Division I wrestling programs with deep recruiting pipelines and the NCAA maximum 9.9 scholarship allotment face the same dilemma every fall. They must balance team and individual needs, with the end result often leading to talented wrestlers receiving redshirt seasons. The dilemma turned Penn State’s Cael Sanderson and Illinois’ Jim Heffernan, whose teams open the Big Ten dual meet season at 7 p.m. tonight at Rec Hall, into deep thinkers last fall. Their rosters possessed enough young talent to quickly plug holes in projected dual meet lineups. But Sanderson and Heffernan were also first-year head coaches at their respective schools who envision eventual NCAA title runs. Both coaches took the cautious approach. Their decisions leave Penn State’s Quentin Wright, a NCAA sixth-place finisher at 174 last year, and Illinois’ Jimmy Kennedy, a two-time All-American at 133, in the practice room this winter. Both teams are also redshirting their entire freshmen classes — Penn State’s includes David Taylor, Ed Ruth and Jake Kemerer while Illinois’ features former Central Dauphin star Tony Dallago, Sam White and Mario Gonzalez — during 2009-10. “It’s very difficult to make those decisions,” said Heffernan, who replaced Mark Johnson. “We wrestled a number of true freshmen the last several years, but we’re trying to make redshirting all of our freshman an emphasis. That’s one of the things that made us a very good program. Once you make those decisions you can’t change in midstream.”

The opportunity to win more duals meets and score more tournament points teased Heffernan, especially when 125-pounder B.J. Futrell went down with an injury. But instead of pulling White, a two-time Ohio state champion from his redshirt, Heffernan stuck to his plan. The Fighting Illini enter tonight 5-3 with a two-point loss at Missouri and three-point loss to Pitt. Junior John Deneen, who is 6-6, took Futrell’s spot in the lineup. “It was one of those things I thought long and hard about: Was it worth starting Sam in the middle of the season?” Heffernan said. “Ultimately, we decided to give Deneen a chance.” The temptation to use Dallago and Gonzalez hasn’t existed. The duo projects to wrestle at 184 and 197, weights occupied by three-time NCAA qualifiers and All-American candidates John Dergo and Patrick Bond. Wright provided Sanderson with his biggest temptation because the Nittany Lions are starting redshirt freshman Justin Ortega at 174. But Wright will watch home meets from the bleachers as he adds strength for a move to 184 and 197.

Penn State has avoided major injuries, giving Sanderson no chance to rethink his other decisions. Taylor (157) and Ruth (184) are training behind senior starters while Kemerer (165) is ineligible to compete because he didn’t receive his release from Oklahoma. The Nittany Lions enter tonight 8-3-1 with losses to Lehigh 23-14, Oklahoma State 24-13 and Oklahoma 22-15, and a tie at Pitt. “Everybody gets caught up in the ‘We’re Building’ phase,” Sanderson said. “I don’t really like the whole idea. We are going to do what we can this year. Yeah, we have some real tough kids coming in. But we don’t want to live in the future. We’re going to live in the right now. “Even at Iowa State, everybody was talking about how tough we were going to be in the future. We are going to be tough and we know that. But I’m worried about now.” Penn State and Illinois aren’t the only Big Ten teams competing without their best possible lineups. Michigan is redshirting 2009 All-American Kellen Russell, four-time Florida state champion Eric Grajales and two-time Michigan state champion Brandon Zeerip. Northwestern is competing without two-time All-American Brandon Precin and NCAA qualifiers Keith Sulzer and Jason Welch. The Wolverines (4-7) and Wildcats (4-6-1) will likely bring sub-.500 records into dual meets at Rec Hall next month.

Still, the Big Ten has its share of teams unveiling most of its best wrestlers. Iowa (14-0), Ohio State (11-1) and Minnesota (5-4) are among the nation’s top five teams, according to the NWCA/USA Today rankings. The Hawkeyes are the favorite to repeat as Big Ten dual meet and NCAA tournament champions. But the Buckeyes and Golden Gophers could push the Hawkeyes. Indiana, Penn State, Wisconsin and Illinois are also ranked among the top 20. “A lot of the teams are in same boat as us and Penn State,” said Heffernan, who wrestled at Iowa and joined Johnson’s Illinois staff in 1992. “But Minnesota and Ohio State can compete with Iowa for the title. There’s always a good lump of teams with guys who are proven and some teams with guys who aren’t proven.” The Big Ten is a new experience for Sanderson, whose Iowa State teams competed in the five-program Big 12. Penn State’s road schedule is brutal, beginning with a trip to Ohio State on Sunday. The Nittany Lions visit Iowa and Wisconsin next weekend and Minnesota on Feb. 19.

“Yeah, we are a young team,” Ortega said. “We have a lot of redshirt guys who are out of the picture, but I think we can fit in with those teams.” Experience could help Penn State navigate the next five weekends. Freshmen Bryan Pearsall and Ortega, who redshirted last season, and seniors Adam Lynch and Cyler Sanderson are the only starters with either no or limited Big Ten experience. The Big Ten shouldn’t fluster Cyler Sanderson because he started three years at Iowa State. “We are a tough matchup for anybody because we have a good team, we wrestle hard and we’re in good shape,” Cael Sanderson said. “That will come into play as we get into the stretch here. Our attitude as we compete is going to determine how high we place and how good we end up.”

Thanks to Guy Cipriano and the "Centre Daily Times"(State College, Pa.) for the article