One of the only guys in the country who is balancing his official duties as a college assistant with a Senior-level freestyle career, Nebraska’s James Green is doing all that while moving up a weight class.

Since moving up from 70 to 74 kg, Green has competed at RAF 02, the Yasar Dogu, and the Zagreb Open Ranking Series. However, Green’s focus so far this season has been primarily with this Husker squad that finds itself ranked fifth in the Team Tournament rankings.

After a slow start to the season where Nebraska placed fourth at National Duals — dropping duals to both #2 Ohio State and #3 Oklahoma State — the Huskers have improved mightily. 

Nebraska lost to Oklahoma State 33-6 at National Duals, but the Huskers narrowed the gap with the Cowboys a month later in a much more competitive 22-12 loss. After a 33-3 loss to the Buckeyes in November, Nebraska fell to them 17-16 in conference action, winning five straight matches along the way.

The Huskers are 12-6 in duals this year, but all of their losses have come to the top teams in the country. They are the only team this year to win three matches against Penn State, falling 27-12 to the Nittany Lions.

The national conversation about the balance between having an easier schedule to keep guys fresh and a tougher schedule in order to be battle-tested is alive and well. When asked about Nebraska’s approach there, Green sees the Huskers’ gauntlet of a season as a net positive going into March.

“There are two sides of it. As an athlete, I would love to get my hands on those guys as much as I could,” Green said. “As a coach, it’s a little bit of balance, but in the long run if you can get some competition against some guys that aren’t necessarily in your conference or you might not see, that definitely goes a long way, especially at Nationals.”

With record attendance this season, Green was happy to give the people what they want in Lincoln.

“Some schools are just worried about March, but I think here at Nebraska we just want to be able to wrestle the best any opportunity that we get,” he said. “I think these guys can handle it and look forward to it too, and it’s just good for the sport. Our home duals this year, attendance went up and the fans came out and that’s what they want to see. They want to see Antrell (Taylor) wrestle good matches and they want to see AJ (Ferrari) and Brock (Hardy). I think the more you present those opportunities of some good quality matches, the better it is for the sport and the better it is for your program.”

In late-January conference action, Nebraska faced Iowa, Ohio State and Penn State in an eight-day span. The Huskers dropped all three duals but learned from it. According to Green, his guys are only better because of their experience facing top-level guys in consecutive matches.

“I think it’s a good experience for our guys to know that they’re well trained and capable of wrestling these back-to-back tough matches,” Green said. “Honestly, if they want to be the national champ, it’s all about who can put the matches together, so having a couple back-to-back weeks like that was really good.”

Getting their hands on top-level guys as often as possible is the goal for a Nebraska team that is really good at peaking in March. Last season, Nebraska had an incredible NCAA run that resulted in its program-best second-place finish.

“When you have to wrestle some high-level matches, it might not seem like what you’ve been practicing is working, but being able to focus through that seven-minute period where points aren’t necessarily flying on the board, then the crazy scrambles and the high atmosphere, that just prepares you for March,” Green said. “I feel really confident with our team going into the Big Ten tournament. Those guys feed off each other and once they get rolling, it’s hard for them to stop. They know how to put the matches together, and that’s what we train for.”

Since its loss to top-ranked Penn State, Nebraska has dominated in wins against Northwestern (47-0), #10 Illinois (28-11) and Indiana (34-5). 

“This past weekend, we saw a lot of our guys putting points together. It’s hard to get the majors and get the bonus points, but that’s what we want in our guys, and we know that we’re capable,” Green said. “I think we’ve just been rolling, and everyone has been putting up points on the board, and that’s what you’re excited about. These guys are well prepared and well trained and they hype each other up, so it’s just a good group of guys.”

The Husker Middleweights

As a 74 kg wrestler, Green spends a lot of his time on the mat going against guys like #1 Antrell Taylor (157), #7 LJ Araujo (165) and #4 Christopher Minto (174). 

According to Green, the hardest to wrestle in the room is Araujo. Minto as well, but he has size on Green. Araujo’s top game and leg defense tend to frustrate the four-time All-American the most. 

“I would say LJ because he can scramble, has good leg defense, and on the mat. When you have Ridge Lovett still here and you get to have him coach you up, it makes it hard on anybody, so it’s definitely miserable being on the mat wrestling with him, especially when he throws the legs in,” Green said. “We just gotta get him getting his hips involved, and he’ll be elite. People are already picking neutral on him, so if he can get a takedown on you, it’s going to be very hard to beat.”

A guy who came in with a reputation from high school as a dominant top wrestler, Araujo is on the cusp of unlocking his potential as a redshirt freshman, according to Green.

“Once he starts committing to turning and not just throwing a leg in a riding, you’re going to see guys not even want to risk going down,” Green said. “I’m excited to see if he can start pinning people. It’s coming together and it’s just going to get better. He’s taking it in stride, and I think he’s going to be right there with the best guys in March.”

As for Taylor, who has won 13 straight matches and re-taken the top spot in the rankings at 157 after winning an NCAA title last year, Green had high praise for his coachability and ability to process things. He pointed to Taylor’s late takedown over #10 Kannon Webster of Illinois as an example of his composure and ability to go get a clutch takedown.

“Antrell is great — I think he’s the most coachable guy in the room. Obviously, we’re around the same weight class so we wrestle a lot, and he makes adjustments better than anyone,” Green said. “In the practice room when he’s trying to learn, you may think he’s having a bad day, but I think he’s just taking it all in so when he goes to competition he’s able to win those 30-second ride-outs and win in overtime matches with PJ Duke. 

“As a competitor, I think he’s the most competitive guy on the team. Even with this past weekend with Illinois, he’s the most clutch. When the match might not be going his way, or he might not get a call, or the ref is trying to get in it, this guy just stays calm, cool and collected. He’s always finding a way to get his hand raised.”

When it comes to Minto, who placed fourth at NCAAs last year at 165 pounds, Green just wants to see him open up more and get to legs rather than depend on his hand fight and defense to win matches. Despite his 17-4 record and the fact that he wrestled #1 Levi Haines to an 8-6 decision, Green says Minto has a lot more to give. 

“He gave Levi Haines all he could handle, but then sometimes he’ll be in a one-takedown match with some other guy, so just trying to get him to be a little more consistent so we can get the best version of him is kind of what he’s missing,” Green said. “He’s such a competitor. He reminds me a little bit of Caleb Smith. Sometimes, those guys in the room once the fur gets flying, they just want to get after you and they don’t care. They just want to put you through the wall, so we just gotta kind of stay in his ear and keep him dialed in. I’m really excited for his postseason and for him to get a chance to wrestle Levi again.”

Green’s Freestyle Focus

Right now, Green is focused on his role as a coach, but after the season the focus will swiftly turn toward his Senior-level aspirations at 74 kg. 

“While coaching, I just do what the guys do. Every once in a while, I’ll get my own little workout in and focus on some freestyle stuff,” Green said. “I’m looking forward to actually locking in and training more freestyle stuff once the season’s over.”

Despite not currently focusing on freestyle, Green fell in a tight match 4-4 on criteria to four-time World medalist Tajmuraz Salkazanov of Slovakia at RAF 02 in late October. In January, Green earned bronze at the Yasar Dogu. Most recently, Green placed fifth at the Zagreb Open, a ranking series event.

Wrestling up at 74 kg for the first time, Green likes how he’s felt so far, especially with the fact that he’s only wrestled in tournaments with 2 kg allowances. 

“I don’t feel like there’s any size difference or anything like that. I can wrestle with these guys and don’t feel like anyone has outmuscled me,” Green said. “I still haven’t wrestled scratch yet, and once we get down there, then I can take advantage of that as well. I’m excited to just throw my hat in the 74 kg ring and I feel good and feel like I have a lot of energy. I can just wrestle and be me and not worry about my legs or getting tired in a match. I’m excited, I have a lot of energy and I’m fired up.”

As for his upcoming plans, Green said he wouldn’t turn down another RAF invitation, but his next circled date is the U.S. Open in late April with a spot in Final X on the line.

“I got my two tournaments in, and now we’ll head into the Big Tens and Nationals, where I’ll just focus on coaching,” Green said. “If they give me the call for RAF, I can do that — would be a nice event before the Open, then head to the U.S. Open.”