2021 NCAA All-American Lucas Byrd (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com)Illinois Fighting Illini
There's a new man in charge of the Illinois wrestling program.
Michael Poeta begins his first season as the head coach of the Fighting Illini this season after spending the last five as an assistant.
That's the fun news.
The bad news?
"I have more grey hair and my belly's bigger," Poeta said and laughed. "I'm just really busy."
But there's good news, too.
Illinois brings back plenty of talent and experience for the '21-22 campaign.
"I see a lot of consistency right now," Poeta continued. "That's what we struggled with in the past. We had a full lineup of guys who, at any point, could beat any guy standing across from them, but we didn't do it consistently enough.
"I feel like our training has been at a really, really high level. Every practice has been productive. Our guys have gotten better, and we're chomping at the bit to compete."
TOP RETURNERS
Five Illinois wrestlers qualified for the NCAA Championships last season and are back again this year: Lucas Byrd (133), Dylan Duncan (141), Dan Braunagel (165), Zach Braunagel (184) and Luke Luffman (285).
Byrd and Duncan both finished last year as All-Americans. They both took the same paths, too, losing in the second round then rattling off four straight wins in the wrestlebacks to finish on the podium. They both took fifth.
Additionally, Justin Cardani (125) and Mikey Carr (149) return and have both previously qualified for the NCAA Championships - Cardani in 2020, Carr in both 2018 and 2019.
KEY DEPARTURES
Illinois experienced a little roster turnover, but all the starters from last year's postseason are back.
NEWCOMERS
A handful of wrestlers joined the program this season - a couple of transfers in Luke Rasmussen from North Dakota State and Anthony Federico from Fresno State, plus the 2021 recruiting class - but Poeta believes Joe Roberts will have the biggest impact.
Roberts was an Illinois state champ who originally went to North Carolina State. He announced his plans to transfer back home last May, and Poeta expects him to be the guy right away at 157 pounds.
"We got really lucky with him," Poeta said of Roberts. "He came into town and blew us away. Way better of a wrestler than I thought. His gas tank is unbelievable.
"That was a hole for us last year. We were pretty solid all around, but that was one weight class we couldn't figure out. We're going to be pretty good there."
WRESTLER TO WATCH
Mikey Carr is the guy to watch for Illinois, which is saying something because there are plenty of talented wrestlers in this lineup.
But Carr, a sixth-year junior, is one of the better wrestlers around the country that doesn't get a ton of love. He's twice reached day two of the NCAA Championships, and has wins over All-Americans like Yahya Thomas, Chad Red, Tommy Thorn, Sa'Derian Perry, Mitch McKee, and Nick Lee, a returning NCAA champ for Penn State, throughout his career.
If he can stay healthy - and perform in March - he'll be an X-Factor for this Illinois team.
"He's about as good of a wrestler as I've ever seen in my life, in practice, and we just need to see that when he's competing," Poeta said. "If he is able to finish on the podium this year, it will be the most satisfying feeling, as a coach, for me to that point."
POTENTIAL LINEUP
125: Justin Cardani (So)
133: Lucas Byrd (Fr)
141: Dylan Duncan (Sr)
149: Mikey Carr (Sr)
157: Joe Roberts (Fr)/Johnny Mologousis (Jr)
165: Danny Braunagel (So)
174: DJ Shannon (So)
184: Zac Braunagel (So)
197: Matt Wroblewski (Jr)
285: Luke Luffman (So)
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