Blue White Illustrated

MATT McCUTCHEON RANK No. 13 YEAR Soph. HOME Apollo, Pa. A:er barely 8nishing above .500 in Big Ten dual meets as a redshirt freshman, McCutcheon appeared to hit a di9erent gear in the postseason. As a No. 8 seed at the conference tournament, he avenged a loss against nationally ranked Sammy Brooks of Iowa en route to a fourth-place 8nish. Then at nationals, McCutcheon upset third-seeded Blake Stau9er of Ari- zona State before falling one win shy of All-America status. He might have gotten o9 to a slow start, but he 8nished strong, and Sanderson is anticipating that McCutcheon will main- tain that momentum into his sophomore campaign. "Con8dencewise, he knows he can com- pete with anybody, and I think he knows what it takes," Sanderson said. "It's just his best e9ort and that 8ghting spirit and just being himself and being true to what he wants to accomplish out there. Last year, the experience from that, is de8nitely helping out." 133 MORGAN McINTOSH * RANK No. 1 YEAR Sr. HOME Santa Ana, Calif. Returning to his post for a 8nal season a:er a third-place 8nish at nationals this past March, McIntosh is being asked to assume a larger leadership role. Otherwise, Sanderson just wants the two-time All- American to simply keep doing what he's mostly been doing since joining the pro- gram four years ago. "You've seen that he has the ability to score points and do things that normal people can't do," Sanderson said. "So, yeah, we're looking for him to continue to do what he's doing and continue to im- prove. We just need him to lead, especially the upper weights, with his attitude and his e9ort more than anything. To win the national tournament, it takes bonus points and we need him to score bonus points. You do that just with hustle and e9ort and just having that right attitude, so that's what we're looking for out of McIntosh." 133 JAN JOHNSON RANK N/R YEAR Fr. HOME Mohnton, Pa. A:er beginning his Penn State athletic career as a walk-on linebacker, Johnson joined the wrestling team following an injury to expected starter Nick Nevills in late October. A two-time Pennsylvania state wrestling champion, Johnson is no slouch despite just joining the team, but the biggest challenge he'll face this season might be the size di9erential against reg- ular college heavyweights. When Johnson joined the football team this past summer, he weighed around 216 pounds. He's now up to 230 and eating "a ton of calories," he said, to continue adding more. Until then, he'll rely on his speed and quickness in the hope that he'll be able to outpace the more lumbering op- position. "Wrestling as a heavyweight in college versus as a lighter weight, there was more movement and a faster step," Johnson said. "So I can just do what I can do to try to beat the bigger guys." Sanderson said a 8nal decision won't be made about Nevills' injury until January or February, but the possibility of a medical redshirt year is on the table. ■ It all began with a phone call from Cael Sanderson to James Franklin. Sanderson's No. 1 heavyweight recruit from a year ago and the only 285-pound wrestler on Penn State's roster – Nick Nevills – had just suffered an injury that will sideline him for most, if not all, of the season. Sanderson had no other options – except for one, but he was on the football team. "Hey," Sanderson said when Franklin picked up the phone on the night of Nevills' injury. "You don't happen to have anyone on your roster who's red- shirting this year, who has some wrestling experience?" Sanderson had in mind, of course, Jan Johnson. Johnson joined Franklin's team this past summer as a walk-on linebacker because football is his first love and he's pretty good at it, having played in the Big 33 game following his senior season at Governor Mifflin High School. But he might have found even more success as a wrestler. Johnson was a two-time Pennsylvania state champi- on and won 170 of his 178 career match- es, most recently at 195 pounds. So when Nevills went down with an undisclosed injury – and with nobody on the roster to replace him – Johnson was the first option to come to mind for Sanderson. The true freshman was happy to answer the call. "I thought this was a great opportu- nity," Johnson said. "They needed help, and I could fill in and help them and do a pretty good job, so the situation matched up perfectly. I won't lose any eligibility for football and I'll still be able to wrestle." Although he still attends study halls in the Lasch Building, Johnson has tem- porarily stopped practicing football for the season and is training full-time in the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex. His focus has been on improving his wrestling conditioning while adding weight. By the time he made his Penn State athletic debut – on the wrestling mat instead of the football field – he weighed in at 225 pounds. His oppo- nent, Brad Emerick, was about 50 pounds heavier. It didn't matter, as Johnson outlasted the junior for a 3-2 decision, capping PSU's 50-0 shutout over Lock Haven and winning the Ridge Riley Award in the process. Asked afterward if he could rank the win among his many athletic achieve- ments, Johnson hesitated before saying, "This might be the No. 1 thing." –T.O. 1 8 4 2 8 5 1 9 7 Johnson's return to wrestling boosts PSU

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