So who’s the next Jason Nolf..?

[Tryingtodoitright]

*Yeah what I’m asking is not ~ who’s the next three time champ - but what guy is going to go out there and just totally dominate, literally leaves no doubt in your mind who’s going to win by MD, tech or pin and use moves seemingly made up on the fly. Thoughts..?

 

[WV lion]

*Yeah what I’m asking is not ~ who’s the next three time champ - but what guy is going to go out there and just totally dominate, literally leaves no doubt in your mind who’s going to win by MD, tech or pin and use moves seemingly made up on the fly. Thoughts..?

On the current roster I think aaron brooks has the best chance of bonusing his way through the season, my next pick would be a healthy kerk.

 

[Tryingtodoitright]

On the current roster I think aaron brooks has the best chance of bonusing his way through the season, my next pick would be a healthy kerk.

I started this thread due to a conversation I was having with my brother (who can’t figure out how to post on this site) and he believes it will be Haines. I honestly don’t know and that’s the reason for the question.

 

[AK1967]

SVN reminds me of a younger version of Nolf. Will see if he has the same work ethic.

 

[psykim]

My question is who will be the NEXT national PSU champion (of those who have NOT won a title already)? good suggestions above!

 

[8platesofhate]

My question is who will be the NEXT national PSU champion (of those who have NOT won a title already)? good suggestions above!

If Gable isn’t returning I’d go with Kerk. If Gable is returning I’m not sure I see any new national champions on our roster next year. After that’s it’s basically crapshoot with the young guys in 2024 and beyond. We know they’re talented, but it’ll depend on who develops the fastest. I’d go with Haines or SVN since their weight classes seem less difficult than 165, which just had 4 freshman all Americans.

 

[SonnyAbeFan]

Great question...I'm going with Haines. I hope it's Haines and SVN.

 

[J.E.B]

The next wave is Davis, SVN, Haines, Facundo, and Barr so far. Kerk is looming of the current guys. Don’t think Howard and Beau have it in them.

 

[AK1967]

The next wave is Davis, SVN, Haines, Facundo, and Barr so far. Kerk is looming of the current guys. Don’t think Howard and Beau have it them.

I wouldn’t count Beau out of it at 141. Kid has an outstanding work ethic and wants to be a Champion.

 

[Tom McAndrew]

So who’s the next Jason Nolf..?

One of the most creative, and most dominant wrestlers, that we have ever had the pleasure of seeing in the Blue & White. A 3X NCAA Champ. (How he was able to win in 2018, after injuring the knee against Rutgers, and then injury defaulting at B1Gs, was amazing. While we talked about it at the time, I think that as time goes on some forget what a battle that was for him to win NCAAs.) And Nolf wasn't far from being a 4X NCAA Champ, as he lost as a RS frosh in the finals to IMar, 6-5.

Kerk, Bartlett, and Howard all have the potential to become NCAA champs. As for Haines, SVN, and Facundo, I'd be curious to hear from @El_Jefe and @dicemen99. Between the pandemic, Haines not wrestling his senior year, etc., I just didn't see enough of of those 3 wrestlers, or remember enough about their the style, to evaluate whether they can be considered as a potential future Nolf.

 

[dicemen99]

JMO, and I could be way off

Kerk could be a NC, just need Gable to stay retired and to stay healthy. I don't see that from BB or Howard - at this point, I would be happy with an AA from them. Serious shoulder injuries are devastating for wrestlers, for MOST they put an end to the upward arc of a career. And when Howard got the 2nd one - well, one good AA year would be fortunate IMO. BB - just dropping weight classes doesn't make you a different guy. He can AA or he can fall short. Hopefully, there is continued improvement and he ends up a solid AA guy for us over the 2nd half of his career here.

New guys:
Haines - not a Nolf, maybe more like Zain, yes, looks like a very high ceiling guy
Facundo - is definitely not like Nolf, looking forward to seeing him this year
SVN - who knows, haven't really seen him wrestle since he was a JR in HS. Scored a lot of points back then. We'll see.

 

[SRATH]

CStar is developing some Nolf like characteristics. Still too tentative…….Nolf just let things fly.

Nolf & Bo were so good at turning an opponent’s shot into their points, while at the same time being so offensive minded.

 

[El_Jefe]

Mostly agree with Dice but will offer some different style comparisons:

- Haines: somewhere between Nick Lee and Morgan McIntosh. With similar results.
- Facundo: Anthony Cassar. And IMO he'll place sooner but to be seen if he can reach the same peak.
- Van Ness: TBD. He had some Nolf tendencies thru his HS JR year, but like Dice said, that's been a while. We haven't seen enough of him in college to see if he can sustain that pace. Also still to be seen if he can give up IDGAF points and still obliterate opponents, like Nolf did.

Hope Howard's shoulders hold up. In HS he was Mini Quentin Wright. Risk taker. High entertainment value, and high-end results.

Also, IMO Starocci's best comparison is Matt Brown.

 

[Tom McAndrew]

Also still to be seen if he can give up IDGAF points and still obliterate opponents, like Nolf did.

lol, what a perfect description of Nolf. More than any PSU wrestler I can remember, he did have the ability to decide that playtime, so to speak, was over, and it was time to change the entire tenor of the match.

thanks for the evaluations.

 

[Goggles Paisano]

I suspect we will have several 3x'ers on both the current team and hopefully in the next wave.

That said, I think the title of this thread should be changed to who's the next 3x'er or something more realistic.

Jason Nolf is a unicorn. We are blessed to have been provided the opportunity to watch his whole career, but there will never be another wrestler with those unique attributes and talents.

Crazy ability and a 'sense' for the sport few possess. Absolutely fearless, a big motor, and a very unique mindset. Able to remain on offense from nearly every position. Jason had more natural (can't be tought) ability than any other PSU wrestler to date IMO.

There will certainly never be another Jason Nolf, but that doesn't mean we won't see someone that is even better. I can't wait.

 

[SonnyAbeFan]

JMO, and I could be way off

Kerk could be a NC, just need Gable to stay retired and to stay healthy. I don't see that from BB or Howard - at this point, I would be happy with an AA from them. Serious shoulder injuries are devastating for wrestlers, for MOST they put an end to the upward arc of a career. And when Howard got the 2nd one - well, one good AA year would be fortunate IMO. BB - just dropping weight classes doesn't make you a different guy. He can AA or he can fall short. Hopefully, there is continued improvement and he ends up a solid AA guy for us over the 2nd half of his career here.

New guys:
Haines - not a Nolf, maybe more like Zain, yes, looks like a very high ceiling guy
Facundo - is definitely not like Nolf, looking forward to seeing him this year
SVN - who knows, haven't really seen him wrestle since he was a JR in HS. Scored a lot of points back then. We'll see.

Haines more like Zain? Man, that really stinks. I guess we’ll have to take what we can get.

 

[El_Jefe]

I suspect we will have several 3x'ers on both the current team and hopefully in the next wave.

That said, I think the title of this thread should be changed to who's the next 3x'er or something more realistic.

Jason Nolf is a unicorn. We are blessed to have been provided the opportunity to watch his whole career, but there will never be another wrestler with those unique attributes and talents.

Crazy ability and a 'sense' for the sport few possess. Absolutely fearless, a big motor, and a very unique mindset. Able to remain on offense from nearly every position. Jason had more natural (can't be tought) ability than any other PSU wrestler to date IMO.

There will certainly never be another Jason Nolf, but that doesn't mean we won't see someone that is even better. I can't wait.

That's a common sentiment and I don't blame anyone for it, but here's the thing:

Jason Nolf was a lot like David Taylor.

The one thing from Jason that we might never see again -- and I hope we never have the opportunity to see again -- is how he completely changed his style in 6 weeks due to his knee injury.

The 2 guys I'm not sure we'll see again, or at least not again any time soon, are Ed Ruth and RBY.

 

[manatree]

lol, what a perfect description of Nolf. More than any PSU wrestler I can remember, he did have the ability to decide that playtime, so to speak, was over, and it was time to change the entire tenor of the match.

thanks for the evaluations.

Especially given Nolf’s foot position when turning certain opponents.

 

[manatree]

Especially given Nolf’s foot position when turning certain opponents.

Does anyone remember who that opponent was?

 

[SRATH]

Does anyone remember who that opponent was?

Nuts, I can't remember............but I think the guys name was Frank or Richard or Johnson

 

[El_Jefe]

Does anyone remember who that opponent was?

Fast Fwd to 2:00

 

[Tryingtodoitright]

Fast Fwd to 2:00

Thanks for the replay. Man are these fun to revisit. Not just the Jason video (which this thread started from) but the great wrestlers PSU fans have enjoyed through the last dozen or so years. Each one has been their own kind of special and could create great debates for most exciting, dominant (Not dominate), smooth, slick, etc.
But can I slightly switch gears and ask this question, how soon can we expect Jason to overcome Dake in freestyle? Nolf’s style doesn’t lend itself to getting past Dake soon in my opinion. Jason, though he’s closing the gap there… I dunno. Dake’s got the perfect positioning and counter wrestling that will challenge Nolfs offense. I’d love to see it happen- and I believe it can, but will it happen in this Olympic cycle?

 

[Psalm 1 guy]

Thanks for the replay. Man are these fun to revisit. Not just the Jason video (which this thread started from) but the great wrestlers PSU fans have enjoyed through the last dozen or so years. Each one has been their own kind of special and could create great debates for most exciting, dominant (Not dominate), smooth, slick, etc.
But can I slightly switch gears and ask this question, how soon can we expect Jason to overcome Dake in freestyle? Nolf’s style doesn’t lend itself to getting past Dake soon in my opinion. Jason, though he’s closing the gap there… I dunno. Dake’s got the perfect positioning and counter wrestling that will challenge Nolfs offense. I’d love to see it happen- and I believe it can, but will it happen in this Olympic cycle?

Tryingtodoitright, that was a dominant post and based on your Board name I am sure you dominate and run circles around most grammarians! But to your question, I really don't know how close Jason is to defeating Dake. Score wise, Jason was close, and had the only takedown in the two matches, but Dake is just so positionally sound and strong that the closeness of the matches may have been illusory. My lay opinion is that for Jason to make strides in beating Dake he needs to improve in his ties and short offense while simultaneously utilizing his speed and inventiveness to try to create angles to get through to Dake's legs. Also, Jason needs to be able to quickly get Dake's leg up in the air or Jason is at great risk of Dake exposing him with a chest wrap or crotch lift. Kyle is 31 and Jason is 26, so I think that bodes well for Jason in the next few years. Whether Jason can knock off Kyle prior to the 2024 Olympics waits to be seen. America is blessed to have two world class wrestlers in Kyle and Jason, and I believe Jason is the heir apparent. It is just a matter of time.

 

[El_Jefe]

I'm not a fan of "closing the gap" and its various offshoots -- Myles Martin is constantly improving! They're generally mockable coming from other fanbases.

Jason is wrestling at a world medalist level. He corrected several of the mistakes he made against Dake the first time. He was the aggressor and did not allow Dake to work a shot up into a throw. He worked hard to avoid the chest wraps and crotch lock lifts, that Dake scores cheap counter exposures on. Still, all of that was not enough.

Jason will continue to improve and adjust. But credit where it's due: Dake is the favorite until he shows major cracks in his armor (beyond the one-off loss at the Olympics) or until Jason beats him.