stage in a big dual and he has done that. That is something we look for obviously, we want kids that are at their best at the critical times. That's just a mentality and a confidence thing that you believe or you don't. The guys that we have are going to be at their best when they need to be.
Q: What can we expect out of Cody Law this year?
Cody is looking really good right now. He is a Pennsylvania State Champion and he got in a lot of matches last year red-shirting and doing freestyle. He is a guy that is going to be wrestling for us on Sunday. We will see where he is at. I think he can score a lot of points for us as he is a good athlete and scrambles well. He has all the tools it takes to be successful. Now we just have to see.
Q: Where do you see Cody's progress?
Confidence is the big thing...and improvement. He came from the top youth program in the country at Young Guns, so he has had great coaching. He knows how to wrestle. His general confidence and how he processes competition is great. He has all the tools he needs to be successful. I like the look in his eye right now.
Q: You mentioned Lawson and Gingrich are your two heavyweight competitors. You'll use them to get points. Where have they come since last year?
I think that they have both gotten better. There is no way that you can't improve, especially if you have the attitude that you want to be the best. They've both wrestled in the NCAA tournament and had big wins. I thought Lawson was really coming on strong last year before his injury. He'd only lost a couple of matches and they were close matches to some of the best guys in the country. I think he had taken a big step. Gingrich, we have seen beat ranked guys. In the Big Ten tournament he beat the top seed in the second round and ultimately helped us win the Big Ten Championship with a big upset. They both have it in them, its just a matter of getting through one another and not thinking about being the starter, but being a national champion and an All-American. That's what we want to see out of those guys. We've had enough of the "who is going to be the starter attitude." We want to see who is going to score points at the national tournament.
Q: How do you feel about the program?
I think overall our program has a strong foundation, strongest it has ever been. Obviously we lost Ruth and Taylor, and a guy that wrestled in pieces, James English. You don't replace guys like that; you just have to find new attitude, new talent and guys that want to be successful. The overall program is continuing to improve. The base is getting wider a stronger, which is our job as a coaching staff. I feel confident that that is something we are seeing. I think our fans should expect the same things that we expect out of ourselves as coaches which is a great effort, every time. That fighting spirit and representing Penn State at all times, at all places well. Wins and losses take care of themselves if we do everything right. We have a fun team this year. We can train and train and train, but until we get out there and get some experience, it is a little more of a challenge for them. Let's get started. We have been training a long time and it is time to start.
Q: Once you get through Lehigh, at that point, do you think that is where you will know the team's potential?
I think so. The Scuffle is a really good test of your team potential, and the Midlands. If you do well at the Midlands and the Scuffle, you are going to do well at the national and conference tournaments. I think we will have a pretty good idea with where we are at by then. We have some time to figure out what we need to do to eliminate mistakes and to improve their chances of winning. That's what November is for. But, Lehigh is a big match this weekend, it is very important to our alumni, to us. Every match is important. If you don't hate losing at everything then you probably are in the wrong business. We expect to win everything that we are in.
Q: Last year against Pitt, it seemed like every individual match was close. What do you take away from that? Going against a program as good as Pitt.
I think that everywhere we go it is going to be a great crowd and the teams are excited, fun to watch. When we recruit kids we want kids that want to wrestle in front of a sold out crowd. If you don't, don't come to Penn State. We are trying to find seats for people to watch our duals. I get texts and emails all the time from people looking to find seats. We love being sold out. You've got to have guys that want to wrestle in front of a crowd and believe that the bigger the match the more excitement and energy means the better they will compete. I think we have those guys. We have another BJC match with Iowa and that match will sell out quickly. That is a testament to the great fans and the love of wrestling in central Pennsylvania.
Q: Coming back to BJC dual meets. Is that a no-brainer? What impact did you see on the program to have those big matches in a big venue?
There are different ways to look at it. I love Rec Hall. This is our house; this is where we compete. This is our home field advantage. If we go to the BJC, we lose that a little bit of that. There will be 16,000 fans, but it is still a different environment and atmosphere than what we have at Rec Hall. This is where we train and warm up, our locker rooms are here. This is home for us. The fans are right on top of the mat. In the BJC it is bigger, less intense environment. We just weigh those options. But, we want to provide those that want to come to a match the opportunity to do that. That is the idea. Everyone is going to be watching the Iowa/Penn State dual on the Big Ten Network, so we might as well have them all in the BJC. It is a no brainer for us. Maybe it takes some of our competitive advantage away, because this is our house, but we are still going to have 16,000 mostly Penn State fans there.
Q: Garett Hammond and Matt McCutcheon: What do you see from them?
We are excited about both of them. They both did very well in open tournaments last year. Hammond is going to entertain the crowd. He is a big move kind of guy and can score points in a hurry. He is tough on top and is a two-time Pennsylvania State Champion. If you can win two Pennsylvania State Championships, you are pretty darn good. That's another guy that we want to let go and see what he can do. McCutcheon is a guy that I am very confident in. He is a hard nosed, every second, type of guy. He is going to wrestle 420 seconds and he is going to be tough to compete with. He isn't going to slow down. He is a competitor. He loves to wrestle and is a good, solid athlete. He has a history of success so he knows what it takes.
Q: Talk about the leaders on the team after losing Taylor and Ruth...
I think our leaders are similar. Brown has been a leader for us. Zain, even though he is red-shirting, is a leader for us. We have a lot of guys that lead by example. We have a guy like Nico who just works, and works, and works. What a blessing he has been the last three years starting dual meets off with him. We have McIntosh, who we are looking for to really lead the team and step up. We need to replace bonus points, too, which is a big deal. We need these guys thinking bonus points. If you are thinking about bonus points you are thinking more about the team, not just about yourself. If you are thinking about yourself, your world kind of shrinks up on you a little bit. You don't compete quite as well. If you think about the team, you are going to get more out of yourself. That is something that is very important to this team this year and every year. It is very competitive and bonus points go a long way. That is like have that 11th man.