Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/260491
Instead, McIntosh's main workout partner is usually Olympic gold medalist Jake Varner, who is a member of the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club. Not a bad alternative. From time to time, however, Taylor still 4nds the need to drill with McIntosh. He said they have comparable styles when wrestling from the neutral position. They use similar shot setups, low takedown attempts, and their go-to move is the ankle pick – each adding his own touch to Cael Sanderson's signature takedown. Sometimes they help each other hone those skills. But only sometimes. For self-preserva- tion purposes. "Morgan is like a bear," said Taylor, a 165-pounder. "His hands are some of the biggest bear claws that I've ever seen. When he lays his hands on you, you know he's grabbing you. He has a lot of great attributes that make him a great wrestler." That grizzly strength has helped McIn- tosh, a native of Santa Ana, Calif., compile a 22-2 record throughout his redshirt soph- omore season and garner a No. 6 ranking from FloWrestling.com, which should only improve by the time this magazine reaches newstands.. And get this: For most of the season, he was doing it at less than full strength. Before Penn State's season opener vs. Rider, McIntosh said he hyperextended his right elbow. "It's kind of painful," he said a8erward, "but I don't think it's any- thing too serious. You just have to be careful and tape it up and make sure it doesn't get any worse." By the time Penn State hosted Pitt on Dec. 6 at the Bryce Jordan Center, he was competing with his right arm wrapped from the biceps to his forearm. "It's a little frustrating to wear," McIntosh said. "It's uncomfortable and I don't have full motion. Hopefully it'll be o5 soon." Two months later, he got his wish. By the time he wrestled vs. Minnesota Feb. 9, the wrap was o5. Prior to that, however, he said he felt himself using his less-dom- inant le8 hand during matches, which would dampen his strategy. But never mind that, and the lingering pain, too. The ob- vious – but necessary – tape job advertised an arm injury to opponents, and that would allow them to take full advantage of an in- jury that McIntosh called "frustrating." "It gives them a pretty good grip," head coach Cael Sanderson explained. "If guys are wearing tape in practice, I'm going to be hanging on it the whole time." But McIntosh obviously didn't let it stop him. In fact, as his elbow healed, he began to 4nd more success. He lost twice during the Southern Scu7e – both times to Mis- souri's J'Den Cox. Otherwise, he's been posting the results that one might expect from the former No. 1 overall recruit in the country. "There's nothing like a loss that really gets somebody thinking correctly again," associate head coach Cody Sanderson said. "I think he came out of that tournament knowing that he's going to be a national champion." McIntosh has been to the national tour- nament before. As an undersized true freshman, he was thrust into the starting lineup at 197 pounds – one weight class up from the spot at which he probably should have been competing. But he was the best available option for a team that was looking to contend for a champi- onship. He handled his role well, quickly found himself ranked in the top 15 and 4nished the regular season with a solid 15-6 record. But as the season wore down, so did McIntosh. He battled a knee injury, which le8 his right leg mummy-wrapped similar to the way his right arm was taped up. Although he quali4ed for the NCAA Cham- pionships in St. Louis and helped his team to the tournament crown, McIntosh went 1-2 and fell one victory shy of All-America honors. "It's just very di6cult to step in as a true freshman when you're not expecting to THE McINTOSH FILE A T P E N N S T A T E As a true freshman at 197 pounds, McIntosh wrestled to an 18-10 overall record and qualified for the 2012 NCAA tournament. He took a redshirt last year and posted a 12- 2 mark in open tournaments. H I G H S C H O O L Graduated from Calvalry Chapel in 2011 as the No. 1-ranked overall re- cruit by Intermat. He won three Cal- ifornia state titles and tallied a 189- 5 career record (including 128 pins). He won the 2011 Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award and Fargo Junior National Championships (freestyle). P E R S O N A L Majors in agriculture... Parents, Rebecca and Brooke Q U O T A B L E Teammate David Taylor: "Morgan is like a bear. His hands are some of the biggest bear claws that I've ever seen." Steve Manuel