Six Questions For Ohio State's Lineup In 2020

Six Questions For Ohio State's Lineup In 2020

Six lineup questions facing Ohio State and the Buckeyes' coaching staff heading into the 2019-20 season.

Jun 23, 2019 by Wrestling Nomad
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For three straight years now Ohio State has finished as the second best team in the country. Their lineups have totaled 341 points at NCAAs in that time, an average of nearly 114 per tournament.

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For three straight years now Ohio State has finished as the second best team in the country. Their lineups have totaled 341 points at NCAAs in that time, an average of nearly 114 per tournament.

But they've lost four four-time All-Americans to graduation, plus another couple three-time AAs. Which would seem to leave the lineup in a bit of flux, but thanks to strong recruiting efforts (#1 in 2019, #2 in 2018, #4 in 2017), the Buckeyes are well stocked for the future.

Back at the beginning of April, we took a way-too-early lineup look at tOSU, and are now revisiting that with six questions about this upcoming year's lineup.

#1: Should They Redshirt Everyone?

The options for redshirting guys who might start include Jordan Decatur, Luke Pletcher, Carson Kharchla, Kollin Moore, and Greg Kerkvliet. I posed this question before last season, but with no redshirt available to Myles Martin or Micah Jordan (who scored a combined 36.5 points at NCAAs), it made much less sense than this season.

However, this season there is the debut of the Jennings facility, and the several thousand season ticket holders would probably prefer to see this team at full strength. Could it be worth it though to set the team up better both next year and in the long run? It's a gamble, of course. Iowa is loading up for a run this season, and Penn State is looking more vulnerable now than they have in years.

#2: Where’s Ke-Shawn Hayes fit in?

The key to a "punt" season is to not waste the final season of a superstar. With Kollin Moore having an Olympic redshirt available to him, that leaves Hayes as the only person on roster who will be gone next year no matter what they do this season. While he came out of Missouri as a blue chip recruit, he has scored just three career points at the national tournament and may be the unfortunate casualty if they do happen to redshirt a bunch of guys in 2019-20.

Whether they redshirt or not, Hayes has been moved around the lineup quite a bit the past two years. He wrestled 141 as a redshirt in 2016, and then was their starter there in 2017, but suffered a season-ending injury before ever getting a real crack at what many consider to be his best weight. A year at 149 in 2018 after Joey McKenna transferred in and then at 157 last year when Micah Jordan dropped down left Hayes in a tough position.

This year, he'll probably have to beat one of three redshirt freshmen to start. At 141, his competition seems to be Quinn Kinner. At 149, the guy looks like Sammy Sasso. And at 157, it appears Jaden Mattox is the future for them. So it's up to Hayes to prove himself to be the best option at any of those weights.

#3: Should Jordan Decatur go right away?

The first member of Scarlet and Grey's top ranked recruiting class to commit was Decatur, all the way back in November of 2016 alongside his twin brother Jacob. He finished his career #5 on the Big Board, a high level recruit who has won Fargo three times and made a Cadet world team.

But Decatur has been more successful in freestyle than folkstyle, with his highest ever finish at Ironman being fourth. His weakest position is bottom in folkstyle, something that will likely rear its head in college. The questions about him are though, can he get down to 125 and be a better option than Malik Heinselman? Or can he go 133 right away, particularly if our next question ends up being true.

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#4: Should Luke Pletcher Redshirt?

Whether it falls under a mass redshirt or not, this option is on the table. It's also not clear if he goes 133 or 141 this year, which plays into the question we mentioned above. If he redshirts, it could clear out 133 a bit and potentially make his final season easier. If he goes up, then he'll be at a 141 that might be losing its top three placers to a combination of graduation and Olympic redshirts. Going up and cutting less weight might also open Pletcher up a bit more offensively, though he nearly tripled his bonus rate year-over-year.

#5: Will Kollin Moore take an Olympic Redshirt?

Essentially the rest of this summer and fall will be "Olympic Redshirt watch" as several D1 stars ponder whether to take the year collegiate year off and focus on making a run at being one of just six Americans who will wrestle in Tokyo. While Daton Fix is the only freestyler on Team USA with NCAA eligibility left, he won't be the only one fans spend hours debating an Olympic Redshirt for or not.

There are four ways to qualify, and Moore already earned the right to take one by way of his world medals: a Junior bronze in 2017 and a U23 silver last year. He also placed top eight at the U.S. Open, just to add a bit of credence to his resume if he does decide to take one. Again, it's a calculated gamble, especially since he'd have to go down to 86kg or bulk up to 97kg, both options that push him away from his college weight of 197lbs.

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#6 Does Greg Kerkvliet start out of the gate?

The Minnesota big man cemented the Buckeyes as the top overall recruiting class this year and was considered the #1 prospect coming out of this just recently graduated high school class. It won't be ideal having to miss the preseason preparing for U23s if they want him to start as a true freshman, but that's what the lineup may call for.

Remember that Kerkvliet can use both an Olympic and regular redshirt if they'd like. But more likely he doesn't start this season, then Chase Singletary goes down to 197 after Kollin Moore graduates. There's no doubt the former Cadet world champ factors huge into Ohio State's long term plans, but it remains to be seen if he's needed to make a run at a team trophy or better in 2020.