Josh Barr’s carnivorous nature has paid off over the last year.

Bigger than he was when he joined Penn State’s wrestling team after a scorching high school career that saw him go 125-1 and win four Michigan state championships, Barr has eaten, lifted and wrestled his way to the top of Penn State’s depth chart at 197 pounds.

“He’s a big, strong kid,” Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said earlier this season. “He works hard, he’s really disciplined. He’s definitely jumped levels in the last few months.”

Entering Sunday’s dual at Lehigh, the redshirt freshman has a chance to notch his biggest win yet against his expected opponent and former Nittany Lion Michael Beard.

This wasn’t the path Barr initially expected when he enrolled at Penn State prior to last season. Then, he came in weighing close to 180 pounds and was immediately faced with the harsh reality of being a new guy in a room full of reapers.

Barr tangled early with NCAA champions Aaron Brooks and Carter Starocci. The then-true freshman was often humbled.

Outwardly, however, Barr’s progress was evident. He capped his redshirt season with a 14-0 record at 184. His output included six technical falls, four majors and a pin across near-perfect performances at the Edinboro and Mat-Town Opens, Army’s Black Knight Invitational and the Journeyman Classic.

Meanwhile, Brooks held down his 184-pound spot in the starting lineup. He won his fourth NCAA championship and the Hodge Trophy in his final year of eligibility.

With Brooks gone, Starocci decided to chase a fifth NCAA title at a new weight, opting to move up to Brooks’ spot — the spot Barr appeared in line to inherit.

“Carter came back, told me he was going 84,” Barr said. “I was like, ‘Alright, I’m either going to get big or not.’ So I made the choice I was going to go up and it’s been fun since then.”

Bar weighed 180 when he first stepped on campus last year. After the season, he began his ascent in weight.

“I think I weighed like 180 when I got here last summer,” Barr said. “I’ve grown a lot and it’s been a fun process this summer gaining weight and it was something I’ve never really done, I kind of just let my body naturally grow.”

Tyler Kasak’s family farm played a role.

The Kasaks regularly run meat and potatoes from their farm to Happy Valley. Barr caught on when he befriended Kasak on a trip to Penn State to train with the Nittany Lion RTC.

A year later, after Barr decided to go up to 197 to try and challenge for the lineup spot, he went to the unofficial team butcher — Joel Kasak. 

“I just bought a cow from Mr. Kasak,” Barr said. “That’s all I eat pretty much every single day. A lot of eggs, potatoes, rice, creatine, lift weight, wrestle.”

With Starocci still around, Barr still gets reps in with the four-time champ.

Barr admitted that he previously hated wrestling from the top position. In high school, he often didn’t need to as he dominated from his feet. It’s a dimension he’s committed to adding and believes he has.

“I really enjoy top and bottom, especially top,” Barr said. “And I think just making that a big part of my arsenal is going to help every area of my wrestling.”

Having a year of experience has also helped him refocus on some of his mistakes that unattached wrestlers failed to exploit a year ago.

Barr knows wrestlers in opposing dual-meet lineups this year are likely to be more tactical and have the experience to turn bad shots that would’ve worked against lesser opponents into points.

“Last year, and especially in high school, I’d just dive in on legs and figure it out,” Barr said. “But it doesn’t work when you’re wrestling big, strong guys all the time, especially in here, so I had to learn my lesson the hard way a lot for a long time.”

Already, just a month into the season, Barr feels like he’s adjusted to 197 nicely. While his weight cut to 184 wasn’t anything too tough, moving up has allowed him to nearly eliminate cuts entirely.

Sitting at 4-0 so far this season with a pair of falls and two majors, Barr believes that will only help as the schedule grinds on.

“I feel stronger at this weight class,” Barr said. “Cutting weight, I don’t think really helps anybody. That’d be my advice for young kids is to not cut weight. So the approach has changed a little bit, but it’s honestly easier because the guys get a little bit more tired and are a little bit less fit at 197 than they are at 184.”