Blue White Illustrated

He gives credit to his big brother for setting it up. "We try to keep a consistent flow, " Cael Sanderson said. "If you look around the country, some teams don't have a home dual for a two-month period of time. It's hard to build a consistent [fan] following that way. Coach Cody has been able to keep it fairly consistent. " 4 Bonus points. In a 10-minute conversation with a reporter, senior AllAmerican David Taylor (165), a three-time NCAA finalist and one-time champ, dropped the word "dominate" nearly a dozen times. Taylor added that his goal this season is to defeat every single opponent either by pin or technical fall. Said Taylor, "That's what I have in mind." He's hoping that attitude filters down to his teammates. Across the national landscape, Penn State's opponents are stocked and reloaded. Iowa claims to have its most potent starting lineup since Sanderson last coached in the Hawkeye State, and the Cowboys are talented, too. So in order to win the dual meets, Penn State might have to rely on bonus points from Taylor and the other big guns in its lineup. And once the postseason rolls around – you guessed it – points will be at a premium. As you would expect from the threetime reigning champs, the Nittany Lions have a target on their back. And the Hawkeyes and Cowboys are locked in. But Sanderson and Penn State are ready for the challenge. "We have the potential to be a great team, and you can see that by who we have returning and with some of the new faces coming up, Sanderson said. " "We are really excited about the potential for this season. " I NOTEBOOK Ed Ruth suspended Head coach Cael Sanderson announced Nov. 13 that two-time NCAA champion and three-time AllAmerican Ed Ruth (184 pounds) would not wrestle in Penn State's season-opening dual meets vs. Rider (Nov. 16 – W, 34-8) and Lehigh (Nov. 17 – W, 22-12). A timetable for his return has not been established. Sanderson said Ruth "broke team rules," and the coach did not offer further comment. "He will not be wrestling this [opening] weekend," Sanderson said. "I'm not going to comment really any more than that. We're going to figure out what we're going to do, but definitely this weekend." James Frascella started at 184 during Penn State's opening weekend. He went 0-2 . Lions sign 3 blue-chippers Three top recruits signed with Penn State when the early signing period began Nov. 13. FloWrestling.com puts each signee in the top 10 of their national high school pound-for-pound rankings. Penn State's Class of 2014 includes: Bo Nickal (No. 4) of Allen, Texas, Jason Nolf (No. 6) of Kittanning, Pa., and Nick Nevills (No. 9) of Clovis, Calif. It is expected to rank as the No. 1 recruiting class in the country. Nevills projects to be a college heavyweight, but it's difficult to project Nickal's and Nolf's future weight classes. Nickal currently competes at 170 pounds, but could wrestle anywhere between 174 and 197 in college. Nolf, on the other hand, is a 138pounder right now, but his high school coach, Brandon Newill, said he's expected to grow. "He's like a puppy," Newill joked. "We have no idea how big he's going to get. " Don't be surprised if Nolf, a straight-A student, begins his college career as low as 141 but finishes it at 157 or higher. Marsteller is a Cowboy The nation's unanimous No. 1ranked wrestling prospect, who verbally committed to Penn State in July, announced that he will attend college at Oklahoma State and wrestle for the Cowboys. Blue White Illustrated confirmed Nov. 5 that Chance Marsteller was opening his recruitment and exploring other options. The following day, Marsteller posted on his Facebook page that he was switching commitments from Penn State to Oklahoma State. "To clarify any confusion I will be wrestling for Okie State," he wrote. Marsteller is a senior at KennardDale High in Fawn Grove, Pa., and a three-time state champion. In three high school seasons with the Rams, Marsteller has totaled an unheard of 125-0 record, and is considered by many to be the best high school wrestling prospect Pennsylvania has ever produced. He is also a freestyle wrestling phenom who is projected to have gold-medal success on the international stage. With the Nittany Lions, he was projected to begin his career at either 157 or 165 pounds. – T.O.

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