Blue White Illustrated

LAST WORD T I M O W E N | O W E N . T I M . B W I @ G M A I L . C O M n life as well as sports, there's the ob- vious and the not-so-obvious. The favorites and the underdogs. There are the surefire bets. Then there are the wagers that no one else sees coming. To separate from the rest, you want to be hitting on both. It's like the Texas high school that built a $60 million football stadium, and then produced a Heisman Trophy-win- ning quarterback six years later. That wasn't a preordained outcome, but there was a better probability than at most other places. Less likely is that the same football-centric powerhouse would concurrently produce arguably the nation's best collegiate wrestler. That is Allen High School's hidden gem and claim to fame right now. Not only did it graduate Penn State's Bo Nickal, but also Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray, who won the latest Heisman. Now Nickal is one of the favorites for the Hodge Trophy, wrestling's equiva- lent. There must be something in the water down there. Football is the lifeblood of many Texas high schools; it's the favorite. Wrestling is too often an afterthought; it's the un- derdog. To Texans, Murray was just bringing the Heisman back home, but Nickal winning the Hodge would be un- precedented. Not only would he be the only Texan on the list of the trophy's re- cipients, he also used to walk the same halls as this year's Heisman trophy win- ner. Separated by one grade, they re- main friends. When Murray was honored in December, Nickal tweeted, "I've been telling my whole team and all my friends for two years you were going to win the Heisman." Murray's odds weren't bad from the start. An argument can be made that Allen built its 18,000-seat stadium just for athletes like him. He's someone you can invest in. A wrestler from Texas dominating the sport – that is a bo- nanza not many would have expected. At least not until they saw Bo Nickal. He's been a showstopper from the start, and although he wasn't from a blueblood wrestling state, he was con- sidered a can't-miss prospect in high school. When he signed, it was as part of the same 2014 recruiting class as Jason Nolf, his teammate and good buddy, and another top contender for this year's Hodge Trophy. In a class that would be asked to carry the torch onward after the graduation of all-time greats Ed Ruth and David Tay- lor, Nickal and Nolf were seen as the best, safest bets to reach a similar plateau. In the same year, though, Cael Sanderson and his staff landed several other prospects who weren't as cele- brated as the class's big names but of- fered versatility. If the Lions were buying high with Nickal and Nolf, this was a way of hedging. And they hit on both. Nick Nevills had been a headliner at heavyweight in 2014, a blue-chipper in his own right like Nickal and Nolf. The California native went on to claim All- America honors twice but battled through an array of lingering injuries. Behind him in that signing class was Anthony Cassar, who has since taken over the reins at 285 pounds. Who would've guessed it? After missing out on the New Jersey state tournament each of his first three years of high school, Cassar finally qualified as a sen- ior. He won, then found a spot on PSU's roster, competing his first four years at 197 while battling injuries. Now he has bulked up into a surprise force at heavy- weight. Undersized yet fleet-footed with a helluva double leg, he entered the Big Ten tournament with only one loss on the season. Also in that class was Shakur Rasheed, who is down to 184 after beating Cassar for the 197-pound spot a year ago and then claiming his first All-America honor in Cleveland. No matter what happens this March in Pittsburgh, there's been talk that either or both could be eligible for a medical hardship waiver and back again for one more sea- son. Nevertheless, they're treating this like a final ride. "I just want the end result to be the both of us on top of the podium," Rasheed said. "This could be our last chance, so it's awesome to be out there together for one last hurrah." What a hurrah it could be. When you study the postseason brackets, there are the obvious favorites such as Nickal and Nolf. Then there are the underdogs – competitors whose ascent you might not have seen coming. This year, one or two of those guys might be wearing Penn State singlets. Without a true loss on the season, Rasheed can't be taken lightly – not with that cradle. He can strike from anywhere, and although Cassar might be some 50 pounds lighter than many of his opponents, he's got the confidence to collide with the heavies and the en- durance to outlast most of them, as he did when he topped Minnesota's Gable Steveson in the Big Ten final. His skill set doesn't end there. "I'm realizing that I'm definitely strong enough to work with these guys," he said. "The strength is what the factor is, and I have that advantage for sure." Speed and strength paired together can be a vicious combo. If you're not ready, you might not see it coming. ■ Beating the odds I

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