Nebraska is off to a hot start this season as a team — a 5-0 dual record, a Navy Classic title, and a runner-up finish at CKLV. Individually, the Huskers have four wrestlers ranked in the Top 5 in their weight class. Two starters are still undefeated on the season.

But that doesn’t mean these Huskers haven’t faced some adversity. Starters like #21 Jacob Van Dee at 133 pounds (5-5) and #16 Lenny Pinto at 174 (11-3) have dropped some matches. According to Nebraska associate head coach Bryan Snyder, it’s the team’s response to those losses that tell the story of who they are, and he’s seen nothing but positive signs in that regard.

“The response to it is great, and that’s what you look for as a coach — what are you going to do when you get knocked down?” Snyder said. “One match doesn’t define you. How you wrestle in November and December does not have to be the way you’re going to wrestle in January and February and certainly not March if you do the right things.”

By doing the right things, Snyder is talking about a number of areas of a wrestler’s life — their training intensity, sleep, diet and nutrition, and their competitive nature. 

“All these things are variables that we look at and tinker with and make sure these guys understand what they need,” Snyder said. “Then it’s on them. We give them a pathway or a roadmap, but it’s them that has to take the bull by the horns so to speak and figure it out.”

One thing that Nebraska preaches constantly is mindset and resilience. According to Snyder, the Husker coaches tell their guys daily that they’re here to get better and that nobody is a finished product. 

“That’s why we challenge these guys because we want to see where they’re at and knowing that these challenges are going to help the guys grow,” Snyder said. “One, if you frame it the correct way, and two, if you put in the work, you’ll come out with a better version of yourself — a renewed sense of what you need for competition.”

In fact, this Nebraska staff emphasizes that quality of resilience when recruiting and it’s paid dividends with this team’s ability to bounce back after defeat.

“We recruit a certain psychological profile where these guys have lost in the past and dealt with some setbacks and some adversity,” Snyder said. “When they take an early loss in their career, it’s not the end of the world.”

Nebraska already started the process of getting some guys back on the right track before the holiday break when it sent starters Pinto, #7 Silas Allred (184) and #29 Camden McDanel (197) to the Kent State Open along with backup Chris Minto at 165. Allred missed CKLV with a minor injury, while Pinto went 1-2 and McDanel went 3-2 — neither found the podium.

Allred, Pinto, McDanel and Minto all won their brackets, winning all 15 matches between them with bonus points — 11 via tech fall.

“Just trying to get those guys some more reps against Division I competition. (Head coach Mark) Manning always talks about how it’s not who you wrestle, it’s how you wrestle, so for those guys getting out there was big,” Snyder said. “To get Lenny’s offense going and finishing matches, and same thing with Cam. Cam is a true freshman, so to get him as many reps out of the gate as possible. For Silas missing Vegas, that was important to get those guys out to Kent State.”

Allred is now a perfect 11-0 on the year, while Pinto is 11-3, and McDanel is 12-4. Last year’s Redshirt of the Year for Nebraska, Minto is 12-0 on the year and finally settling into a weight class. After being a 165-pounder wrestling up at 174 last season (he went 18-4) while redshirting, Minto began the offseason building his body in anticipation of staying at 174, but the Husker lineup shift changed things for the Florida native and he began his descent back down to 165. 

“Minto is undefeated and he’s beaten ranked guys, so he’s done a tremendous job,” Snyder said. “We knew that Minto is the guy he is, so people are starting to figure it out a little bit, but we saw something in him — particularly coach Manning saw something in him when we recruited him a few years ago. He’s continuing to get better, and he’s just tough and hard-nosed and can be dangerous from all three areas. He’s taking this first semester getting his body back down closer to fighting weight.”

Unsung Husker Heroes

When talking about this Husker roster, it’s apparent Snyder has a deep level of love and appreciation for every single guy in the room. In fact, he touched on a few guys who he called “unsung heroes” who maybe don’t get the accolades or the headlines, but they are integral to what a development-heavy program like Nebraska does.

Snyder pointed to guys like Blake Cushing, Hayden Mills, Scott Robertson and Ethan DeLeon as guys that make the entire room better.

As for Cushing, a junior 141-pounder with a career of 30-11 who has received “The Terminator” nickname from his teammates, Snyder heaped one of the highest levels of praise a man can bestow on another.

“Blake is like the gold standard — Gus is six years old, but I’m thinking that if Gus can be Blake Cushing then I did my job as a dad,” Snyder said. “At most programs, he’s the starting guy at 141 pounds.”

Mills is a sophomore backup at 133 pounds with a career record of 26-12, while Robertson is a redshirt freshman at 149 with an 8-2 record on the year.

“There are a few guys who do a ton for our room who are kind of unsung heroes — the Hayden Millses of the world. He’s just so integral to Caleb Smith and Van Dee’s development. He’s everything you want,” Snyder said. “I put Van Dee through individual workouts, and I use Hayden Mills because he coaches from the other side of the position like ‘Hey, when you do this, I feel this.’ He’s also a great competitor, so those guys make Nebraska wrestling. They don’t get a ton of accolades or press, but he does so much to elevate the guys around him.

“These are the guys that are cut from the same cloth as Blake Cushing, and they really are the gold standard for what we look for for guys that provide depth and make our room what it is. They’re awesome guys and just great human beings – guys you want your kids around.”

Freshmen Crop Impressing

In addition to Minto, Nebraska has a number of other freshmen who have been impressive in backup roles this season, setting themselves up for expanded roles in the future.

Most recently, Nebraska hosted Division II teams Nebraska-Kearney and Augustana on December 20 for a triangular. Two of the better DII teams in the country, they supplied a great opportunity for some Husker freshmen to get into a dual. Nebraska only used a starter in five of the 20 total matches that day.

“As a team, it was great to get some guys that aren’t part of our starting 10 just yet and give them the limelight and let them compete in front of the crowd,” Snyder said.

Tasting his first dual action as a Husker, true freshman Kael Lauridsen, a four-time Nebraska state champion for Bennington in high school, faced the top-ranked wrestler in DII in Augustana’s Jaxson Rohman. Lauridsen scored a takedown, some near-fall and a reversal for an 8-1 win, improving to 4-1 on the year.

“(Lauridsen) went out and did a really good job with a takedown and was tough on top. I think even Kael would tell you he wanted to finish that match differently, and I think in the future he will finish that match differently and continue to score points,” Snyder said. “This is why we do it — you get a two-hour weigh-in, you’re the hometown kid from Bennington and you get a little bit of butterflies, a little bit of nerves. So just getting that rep — there’s a physical rep but there’s also an emotional rep just being out in front of the crowd and just continuing to wrestle. That was a really good learning experience for Kael — he did a great job, but we’d like to see him finish the match the way he started it.”

Not to be outdone, fellow freshman 125-pounder Alan Koehler took on DII #2 Zach Ourada of UNK, winning the match via 11-7 decision, improving to 9-4 on the year.

“Koehler did a really good job against a guy that has Divison I wins. The guy is good on top, and Koehler was able to get out a leg and reverse him. He did a good job of keeping pressure on his feet and getting multiple takedowns,” Snyder said. “We’re really happy with those two guys because we knew going in that was the toughest in terms of one weight class across two teams. We were excited to see what our young guys could do, and they did well.”

Two more true freshmen who look to be future starters are LJ Araujo at 174 and Omar Ayoub at 133. Araujo had a slow start at the Daktronics Invite but has turned things around in a hurry, teching both his DII opponents in his dual debut. 

“LJ is going to be special, and he took some early lumps. LJ is gritty, he’s grimey, and he’s going to figure it out,” Snyder said. “He absolutely loves the sport, and he’s different now than when he wrestled at Daktronics — that’s just five or six weeks apart.”

As for Ayoub, the two-time Ohio state champion was rehabbing a knee injury to start the year and was just cleared to wrestle. He teched his DII opponent in the second period in his first match in a Husker singlet.

“Omar got cleared to wrestle live the week before Augustana, but he’s been champing at the bit and he’s been wanting to go,” Snyder said. “He’s brought a really nice level of competitiveness to the room which is great to see. He’s tough man, he really is, and his work ethic is great. He’s been a great addition for guys like Brock Hardy and Van Dee, he’s going to challenge those guys and make them better.”

Speaking of guys like Minto, Araujo, Lauridsen, Koehler and Ayoub, Snyder was blunt about his expectations for them.

“I love those guys — those guys are going to be mainstays for Husker wrestling,” Snyder said. “People are going to be reading about them and cheering for them in Devaney in the years to come.”