Ohio State redshirt sophomore Kaleb Romero was a pretty good football player.

In four years as the starting quarterback for the Mechanicsburg Indians, he tallied more than 10,000 yards of total offense and 140 touchdowns, rewriting the school’s record books in the process. One local newspaper called him “arguably the greatest player in Mechanicsburg football history” at the end of his prolific career.

But the four-time Ohio high school state wrestling champion knew if we wanted to compete at the collegiate level, it would be on the mat instead of on the gridiron. He passed on the opportunity to be a preferred walk-on for Urban Meyer to wrestle for Tom Ryan instead, and he never looked back.

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December 6-7 | Noon Eastern

Getting the first experience of life as a starter for the Buckeyes last season was a tougher row to hoe than he might have expected as a highly-touted and highly-accomplished recruit. He went 11-6 last season at 165 pounds, going just 2-3 against Big Ten opponents in dual-meet competition before ultimately losing the job to senior Te’Shan Campbell.

“Last year I lost confidence in myself . . . I didn't really believe in myself,” Romero admitted. “This year I'm just going out with nothing to lose, just going out and wrestling and trying to make things happen.”

Another year in the program, coupled with a move up to 174 pounds, has made a world of difference, both in his record and in his belief in himself. Through the first month of the season, Romero is undefeated and enters the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational fresh off a win against then-No. 11 Brandon Womack of Cornell. Romero dispatched the former All-American on the strength of two takedowns in the final period of the match.

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“I started off a little slow, kind of going into his hand fight, and then I just opened up and started wrestling my match,” Romero said after the meet. “Toward the end I started moving really well. I think that was getting him a little tired, reaching, and I was able to get to my shots.”

Calling the win over a ranked opponent — his first of the season — a “big step,” the lifelong Buckeye said although he has a lot more energy at the heavier weight than he did making the cut to 165, he has plenty of work to do if he’s to make a mark in an absolutely stacked Big Ten.

“I have a lot to improve,” Romero said. “Obviously I want to boost my attack rate by a lot, and I need to keep that motion for a full three periods, rather than just the third.”

Ohio State head coach Tom Ryan echoed that assessment in his post-match comments, saying he wanted to see more shot attempts from his starter. Ryan said Romero has the speed to make opponents miss on their own shots and capitalize like he did late against Womack.

“He did a really nice job late in the match just staying calm, staying calm but aggressive,” Ryan said. “He hit some clean shots to win; in the end he faked and spun . . . when you have speed like that, you’ve got to trust the fake.”

Opponents have to respect that fake because of Romero’s speed: If they don’t react to it, Romero will lay them out with his preferred weapon, the blast double. Ryan said:

“So the more he fakes and the more he attacks, the better his pulls are going to be, and that combination makes him really dangerous.”

Romero’s newfound confidence came in part because of success during the freestyle season. At the U23 World Freestyle Team Trials in Akron, Romero finished fourth at 79 kg and walked away with a different point of view after winning seven matches.

“It was an offseason tournament, not a lot of pressure, and I just opened up and wrestled,” he said. Although he didn’t make the world team, Romero said his overall performance at the event was a boon for his mindset as a competitor: “Knowing that I could compete at that high of a level kind of boosted my confidence.”

He’ll have his work cut out for him at the Cliff Keen. Walking into the Las Vegas Convention Center with an 8-0 record, he’ll vie for a title against a dozen other ranked opponents, including six of the 10 men ahead of him in the latest standings. If he adds a few more wins over ranked opponents to his resume this weekend, it will go a long way toward establishing him as a true competitor in the class and toward helping Ohio State hoist a fourth-consecutive CKLV championship trophy.

Andy Vance is a Columbus-based journalist who covers the Ohio State University wrestling program for Eleven Warriors, the largest independent sports site on the internet for Ohio State news, analysis, and community. He is co-host of the site’s Eleven Dubcast podcast. Follow him on Twitter @AndyVance