AJ Ferrari reveals conversations with Nebraska about moving to heavyweight

AJ Ferrari revealed Nebraska coach Mark Manning and crew were open to him going 197 or heavyweight for the coming season. However, Ferrari going heavyweight would be the more logical approach and better for the team: something he aligned with.

Initially committed to North Carolina, Ferrari was reportedly denied admission to the school and flipped his transfer commitment to Nebraska. A 2021 NCAA champion at Oklahoma State at 197 pounds, Ferrari will bump up for the first time in his college career. He has two years of eligibility, as it stands, remaining.

He recently joined On3 Wrestling to explain what those conversations with the staff were like as far as the plan for the season. He appreciated the openness and honesty of Manning and the staff.

“My initial conversations were he was really supportive of me going whatever weight I really wanted to go, he preferred me to go to heavyweight,” Ferrari told On3. “You know, he knew it was best for the team. You know, he wasn’t a coach like that was forcing me, like Penn State was, like, forcing me, you have to go heavyweight, you know? I think that’s a big thing too … I’m not here to, you know, trying to just, like, say, Oh, ‘I’m the heavyweight guy.’ I prove it through my actions. 

“It’s a new year. I prove it through my wrestling skills, through my work ethic. Like I said, it was a selfless decision for me to go heavyweight for the team, you know, and really do this. I always wanted to be the consensus, what did I say, greatest 197 pound, light heavyweight wrestling of all time. But heavyweight right now. It just seems like a great time to get big, especially the way everything has aligned. You know, God allows things to happen for a reason.”

Nebraska projected lineup 2025-26 with AJ Ferrari

125: Kael Lauridsen, RS-Fr.
133: Jacob Van Dee, Jr.
141: Brock Hardy, Sr.
149: Chance Lamer, Sr. (Cal Poly transfer)
157: Antrell Taylor, Jr.
165: Christopher Minto, So.
174: LJ Araujo, RS-Fr.
184: Silas Allred, Sr.
197: Camden McDanel, So.
285: AJ Ferrari, Jr. (Cal State Bakersfield transfer)

Ferrari going heavyweight this season saves a redshirt year for McDanel for future use if need be, while Harley Andrews is bumped out of the lineup this year. Lauridsen is projected to go at 125, replacing the outgoing Caleb Smith, Lamer comes in as a transfer to replace NCAA champ Ridge Lovett and Araujo replaces Lenny Pinto, who transferred to Rutgers. Otherwise, Nebraska runs it back with All-Americans, a finalist in Hardy and champions Taylor and Ferrari.