Feb. 5, 2015
By Matt Allibone, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Nowadays, redshirt freshman Kade Moss wakes up in the morning and goes about a routine not much different than the rest of his teammates on the Penn State wrestling team.
He attends class, studies finance and spends his afternoons training in the Rec Hall wrestling room with his fellow Nittany Lions. It wasn't too long ago, however, that the South Jordan, Utah, native lived a much different life.
A member of the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-day Saints, Moss lived in Mexico City for two years to complete his religious mission before enrolling at Penn State prior to the 2013-'14 season. As hard as balancing being a Division I athlete with being a student may seem, living in poverty was a different kind of challenge entirely.
"We always stay with a companion, who is another missionary," Moss said. "We stay amongst the people, we do service, teach the gospel, the church and it's an eye opener. It's just gratitude towards the blessings I have in my life."
Having won four-straight Utah state titles during his time at Bingham High School, Moss entered his mission in terrific physical condition. Keeping that physique in tact however, became a challenge once he was there.
As honored as Moss was to being serving his church, he still had aspirations to start a college wrestling career when he returned to the United States. So while training clearly wasn't his focus in Mexico, he made sure not to forget about it completely.
"I did push-ups, pull-ups, sit ups," Moss said "Sometimes I'd go out and run, or I'd shadow drill whenever I'd find a patch of grass. Just do what you can."
Those exercises did enough that Moss returned home following the mission still looking like an athlete. When head coach Cael Sanderson began to recruit him prior to last season, he was impressed by the 141-pounder's fitness level.
That says a lot coming from Sanderson, who went through a similar situation a few years before with current Penn State captain Matt Brown, who completed his own mission in Africa for the church prior to coming to University Park in 2011.
"If they're going to work out it's really going to test their commitment," Sanderson said. "Brown came back in great shape and Kade came back in really good shape as well. Most of the time on missions it's labor and service. He's doing a great job and they come back a little more mentally mature, and it's a good thing. When you see Kade, he's getting his conditioning back, his timing back and his strength back."
Moss said that he and Brown have taken the time to reflect on their respective missions together. Funnily enough though, the pair has plenty of history together, having attended a number of camps and tournaments together while growing up in Utah.
Still, Brown isn't the only multiple-time Penn State All-American that Moss has ties to. A member of the Treehouse Athletic Club in Draper, Utah, as a child, Moss got to know and train with a young wrestler by the name of David Taylor.
Taylor of course, would go on to win two national titles, earn four All-American nods and compile a 134-3 record during his career at Penn State. Looking back now, Moss said that working with Taylor was huge for his early development.
"Me and David go back as far as me and Matt," Moss said. "David lived in Evanston, Wyoming and he would travel the two hours to come to our club about every day, He was committed and we used to hang out, we grew up as kids. He always kicked my butt but it was good for me. We go way back."
Now in his first year as a starter for the Nittany Lions after redshirting last season, Moss feels he's fully adjusted to life in State College. Equally as important, the grappler feels he's regained almost all of his technique on the mat after shaking off the inevitable rust from being away from the sport for so long.
With the Big Ten Championships just over a month away, Moss has a 17-11 overall record and is 4-6 in dual meets. At the same time, he is coming off a 2-0 weekend with an impressive win over 17th ranked George Fisher of Michigan.
"It took awhile," Moss said. "I took basically three years off after high school, it took awhile to get back to the shape where I can push the pace for six or seven minutes. I've made improvements on my bottom, and then I've got a lot more confidence in my shots."
His time in Mexico City may be long behind him, but Moss hasn't forgotten the lessons that he learned. Although he arrived there with plenty of physical strength, he left with a different kind of gift that will serve him throughout his life.
"It was a huge character builder," Moss said. "It was a different level of toughness, it wasn't just physical toughness you get from wrestling, it was mental stuff. I'm grateful to wrestle here, to have a good education and to have a good life."
Lions Eager to Take On Hawkeyes in BJC Dual
Since Cael Sanderson arrived at Penn State six years ago, the annual dual between the Nittany Lions and Iowa has consistently been one of the most anticipated matches in wrestling.
Not only do both programs produce All-Americans nearly every year, they have combined to win the sport's past seven national titles.
This Sunday, the two titans will square off once again. Making this match even more compelling however, is that it will take place in the Bryce Jordan Center, the second-straight year the venue has hosted a wrestling match.
Last year, the Nittany Lions set an NCAA single-dual attendance record with 15,996 fans in a 28-9 win over Pittsburgh in the BJC. This time around, the focus is less on attendance and more on competing against the No. 1 team in the country.
"I like the record with Pitt, I think being two Pennsylvania schools, that's pretty special," Sanderson said. "I've always enjoyed competing against Iowa, they're great competitors, obviously a very strong program, have had a ton of success. Definitely something to look forward to."
The Nittany Lions are 2-3 in dual meets under Sanderson against the Hawkeyes. However, they won last year at Iowa 24-12 and took the last matchup at University Park 22-12 in 2012.
This season's dual will be no easy task. The Hawkeyes boast a lineup with 10 ranked wrestlers and nine guys in the top 10. If the Nittany Lions are going to win, they will need every wrestler to bring their A-game.
"I'm definitely excited, we're going to have to feed off the energy the fans are bringing," freshman 184-pounder McCutcheon said. "They're a great opponent, Iowa-Penn State, it doesn't get much better than that. I've never competed in front of that many people so it's going to be new and exciting."