Logan Massa is among the toughest wrestlers to beat in the Division I ranks. 

While that's not exactly headline news, I did a little digging and looked into what, exactly, makes the Michigan redshirt sophomore such a challenge at 165 pounds. From where I sit, it’s a perfect storm of a few things at work: Massa's technique, hardheadedness, and a serious motor. 

Technique

There are two distinctly different camps when it comes to wrestling technique: guys that make you come to them and guys that bring the heat to you. It’s not very often that you find teams that can do both, let alone athletes. Massa is a rare exception. 

Massa is as physically gifted as an NCAA athlete comes and can power through just about anyone in the world with a straight single leg. But don’t, whatever you do, push into him. If you do, there's a good chance he’s going to hit you with one of those nasty overhook snaps that makes all the coaches do their best Ice Cube and Chris Tucker impression. 

Hardheadedness

One of the things that makes Massa so hard to beat, especially under the current collegiate rules, is that it’s almost impossible to score on him. If you try and blast through him on a double you’ll be met with some of the heaviest hips in the NCAA. 

While that may sound like something that can be categorized under a technical asset (and it is), there’s a level stubbornness that goes along with it as well. The way that he turns his hips and backs up toward the out-of-bounds line makes it almost impossible for you to score within the cylinder. 

Massa’s stubborn nature is evident in the way that he grinds you down on top too. Can he score on top? Yes, but whether he sneaks out a couple of swipes or not is almost immaterial next to the fact that the time that you spend underneath him is going to be absolutely miserable. 

He’s heavy on one side, then he switches. Massa will spend 45 seconds riding a spiral, and if you’re fortunate enough go out of bounds — or the official mercifully calls a stalemate — you head back to the center knowing you had better go inside-leg standup to stop that spiral ride... Then he changes to a far knee breakdown. 

Motoring Is A Mindset

Let me break some news to you gently: Everyone who wrestles at a Division I college in 2017 is in shape. Everyone is more than capable of going seven-plus minutes inside those painted lines. Please spare me the “___ HAS NO GAS TANK” tweets. So what, if anything, is the difference between a guy that can muster enough energy to mount a seven- or eight-point comeback and a guy that seemingly hits the wall in the second period?

The answer, I've found, is almost always the athlete’s mindset. Worrying is exhausting. The best way that it was ever put to me is that "worrying is like paying interest on a debt that’s not due." It’s completely unnecessary and more taxing than you realize. Sometime after Massa’s semifinal loss to eventual national champion, Vincenzo Joseph, and his consolation final win over Isaac Jordan at the NCAA tournament last year, Massa simply stopped worrying. 

Now, don’t get me wrong, the idea that being too nervous before any particular match is not the only factor that goes into physical fatigue. However, I will say that when the burden of worry is lifted many athletes not only tend to have more gas in the tank later in the match but also tend to be less hesitant to pull the trigger when it comes time to unload the clip. 

I caught a video of Massa warming up before his third-place bout backstage at NCAAs. Does this look like a dude that’s worried about the outcome of a wrestling match?