2018-19 Redshirt Report: 165 Pounds
2018-19 Redshirt Report: 165 Pounds
A couple high school class of 2017 studs, a Southern Scuffle finalist, and a two-time All-American highlight the 165-pound redshirt report.
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Are you wearing your best red colored shirt right now? If not, that's OK, but we'll still be pressing on with Redshirt Report season!
For the fourth year in a row, FloWrestling will be doing a weight-by-weight breakdown of the best guys who did not wrestle last season. The word "redshirt" is being used as a catch-all term for pretty much every good non-starter from a year ago. This includes actual redshirts, injuries, and a few who just couldn't crack the starting lineup.
Previous Redshirt Reports
Some weights will have more names and more name cache than others, because not every weight is created equal. At 165, we have a two-time All-American and a Southern Scuffle finalist, as well as two hammers from the high school graduates of 2017.
Keep your eyes peeled for more NCAA content this summer in the leadup to what promises to be an excellent 2018-19 season. On to the 165 pounders you probably wished you could've seen more of last year.
Joseph Smith, Oklahoma State
One of the most high-profile (and surprising) redshirts of last season, Smith's return to the lineup creates a logjam at the upper middleweights for the Cowboys. The two-time All-American will be going 165, which likely means one of two things: Chandler Rogers is replacing Jacobe Smith at 174, or Rogers and Jacobe are both bumping up, leaving the heavier Smith in a roster battle with Edinboro transfer Dakota Geer. There will be a lot of eyes on Stillwater this year to see how the program bounces back from the second-worst NCAA finish of the John Smith era, and his eldest son Joseph will play a huge part in that.
Tommy Bullard, NC State
Bullard made it to the national tournament as a true freshman in 2017 and redshirted last season. He went 12-3 competing unattached, but did not beat any NCAA qualifiers. The pressure will be on Bullard for two reasons. First, even though they lose a lot of team points, expectations will be high in Raleigh coming off a team trophy. Second, the only weight the Wolfpack did not qualify for Cleveland was 165, so they will not want a repeat of that in Pittsburgh as they chase another top-four finish.
Bryce Steiert, Northern Iowa
The Big 12 will pick up a little bit at this weight with the return of both Smith and Steiert. Now a junior, the Panther qualified for NCAAs as a freshman and a sophomore. He's very difficult to take down, and has picked up his bonus rate a bit over the course of his career, putting him in position to become a rock in the UNI lineup. His biggest win last season came in the semis of the Southern Scuffle, when he beat eventual NCAA fourth-placer Chance Marsteller. For what it's worth, only two of Steiert's career college losses will be at 165 this season: Joe Smith and Vincenzo Joseph.
Mekhi Lewis | Virginia Tech
While not always the case, this year's junior world team is filled with guys who are at the top of the various redshirt reports, and in making the team had to beat several other top contenders coming off redshirts. Lewis was one of last year's most intriguing non-starters, going 28-2 and only losing to Chance Marsteller. He picked up wins over NCAA qualifiers Gordon Wolf, Keilan Torres, Lorenzo de la Riva, and Tommy Bullard. To get to the JR Trials finals, he had to knock off Iowa All-American Alex Marinelli. Injecting Lewis into the lineup at 165 means that David McFadden will be bumping up to 174 for the Hokies.
Stephan Glasgow, Rutgers
Instead of a redshirt, Glasgow took a post-graduate year at St. Benedict's. He was 26th on the 2017 Big Board and finished his career making three straight state finals in single class New Jersey. After finishing runner-up as a sophomore, he went 73-2 over his final two years and won two 152lb titles. His only losses came at Powerade, by a point to Trevell Timmons in the 2015 quarters and in the ultimate tiebreaker against Cam Coy in the 2016 finals.
Jake Allar, Minnesota
Allar was originally committed to Iowa State but switched to the in-state Gophers after the Cyclones made a head coaching change. He didn't wrestle a match last season but was one spot ahead of Glasgow on the 2017 Big Board (25 to 26). In fact, the last time we saw Allar was Fargo last July, when he defaulted to sixth after nearly teching Tyler Dow in the semis, but Dow eventually stormed back for the win. The coaching staff might need to bring Allar along slowly if he is to be Minnesota's starter.
Cole Walter, Lehigh
The 2017 NCAA qualifier missed most of last season with an injury. In his stead, Gordon Wolf made it to Cleveland and Ian Brown was the Mountain Hawks' rep at 157. Jordan Kutler seems set at 174, so one of Brown, Walter, or Wolf will be on the bench this year. It was back in November of 2015, but Walter does have an 8-2 win over Brown. He has fallen several times to Steiert, but his best career win to date is over David McFadden at the 2017 Edinboro Open.
Neal Richards, VMI
The Keydet junior was an NCAA qualifier as a true freshman and placed fourth at the National Collegiate Open in February. When he was a starter in 2017, he beat two qualifiers that year. Richard is listed as a 157 on the current roster, so don't be surprised if he drops down a weight for the upcoming season.