PSU Wrestling Newcomer Notebook: 125lb Robbie Howard
Although Robbie Howard was Penn State's choice for the 2021 Post-Season campaign at 125 pounds, this will be the redshirt freshman's first season as the projected starter for the entire year. He will attain the "Freshman" label as his performance in 2021 was during the "free" COVID year, so he maintains the extra year of eligibility.
The Bergen Catholic High School grad chose PSU over Iowa and Michigan and he carries on a tradition of successful athletes from the North New Jersey school, which may sound familiar to Nittany Lion faithful as two-time NCAA Champion from Rutgers and Michigan, Nick Suriano, who was with Penn State for one year, also attended the same school.
Howard also has significant International experience, winning the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires. He has also made three Cadet World Teams, placing 5th in his best performance.
Howard brings Penn State its first highly-ranked 125-lb recruit since the days of NCAA Champion and three-time finalist Nico Megaludis, a Franklin Regional grad who brought a distinct energy and pace to the Lions at the beginning of duals. Megaludis, whose hard-nosed mentality and relentless tempo during matches simply wore out opponents, is Penn State's last 125-lb wrestler to make the podium at the weight class when he became a National Champion at Madison Garden in 2016.
Robbie Howard wants to change that.
FIRST CHANCES COME TWICE....
Howard will enter the Penn State lineup this year as a Redshirt Freshman, but his experience at both the Big Ten tournament in the NCAA tournament in 2021 will undoubtedly be a huge advantage. Howard is already adjusted to the college lifestyle and certainly the demands of being a student-athlete. However, what is most important is that, despite him holding the Freshman eligibility status, he has real-world experience on college wrestling's biggest stage.
After a 6th place finish at the Big Tens, Howard went on to the NCAA tournament and knocked off Ohio State's Malik Heinselman, the number 10 seed, as the 23 seed. After dropping down to the wrestlebacks following a loss to Taylor LaMont of UVU, Howard would pick up one more win before dropping his final bout of the tournament to Pat McKee of Minnesota.
It's not all bad for Howard, as the experience will pay dividends for him and the Lions, who will benefit from his experience at the NCAA tournament. It surely will be an added advantage for Penn State, who will look to defend yet another team title.
A REFRESHING OFFENSIVE STYLE THAT RESULTS IN SCORING....
Howard is a far cry from that of Megaludis, whose pace, hand-fighting, and physicality looked like literal hell to deal with. Howard is not remotely similar, but that is not a bad thing. He's a calculated wrestler who looks to make opportunities based on his opponent's mistakes. A key part of his victory against Malik Heinselman in the first round of the NCAA tournament was capitalizing on his opponent's bad positions.
Heinselman is a scrappy scorer with incredible defense, and Howard's multiple offensive attacks in the first period did not yield any points. However, he managed to take advantage of Heinselman's high positioning during an attempt at near-fall points, which allowed Howard to lock in a tight armbar that almost resulted in a pin.
Howard's technical ability and awareness in these situations, especially as he had only matches during the Big Ten tournament earlier that year, aside from three duals (and one against Heinselman), was something to admire. Heinselman is a wrestler who has always impressed me just based on his speed and athleticism, and watching him in the BJC live highlighted his quickness and agility. Howard was more than able to neutralize this style by remaining patient, keeping himself grounded during the remainder of the match, and showing a defensive strategy through the third period that locked up the victory.
Howard finished 1-2 against Heinselman in 2021 but won the most important match in the trilogy.
EXPECTATIONS FOR HIS FRESHMAN CAMPAIGN...
Howard is another high-powered and efficient wrestler for the Lions, but I feel his contributions to the team will be largely based on his position as the first to start off a dual. The 125-pounders on every collegiate wrestling team hold a distinct responsibility to get things going on the right foot. A stale offensive display or lack of energy from the lightweights can end up affecting the pace and tone of the entire dual for a team. While Penn State has been historically good at the weight, it is one that has been a tougher point fo the Lions in past years. Following the transfer of All-American from Central Michigan Drew Hildebrandt last year, the Lions had high expectations and more than likely expected a repeat performance at the NCAA Tournament. Hildebrandt was a spark plug for the Lions but did not live up to some expectations when March came around, and Penn State lacked the ability to really widen the gap during the Friday and Saturday sessions at the National Tournament.
Granted, I do not expect Howard to come out and be an NCAA Champion this year. I do expect Spencer Lee to win at 125 this year, as most would probably expect. However, Howard is coming into 2022-23 with experience and, technically, no lost eligibility, despite his post-season experience. Howard should be on the podium in March in some capacity, and I wouldn't be surprised if the strategy and preparation of Cael Sanderson resulted in a Megaludis-like run during his first year at Nationals, where, as a True Freshman, he knocked off Zach Sanders of Minnesota and others to make his first of three finals appearances.
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