Way Too Early Lineup Look: 2020-21 Nebraska Cornhuskers
Way Too Early Lineup Look: 2020-21 Nebraska Cornhuskers
Taking an early look at who should be the starter at all 10 weight classes for the Nebraska Huskers during the 2020-2021 college season.
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Although this year's NCAA tournament didn't happen, we're holding out hope that next season will go on as planned, and with that in mind we've been breaking down the lineups of what we think some of next year's top teams will be.
Today's way too early lineup look brings us to Lincoln, Nebraska. And remember, we're going to be doing depth chart articles later in the spring or summer, so things like Tate Orndorff transferring to Ohio State will be covered in more detail since we've already done a lineup look for the Buckeyes.
The Huskers lose three senior starters from this year's team: Isaiah White (the 5 seed at 165), Collin Purinton (the 9 seed at 149), and David Jensen (the 21 seed at 285). They were poised to have their best season in a decade, having won CKLV, finishing second at Big Tens, and going 11-3 against a difficult dual schedule.
2020-21 Nebraska Projected Lineup
125: Alex Thomsen
133: Ridge Lovett
141: Chad Red
149: Kevon Davenport
157: Bubba Wilson
165: Peyton Robb
174: Mikey Labriola
184: Taylor Venz
197: Eric Schultz
285: Cale Davidson
The four programs we started with are the clear trophy teams in my eyes, but after doing Ohio State and Nebraska I'm starting to see a path for them to muscle their way into the team trophy conversation as well. In terms of lineup moves, how they replace Isaiah White at 165 and David Jensen at heavyweight are the two biggest question marks right now.
Lineup Looks: Iowa | Penn State | Cornell | Michigan | Ohio State | Missouri
125: Alex Thomsen, RSSO
Thomsen put it together at the conference tournament to qualify for NCAAs when he almost certainly wouldn't have been given a wild card, beating two guys who were seeded ahead of him to place sixth. But his bottom issues were a hindrance all season, as he went 11-15 against D1 foes with five losses by bonus and a 1-3 record in overtime. He'll potentially face some competition from incoming freshman Jeremiah Reno for the starting spot. Reno is a four-time undefeated Missouri state champ who finished his career 77th on the 2020 Big Board.
133: Ridge Lovett, SO
Lovett was very impressive from the top position as a freshman and is a great example of why 133 was so tough this year as he was just the 14 seed in Minneapolis. The Idaho native lost in his first five duals, but then closed out the year with five straight dual wins. The quality of competition had a lot to do with it, so this offseason will be crucial to see how what improvements he makes to hold up against guys like DeSanto and RBY moving forward.
141: Chad Red, RSSR
Red finishes out his career and, along with Taylor Venz and Eric Schultz, will be the senior leadership as these key members of their 2016 recruiting class go through their final year at Nebraska. They were a Top-5 class coming in and have backed that up, though if Isaiah White had gone there straight away they’d be held in even higher regard.
Red's legacy hangs on the postseason, as he's just 57-32 in his career against other D1 wrestlers, but he was on pace to be a four-time All-American. There are many cliches about guys whose best performances come in March, usually involving the lights being on, but it's clear Red raises his level at Big Tens and NCAAs. He's scored 55.5 career points between those tournaments and outperformed his seed in four of the five in which he's wrestled.
149: Kevon Davenport, RSFR
Talk about a guy I whiffed on projecting his college weight. I always thought Kevon was going to be a 165 or even 174 pounder in college with that long frame, but it turns out he's just a skinny guy. He could of course still grow into that, depending upon what the coaching staff sees, but for now he's going to take over for the graduated Collin Purinton. Davenport was 18-2 this season while redshirting, but had just six matches against D1 opponents. He got majored by All-American Jarrett Degen, but pinned Henry Pohlmeyer, who was the 10 seed at this weight.
157: Bubba Wilson, RSFR
Please know that there's no reason Peyton Robb can't be the 157 starter once again. But they've got to figure out what to do at 165, so for the sake of projection I thought Robb would be the best option on paper for now. That leaves Wilson as the guy at 157, but they've got several options.
The first is that Brock Hardy comes in right away and starts after returning from his Mormon mission, but I feel like he'll need a year to get his timing back. He was projected as a 157 coming out of high school, so either way him or Robb would be going up in weight. Then there's Jake Silverstein, but I feel like his days at 157 are over. Wilson went 19-1 as a redshirt, though only 4-1 against D1 guys.
165: Peyton Robb, RSSO
Please see all my thoughts above about these two weights, as I am more than open to Robb staying at 157. No matter what weight he goes, his season was very difficult to asses. He had just four wins over guys who've qualified for the national tournament, and his six losses were all to quality guys. But he had three pins, three techs, and three majors, showing a remarkable ability to beat up on people who are firmly out of the national qualifying territory. So the question becomes, can he turn those losses to good guys into wins and can he pour on the points to bonus other wrestlers in the Top-20?
174: Mikey Labriola, RSJR
Some might say Labriola took a step back this season, but I think his schedule was just tougher. He went from 28-9 as a freshman to 18-10 this year, but his bonus rate went up and he maintained the same seed at NCAAs. What helps Labriola a ton is the mass exodus at 174, with his main competition next year coming from Michael Kemerer, Carter Starocci, Anthony Valencia, Anthony Mantanona, and whoever Ohio State uses. That puts him solidly in the first tier heading into next season.
184: Taylor Venz, RSSR
Although the book on Venz is that his results are a bit unpredictable with some dips in them, his record and bonus rate have been pretty consistent, so it's just a matter of which Venz you get at NCAAs. He's tough on top, with 20 career pins as a starter, and his hit list includes wins over Drew Foster, Max Dean, Zack Zavatsky, Emery Parker, Pete Renda, Aaron Brooks, Louie DePrez, Chip Ness, Nino Bonaccorsi, and Abe Assad.
197: Eric Schultz, RSSR
Schultz looked to be putting it together as a junior, going from someone who had 24 losses his freshman and sophomore years to the 3 seed at NCAAs. He went 2-2 in both of his previous trips to the national tournament and was the only person to take down Bo Nickal during his Hodge winning season. With Kollin Moore gone he’s a real threat to win Nebraska’s first national title since Jordan Burroughs in 2011.
285: Cale Davidson, RSJR
Davidson was a second-semester transfer from Wyoming who beat 2018 recruit Austin Emerson at the Sioux City Dave Edmonds Open at the beginning of February. He was a 197 who wrestled in 20 duals for the Cowboys but moved up to heavyweight when he got to Lincoln. They also brought in NJCAA fourth placer Landon Brown of Western Wyoming, but I think right now he's third on the depth chart.