Nebraska’s Antrell Taylor is back down to his more natural weight of 157 pounds, and after winning a Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational title, he wants everyone to know he’s here to stay after a brief hiatus up at 165.

“I definitely see it as I had something to prove,” Taylor said. “I think I proved that, and like I said at the end of the match ‘I’m here to stay’. That’s the type of mentality I have going into every match from here on out.”

After redshirting at 157 pounds, Taylor spent his first season as the starter up at 165 pounds because Nebraska had All-American Peyton Robb at 157 for his senior season. Taylor went 23-10 and finished eighth at NCAAs for All-American honors as a freshman.

After a year spent competing against much bigger opponents, Taylor says he feels much stronger. The season at 165 accelerated his development because he was forced to figure out new ways to get to his offense.

“It definitely helped me develop,” Taylor said of facing larger opponents. “I was shooting a single leg, then come up to the body because that’s my best position — the bodylock position — so just finding different ways to my underhooks and bodylocks and stuff like that because I couldn’t really get through guys as much as I wanted to. I didn’t really shoot as many double-legs last year, so it was just finding different ways to get through guys.”

While up at 165, Taylor amassed a pretty solid hit list, including wins over both Cam Amine (then of Michigan) and Peyton Hall of West Virginia — the two CKLV finalists at 165 pounds this past weekend. He also was one of few to hold #1 Mitchell Mesenbrink and #3 (at 174) Dean Hamiti to regular decisions. 

All this while basically weighing 165 pounds soaking wet. 

“I could sometimes weigh in with my clothes on,” Taylor said. “We’d be having the pre-match (workouts) and I’d be 165 before that, and I’d be 162 after pre-match.”

A year older and down at his optimal weight class, Taylor is brimming with confidence, especially after running down #31 Colton Washleski, #18 Chase Saldate, #6 Paddy Gallagher and #5 Ryder Downey on the way to his CKLV title.

“I’m feeling confident. I’m 12-0 right now and just trying to keep building on that,” Taylor said. “Like (head coach) Manning says ‘If nothing changes, nothing changes’ so I’m just keeping the training the same and everything the same.”

According to Husker assistant coach and 2024 World Teamer James Green, Taylor had this date circled after last year left a sour taste in his mouth. Taylor went 2-2 and didn’t place in Vegas last season.

“I think it just showed what he’s capable of,” Green said of Taylor’s CKLV title. “I know that he was upset about his performance last year. They always say that nobody is going to remember that, which the fans and the spectators don’t, but obviously he didn’t forget, so he had it circled and wanted to get back there and just start the season off right. He got to set the tone for the season, so it was good. I was proud of him.”

In the CKLV final against Northern Iowa’s Downey, Taylor got caught while on bottom in a standing two-on-one off a restart and was rolled to his back on the edge of the mat. He was able to sit up enough to not give up near-fall points before reversing the position to put Downey on his back for two back points, taking a 4-0 lead. The sequence was razor-thin but was confirmed after official review.

According to Green, that’s a position that Taylor often gives even him trouble with in the room.

“I’m a big two-on-one wrist guy,” Green said. “He just always typically can turn his waist like he did in that match, but I don’t get stuck on my back.”

One struggle that Green has had in the room with Taylor — despite Taylor being a primary training partner in his preparations for the World Team Trials — is getting him to fully open up in practice. Green is a guy who’s faced the best of the best in the world at this weight class, and when asked how Taylor, an accomplished age-level freestyler in his own right, stacks up as a prospect, he had trouble analyzing his potential for an interesting reason.

“I really can’t tell how he stacks up because I think he has too much respect for me and (coach Bryan) Snyder. I don’t know how to get his competition side out in the room,” Green said. “But at the same time, it feels like he’s kind of downloading information a little bit, so sometimes he takes some beatings here and there, but it’s not like he’s putting his head down, he’s just wrestling and figuring out the positions. There are some things he does in competitions where I’m like, ‘You need to do that in the room.’ You can’t even really be upset about it because he’s doing what any athlete should be doing in practice — trying things and figuring things out. 

“I think that competition Trelly — I haven’t really wrestled him. That Trelly is different, so I’ll let you know when I get my hands on that Trelly.”

Asked about this “Competition Trelly”, Taylor admits there’s a difference. 

“It’s different,” he said. “I hit a whole ‘nother level when I go out there.”

Green went on to say that they joke with Taylor that despite being ranked #4 in the country, he’s still the fourth-best 157-pounder in the room behind Green, Snyder and Peyton Robb. Green and Snyder were four-time All-Americans at 157 for Nebraska, while Robb landed on the podium three times. 

“I think we’re on the same path almost,” Green said when comparing himself to Taylor at this point in their careers. “I would say he’s better (than I was as a sophomore), but I didn’t redshirt. He’s better than me in that regard, but we were joking with him that he’s still the fourth-best ‘57-pounder in the room right now — Me, P-Robb, Snyder, then him.”

Antrell disagrees.

“I’m first, come on, but we all have our days,” Taylor said. “Sometimes Snyder gets me, and Peyton is real tough, even though he’s doing Greco. They’re saying I’m fourth-best — I’m gonna have to put something on ‘em.”

This past offseason, Taylor put a lot of work into working from the top and bottom positions, as well as stringing attacks together. As a high-schooler, Taylor didn’t have to work much on the mat as he mostly took them down and let them up.

“I found myself last year just shooting one time and diving in, and if I don’t get it I’m like ‘I just can’t get to the guy.’ But now I’m just building that confidence up and my conditioning because it takes a lot of conditioning to put together a couple shots,” Taylor said. “I’m getting a lot better on top. I never rode anybody in high school. Coming into college, it was kind of new to me.”

Honestly, Taylor hasn’t had to emphasize it yet this season either as he’s scored 34 takedowns and given up just three. But according to Green, that time will come that Taylor will need that improvement from the top position, so they’ve been working on a system for him to work for turns and ride out his opponent when needed.

“He can get out (from bottom), but we still need to find our turn,” Green said. “When I think about my career — because I really didn’t start committing (to riding) until my junior year — it just needs to happen one time in a match and then you start believing.”

Looking ahead, Nebraska has a couple Division II duals coming up before a non-conference dual against Northern Iowa in January where Taylor will face Downey again. After that, it’s Big Ten season when Taylor could see #1 Jacori Teemer of Iowa and #3 Tyler Kasak of Penn State. The Huskers host Penn State on Jan. 17 and travel to Carver to face the Hawkeyes on Feb. 7. 

“The Iowa dual, I definitely have that one circled, and Penn State,” Taylor said. “Michigan, I want to wrestle (Chase) Saldate again — that dude, he’s a good wrestler, so I have to be ready for that one.”

As for the NCAA tournament in March, Taylor is excited to make another trip after getting his feet wet as a freshman.

“I honestly can’t wait because I’ve already felt all the nerves and was able to wrestle through it,” he said. “I know what to expect, so now I just got to go out there and let it fly — that’s my mentality.”