Penn State Wrestling is coming off its 10th NCAA Team Title in the last 12 seasons, but that does not happen by accident. The Nittany Lions are hoping to add several new additions as the transfer portal is firing up with several big names rumored to be heading to Happy Valley, or at least visiting, in the coming days.
Following reports that Northwestern's Chris Cannon has landed on either Penn State or Rutgers as his destinations after leaving the Wildcats, the Lions have been rumored to host several top-notch prospects in both Cal Poly's Bernie Truax and Minnesota's Aaron Nagao, both of which would replace recent graduates Max Dean at 197 and Roman Bravo-Young at 133.
Truax also offers some versatility that could offer Penn State some options. With Dean's departure, there is talk of Aaron Brooks heading up to 197, and if that happens, Truax could likely fit the 184-pound slot nicely. He also could fill in at last year's weight of 197 if needed, granted Brooks will have to stay at 184.
Both Dean and RBY were NCAA Champions of the Nittany Lions during their careers in State College, but all good things must come to an end. After Dean and RBY finish their All-Americans careers, the Lions will be looking to reignite their lineup with seasoned veterans who have competed at other schools. They could wrap up their careers at Penn State.
Dean was a transfer from Cornell, and RBY was a mainstay in the Lions' lineup since his leaving his native Arizona for Penn State several years ago.
However, the Lions will be looking to add additional firepower at other weights or at least fill out their lineup with options moving forward. Nagao and Cannon are both 133-pounders, and Nagao took fifth at this year's tournament, while Cannon did not place this year but came off of two consecutive All-American runs at the NCAA Tournament.
Nagao and Truax were both in State College last week, but there are no indications that either of the wrestlers has many any decisions. Truax was also in Iowa last week, where he would fill in nicely for the recently-departed Jacob Warner. Meanwhile, Nagao is considering Iowa, Cornell, and returning to Minnesota, outside of Penn State.
More speculative than anything is that of Shane Griffith, who entered the transfer portal from Stanford today. Griffith is a Bergen Catholic product who spent time at Cal Poly before heading to the Cardinal.
Griffith may be a long shot, considering Penn State already has a 165-pound wrestler in Alex Facundo, who had a disappointing end to his season after really looking great early in the year. It is unlikely at this point that the Lions will consider adding Griffith, as he only has one year left to Facundo's three, and signing Griffith from Stanford would ultimately cannibalize the lineup moving forward. Facundo would be more likely to transfer (at least in my opinion) if the Lions brought Griffith in for a one-and-done campaign.
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