Media focuses on Cael preparing Penn State for new season

October 30, 9:20 PMCollege Wrestling ExaminerMark Palmer

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First-year coach Cael Sanderson at 2009 Penn State Wrestling Media Day

Photo/Pat Little for Associated Press

Penn State wrestling held its Media Day this past week... which generated considerable coverage of the Nittany Lion matmen and their new head coach, Cael Sanderson. Here's just a sampling of some of the stories:

Cael eager to start season at Penn State.  In its coverage of PSU wrestling's Media Day on Tuesday, Associated Press opened with this statement:

"I'm anxious just to see where we're at just as much as anyone else is," Sanderson said at the team's media day Tuesday.

The season begins in less than three weeks, but Sanderson's tenure is off to a good start. Recruiting services have ranked Penn State's freshman class as one of the best in the nation, including the addition of top prospect David Taylor.

The AP article goes on to outline how coach Sanderson and his wrestlers are anticipating -- and preparing for -- the new season in rather general terms.

Cael plans to redshirt stars, freshmen his first season. The Centre Daily Times -- the local newspaper serving State College, Pennsylvania and surrounding area -- provides more specific details on Cael Sanderson's plans for the upcoming wrestling season. For starters, the new coach plans to showcase some of his top mat talent at an intrasquad scrimmage on November 5 -- something of a sneak-peek for PSU wrestling fans. 

What's more, according to the article by Guy Cipriano, "Cael Sanderson said during Tuesday’s Media Day the entire freshmen class will redshirt during 2009- 10. Sanderson also added sophomore Quentin Wright and senior Bubba Jenkins to the list of wrestlers headed toward redshirt seasons." 

The CDT article also includes a number of photos of the Media Day event.

Cael: "We have some really strong talent." An article in the Patriot-News provided even more details on Sanderson's plans for redshirting freshmen... along with Wright and Jenkins. In fact, here's how the Harrisburg, PA paper describes the situation:

Penn State might redshirt more talent this fall than it puts on the mat. And that’s exactly according to Sanderson’s master plan.

“It is tough because we have a really strong senior class in Cyler [Sanderson, Cael’s younger brother who transferred from Iowa State] coming in here, [Dan] Vallimont, [David] Erwin, guys who have had a lot of success in the past,” the coach said Tuesday at Penn State’s media day.

“We have some really strong talent. These freshmen that are in the room right now are very tough.”

The article goes on to provide a weight-by-weight assessment of the Nittany Lions' wrestlers for the new season.

Penn State's Pataky looked to as a leader.  With the absence of veterans Wright and Jenkins anticipated for 2009-2010, Brad Pataky may emerge as even more of a leader for the PSU wrestling program, according to an article in the Daily Collegian, the student newspaper at Penn State. 

Pataky, the 125-pound junior from traditional Pennsylvania prep powerhouse Clearfield, has won the respect of coach Sanderson, as stated in the Daily Collegian profile:

"Our expectation of Pataky is for him to be in the hunt for the national title," Sanderson said. "... He wrestles at his best at the national tournament. He did last year. I don't remember -- coaching the other team -- but I do remember seeing him pin a few guys."

In addition to Pataky holding down a key spot in Penn State's lineup, his coach mentioned him as one of the wrestlers taking on a lead-by-example role on the team.

Resources

Cael Sanderson's official website

UNofficial Fans of Cael Sanderson Yahoo group

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