Erwin enters tonight’s home finale against Michigan State as the energetic, exciting, unpredictable, and, yes, even healthy, presence many expected when he signed with Penn State in 2004. Sanderson said Erwin and senior 141-pounder Adam Lynch are major reasons Penn State transformed itself after a slow start. The Nittany Lions moved to a season-best 10th in the NWCA/USA Today team rankings earlier this week. Erwin (24-6) also comes into tonight ranked 10th. “I think of two guys that have really stepped up and made the difference in the season from where we were in November and December to where we are now, you would say Erwin and Lynch,” Sanderson said. Erwin’s hold on a starting spot appeared tenuous when he opened with a 17-8 loss to Lehigh freshman Robert Hamlin. Three months later, Erwin struggles explaining the slow start. He returned as a 184-pounder later in the November, but he doesn’t completely attribute his turnaround to the weight change. “The weight had something to do with it, being able to go out and wrestle for seven minutes,” he said. “I don’t know what was going on. I can’t describe it. I still tried to figure it out, but I never quite could. It kind of went away.” Erwin walked around at 185 when he was wrestling 174. He now weighs 188 between bouts. “It wasn’t a difficult decision,” Sanderson said. “He was just better at 184. He could make 174, but he was struggling to compete at that weight class. At 184, he feels good and he’s wrestling great.”
Erwin, a two-time Ohio state champion, is now competing two classes above where he started his college career. He went 23-8 as a true freshman 165-pounder in 2005-06. After a redshirt season, he returned at 174 in 2007-08, missing the NCAA tournament when he injured his left shoulder at the Big Ten Championships. Two shoulder surgeries in six months puzzled Erwin. He tried returning toward the end of last season, but his shoulder lacked the mobility and strength to safely compete in the Big Ten Championships. Doctors told him to skip the freestyle season. If Erwin performed any extended sulking, he kept it hidden from teammates. Like any veteran, he had internal questions after his junior season. But none involved quitting. “I never questioned whether I wanted to come back for a fifth year,” he said. “It was: Is my body going to hold up for five years? I think one thing to that is how I’m wrestling now, I’m staying out of dangerous positions more and trying to control the match a little more.”
Erwin’s current weight class features dozens of wrestlers with imposing muscle definition. The physiques produce constant grinding, which puts all body parts, including shoulders, in precarious places. Uncanny instincts help Erwin endure the rigors at 184. He used an elevator, a counter move off a single-leg, to pin Northwestern’s Anthony Jones last weekend. Erwin said he started gaining confidence as an 184-pounder when he emerged from scramble to defeat Edinboro hulk Chris Honeycutt during the finals of the Nittany Lion Open. Erwin snagged an ankle on a late shot attempt and emerged from a scramble with a dramatic winning takedown. “As long as he feels good, which he does, he’s going to have success,” Sanderson said. “He’s just well-rounded. He has offense, counter offense and he can wrestle on the mat. It’s good to see the look in his eye. He’s enjoying himself out there and that’s a big factor for him.”
Thanks to Guy Cipriano and the "Centre Daily Times" (State College, Pa.) for the article