AJ Ferrari is a showman, and this is well-known to Penn State fans and wrestling fans in general, so trolling is part of his game.
The latest example of this took place late Monday morning when Ferrari announced his transfer commitment.
Ferrari teased that he was going to commit to Penn State and then teased that he was committing to Iowaโ each of which was in his top eightโ before announcing his real destination. That decision is the University of North Carolina.
AJ Ferrari hit the craziest college commitment with a double fake out.
First Penn State, then Iowaโฆ and finally he landed on The University of North Carolina. pic.twitter.com/6m56Z6IMSF
— Saturday Night Lights (@WrestlingSNL) April 7, 2025
Assuming he stays at 197 pounds, Ferrari will be one of the favorites at that weight class. After all, he won the national title there as a true freshman in 2021 and then finished third this past March.
One of Penn Stateโs wrestlers might have something to say about that.
BARR VS. FERRARI?
Photo by Penn State Wrestling: Josh Barr
Only two wrestlers finished ahead of Ferrari at nationals this year. One of them was Penn Stateโs Josh Barr. Barr, who stated his career at 184, not only held his own at a new weight during his redshirt freshman season, he almost won the whole darn thing. The only thing stopping Barr from winning a national title was Iowaโs Stephen Buchanan.
Buchanan also eliminated Ferrari from the winners bracket in the semifinal match the night before.
Buchanan is out of eligibility, so there will have to be a new national champ at 197. Barr and Ferrari are both quality candidates.
WOULD FERRARI HAVE FIT?
So would Ferrari have been a fit at Penn State?
Eh, probably not.
For one, Penn State already has Barr at 197 and another former national runner-up, Rocco Welsh, at 184. It also must be said that Penn State is a solid bet to win next yearโs national title without Ferrari, so bringing in maybe the most polarizing wrestler in the country might have been too big a risk to take.
