Pulling a redshirt midseason is a tough decision. 

In most cases, even with highly-touted blue-chip recruits like Ohio State’s Jordan Decatur, a year “in the room” to acclimate to competing against college-level athletes and develop and refine strength and skills is the ideal scenario.

But sometimes it doesn’t work out that way.

Ohio State’s plans at 133 shifted a few times in the first half of the season after Luke Pletcher opted to move up to 141, a move that has paid off handsomely for him and his team as he’s been a convincing No. 1 in the class and is wrestling the best matches of his NCAA career. Quinn Kinner’s attempt at cutting down to 133 didn’t pan out, as the cut was much too deep to be sustainable (case in point: Kinner may wrestle against Illinois Sunday at 157).

Watch Ohio State vs Illinois LIVE on FloWrestling

Sunday, Jan. 19 @ 1 PM ET

Greco-Roman specialist Dylan Koontz took a swing at the spot and acquitted himself relatively well at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, making a three-match run to the semifinals as an unseeded entrant and picking up a win over then-No. 15 Josh Kramer of Arizona State.

When Ohio State hosted Arizona State in Covelli Center a week into 2020, Ohio State head coach Tom Ryan made the call to pull Decatur’s redshirt and let him take a swing at injecting some life into the light-end of the roster. It worked that night, as Decatur won a 5-3 decision over Kramer, capping a five-match win streak at his new weight after he won the 133-pound class at the F&M Open two days prior to the dual with the Sun Devils.

Ohio State hosted Rutgers five days later, and the toll of making weight three times in seven days showed up. Facing fellow true freshman Sammy Alvarez, who had a huge weekend at the Southern Scuffle to propel himself into the upper echelon of competitors in the class, Decatur simply didn’t have enough juice to mount an offense against the impressive Alvarez.

Watch Decatur vs Alvarez here:

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Ryan said after the match that Decatur was sick late in the week and the staff considered wrestling Koontz in his stead, but ultimately respected Decatur's desire to compete and let him take the mat. 

His match Jan. 17 versus No. 1 Seth Gross of Wisconsin in the UW Field House was Decatur’s third consecutive match against a top-15 opponent, and his second loss in as many outings. He held Gross to a major decision, which is no small feat considering that the former NCAA champion has not only found bonus in nearly 74 percent of his matches this season, he’s gotten the tech or the pin in eight of 18 victories.

Things don’t get much easier for Decatur steps on the mat Sunday to face Illinois live on FloWrestling. He’ll have No. 8 Travis Piotrowski, a true senior wrestling up a class this season after a journeyman career at 125. He’s done rather well, going 15-2 and racking up plenty of wins at the Michigan State Open and at the Midlands Championships. He doesn’t have a signature win over a top-ranked opponent yet, as his losses have come to marquee opponents Austin DeSanto and Micky Phillippi.

In other words, Sunday’s dual may be just what Decatur needs to get back in the win column before he faces the likes of DeSanto, Sebastian Rivera and Roman Bravo-Young down the stretch.

Andy Vance is a Columbus-based journalist who covers the Ohio State University wrestling program for Eleven Warriors, the largest independent sports site on the internet for Ohio State news, analysis, and community. He is co-host of the site’s Eleven Dubcast podcast. Follow him on Twitter @AndyVance