Brady Berge says he's coming back to Penn State wrestling; how could it impact the Lions' lineup?

Welcome back to Penn State, Brady Berge.

The Nittany Lions received more good news on the roster front Thursday night when the two-time NCAA qualifier announced that he’s coming back to State College.

Berge stepped away from competition in 2021. He cited concussions and his health as the reasons why. The Mantorville, Minn., native most recently was working as an assistant coach at South Dakota State. He intends to return to that role following the spring semester.

“Stepping away from competition was a difficult decision for me to make, but it was ultimately the right thing to do at the time,” Berge wrote in a statement posted to Twitter. “Coaching has allowed me to view the sport of wrestling from a different perspective, and I have given my mind and body the necessary time to heal. I am confident that I am healthy and prepared for the challenges ahead.

“Over the past months, I have felt that hunger to compete again. a desire to finish what I started and one final shot to accomplish a childhood dream. After many long and difficult discussions with loved ones, I have decided to take advantage of the opportunity to compete [for] the remainder of this collegiate wrestling season.

“I am excited to announce I’m returning to the one place I can chase this dream – Penn State – where I will finish my wrestling career as a Nittany Lion.”

Berge is listed in the online Penn State student directory. However, it was not immediately clear when he would be able to compete for head coach Cael Sanderson’s team.

Why Berge’s Penn State return matters

When Sanderson spoke to reporters on Tuesday, it was clear that he felt that the program could improve its situation at 157 pounds.

Berge could do exactly that.

During his first stint in State College, Berge compiled a 31-9 record. That included 14 victories that netted the team bonus points. He missed almost all of the 2020 season but qualified for nationals at 157 in 2021. There, he scored an impressive upset win over fifth-ranked Kaleb Young of Iowa to reach the quarterfinals. Berge suffered an injury early in that bout, however, and had to medically forfeit out of the tournament. A month later, he announced the end of his competitive career.

Now, however, he’s back, but again, it’s unclear when he could start competing. Penn State will go with Tony Negron, in all likelihood, at 157 this weekend against Maryland and Indiana.

“I think we have three guys that have a lot of potential,” Sanderson said. “Negron just needs more experience, and Joe and Terrell just need to kind of get out of their own way and just kind of go compete. They all have a lot of potential. I would think at this time, we’re kind of probably leaning towards Negron, just because he’s been competing well. But, it’s tough, too, because he’s only had a few matches, and that’s kind of the case for all of them.

“There’s nothing set in concrete at this point. You guys have seen all the same things that I’ve seen. I know we got a lot of potential there. But, that’s obviously a weight class that, we feel like we’re more competitive than we’re showing right now in those in those big matches.”

Berge is a competitor, and he is ready to ger after it for one final season.

Lions lineup takes shape

Penn State ended the 2021 portion of its schedule with uncertainty at 125 and 157 pounds.

With Drew Hildebrandt now on board along with Berge, both spots appear to be solved.