2020 NWCA 1st Team All-American Kendall Coleman (Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com)Purdue Boilermakers
Purdue has quietly become a consistent darkhorse team in an always-deep Big Ten Conference.
The Boilermakers have finished in the top six at the last two Big Ten Championships after finishing ninth or lower every year since 2011. Last season, Purdue took sixth behind five wrestlers who finished sixth or better at their respective weights.
The trick now, entering the 2021-22 season, is to parlay that growth into national results. Because despite the continued progression, Purdue hasn't had a true NCAA All-American since Ivan Lopouchanski in 2013.
This year's Purdue team has some strong pieces that are capable of ending that streak, and collectively, they're good enough to take the program to the next level.
"We have a lot of experience back," Purdue coach Tony Ersland said. "We return several guys who qualified and won matches at the national tournament, and this is the most experience I've had return, from a lineup perspective.
"This is a very motivated team, more than just for individual success, too. They love each other as a team, and that's got me excited about this group."
TOP RETURNERS
Most all of last year's major point-scorers are back again this season: Devin Schroder (125), Jacob Rundell (133), Parker Filius (141), Kendall Coleman (157), Gerrit Nijenhuis (165), Emil Soehnlen (174), Max Lyon (184), Thomas Penola (197) and Dorian Keys (285). That's 92.7% of Purdue's Big Ten tournament scoring total.
Schroder, Rundell, Filius, Coleman, Nijenhuis, Lyon, and Penola all return after qualifying for the NCAA Championships. Everybody won at least one match. Lyon, Filius and Nijenhuis all went 2-2, and Schroder and Penola reached the bloodround.
"To lose in the bloodround and be that close, it's not hard to be highly motivated about turning that result around," Ersland said. "I feel that way about a lot of guys."
Everybody is coming back at the same weights they competed a year ago, but the one lineup shift worth noting here is that Soehnlen and Nijenhuis are swapping spots, so Soehnlen is now at 165 and Nijenhuis is up at 174.
When we say that Purdue has some strong pieces that are capable of reaching the NCAA podium this season, we're serious.
KEY DEPARTURES
Purdue did lose a couple of key contributors, in Griffin Parriott and Travis Ford-Melton.
Parriott was a three-year starter for Purdue, posting a 57-41 overall record at 149 and 157 pounds. He was a three-time NCAA qualifier. He started at 149 last year, and his absence opens up the opportunity for a handful of guys to vie for a starting spot, like Alec White, Ethan Smiley, Trey Kruse, and others.
Ford-Melton is no longer listed on the roster. He spent three years at Purdue, all at 133 pounds. He went 14-14 during the 2019-20 season.
TOP NEWCOMERS
Purdue's 2021 recruiting class was considered a consensus top-25 recruiting class, according to both InterMat and MatScouts. It includes three top-100 prospects, in Michigan's Stoney Buell and two Ohio natives in Ben Vanadia and Dustin Norris.
But perhaps the two big names to watch are the two late additions to Purdue's 2021 recruiting haul.
The first: Matt Ramos, who isn't a 2021 recruit but joined Purdue this summer after two seasons at Minnesota. He redshirted in '19-20, then took an Olympic redshirt in '20-21, so he's got all four years of eligibility left and is the front-runner to start at 133.
"I've loved him," Ersland said. "He's been great in our room. He brings a lot of good energy. He's a fun kid and has a passion for the sport."
The second: Hayden Copass, one of the nation's top heavyweight prospects and the No. 56 overall recruit in the 2021 class. He originally signed with Wisconsin, but is now with Purdue and could be a key contributor sooner rather than later.
Copass won't be eligible until the second semester, and he'll be in a three-way battle with Keys and Tristan Ruhlman to start at heavyweight. Ersland said it'll be a process to figure out Purdue's starting heavyweight. A handful of open tournaments, like the Midlands Championships in December, may help decide the starter the rest of the way.
WRESTLERS TO WATCH
Of all the exciting wrestlers that could make up Purdue's lineup this season - Schroder, Ramos, Nijenhuis, Lyon - we're rolling with Kendall Coleman here.
Coleman is a two-time NCAA qualifier at 157 pounds. He was the 6-seed at the 2020 NCAA Championships before COVID-19 canceled them, then was the 9-seed at last year's national tournament before injuring his knee in his second-round match, forcing him to default.
Coleman is back healthy again and ready to resume his ascent as one of the nation's most exciting 157-pounders. He's 41-12 over his last two seasons and was a Big Ten finalist in 2020. He surpassed 100 career takedowns in just 39 matches, and enters the '21-22 season ranked No. 9 by InterMat.
"My expectations for Kendall are pretty high," Ersland said. "He's looked strong coming back from his injury. He came back stronger and fit and ready to go. He's had a good fall once he was released to go live. I'm really high on him."
POTENTIAL LINEUP
125: Devin Schroder
133: Matthew Ramos/Jacob Rundell
141: Parker Filius
149: Alec White/Trey Kruse/Ethan Smiley
157: Kendall Coleman
165: Emil Soehnlen
174: Gerrit Nijenhuis
184: Max Lyon
197: Thomas Penola/Michael Woulfe
285: Dorian Keys/Hayden Copass
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