Those who are hell bent on starting right away in college wrestling might be disappointed if they choose Penn State.
It’s not that it’s impossible crack the starting lineup right away.
Marcus Blaze and PJ Duke each accomplished that feat last season.
But it’s far more frequent to have a case like Jayden James, who was the No. 3 pound-for-pound wrestler in the Class of 2026 per 247Sports but will not compete for Penn State this season.
The reason is simple: There’s a lot of competition at Penn State, and coach Cael Sanderson wouldn’t have it any other way.
WHAT CAEL SAID
At Penn State’s local media day Tuesday, Sanderson was asked this question:
“With the potential five-for-five eligibility changes, do you see opportunities to get different wrestlers into the lineup without worrying about burning a redshirt?”
Here’s how he answered.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.“I don’t know. Kids are coming in, and it’s go time. It’s a mindset shift for them. It’s not like, ‘Hey, I’m going to come in here and float around for a year.’ It’s more like, ‘If you’re ready to go, you’re ready to go.’”
Sanderson acknowledged that this “isn’t the easy path” for a place like PSU.
“There are no guaranteed starting positions here,” he said. “That’s one of the reasons our guys are really good and ready to compete at a high level.”
NOT JUST PENN STATE
It’s not just Penn State’s college program that benefits from competition. Nittany Lion Wrestling Club is easily the best RTC in the country, if not the world. At the last Summer Olympics in Paris, four of the six members of Team USA were members of NLWC, with Kyle Dake and Kyle Snyder each training in State College despite competing at Cornell and Ohio State, respectively.
“We have the best guys in the world training here regularly,” Sanderson said. “Iron sharpens iron.”
So will 5-for-5 lead to athletes getting more opportunities?
Sanderson doesn’t know yet.
“I hadn’t really thought about that,” he said. “They already had the rule where a true freshman could wrestle four or five matches before using eligibility, so you get accustomed to that. Everything will adjust.”
