Nebraska started its season this past weekend with nine of its starters taking the mat – minus top-ranked heavyweight AJ Ferrari – but you won’t have to wait much longer to see the high-profile transfer in a Husker singlet.

According to Nebraska coach Mark Manning, Ferrari is slated to make his Husker debut in the team’s home opener on Friday against Army. Ferrari missed the Navy Classic due to a turf toe injury.

“He’s strong and a big, powerful guy. He’s really athletic. He’s a great competitor — that’s what we knew we were going to get out of AJ,” Manning said. “He brings a lot of competitive spirit to our team. At heavyweight, if you got a guy who can be a difference-maker, that’s a really big deal. We filled that missing piece with AJ. What he brings to our team can be a game-changer. He’s worked hard and gotten himself into really good shape, and his toe is healed up, so he’s ready to fire on Friday.”

Against Army, Ferrari is likely to take on #14 Brady Colbert in his first career match at heavyweight. He’s 50-2 in college at 197 pounds with his NCAA title coming in 2021 as a true freshman for Oklahoma State.

How Ferrari looks against Colbert will tell us a lot with National Duals coming up the following weekend. Ferrari will likelly face #8 Nathan Taylor of Lehigh in the first round before probable matchups against #4 Taye Ghadiali of Michigan and #6 Nick Feldman of Ohio State. And those are just the matches he’ll be in as the Huskers try to get to the final where Ferrari could see #5 Ben Kueter of Iowa or #9 Konner Doucet of Oklahoma State.

As for his eligibility going forward, Manning said that they anticipate him having another year after this one, but they’ll have to apply for a waiver with the NCAA after the season.

The Picture At 149

Nebraska has a convoluted situation this season at 149 pounds as it tries to replace NCAA champion Ridge Lovett at the weight.

The Huskers brought in Chance Lamer via the transfer portal from Cal Poly this summer, but he’s not eligible until the second semester, so the Huskers need a first-semester starter at that spot – especially with National Duals and a home tilt against Oklahoma State coming up in 2025.

At Nebraska’s wrestle-offs, Lamer beat both sophomore Scott Robertson (10-3 dec) and true freshman Nikade Zinkin (8-3). Robertson and Zinkin didn’t meet at the wrestle-offs, but they did meet in the consolations at the Navy Classic. Zinkin took an 11-2 lead into the third period, and withstood a late Robertson rally to win 12-7. Neither Zinkin nor Robertson ended up on the podium in Maryland.

A two-time California state champion from Clovis, Zinkin looks like the man to beat in the first semester with four more dates to wrestle while keeping his redshirt intact.

“I don’t know right now which guy’s going to wrestle (against Army),” Manning said. “We’re going to redshirt Nikade, so he can only wrestle in five competitions, and he’s already wrestled once. They’re pretty precious, so we’ll see here in the next couple days who we’re going to go with – Scotty or Nikade. We’ll play it by ear each week.”

Speaking of Lamer, the senior won a title at the Princeton Open this past weekend when he went 5-0 with all of his wins via major decision. He collected 21 takedowns and didn’t give one up.

“I think Chance Lamer is going to be a force to be dealt with — he’s really good,” Manning said. “We’re looking forward to getting him eligible.”

Another possibility for the Huskers in a dual format at 149 would be bumping #2 Brock Hardy up from 141.

“We always have options,” Manning said.

The Roster Battle At 125

Nebraska’s other roster battle may have been figured out for now, but redshirt freshman Kael Lauridsen is not safe in the lineup just yet.

Lauridsen beat sophomore Alan Koehler 5-3 in their wrestle-off match and out-placed him this weekend at the Navy Classic. After dropping his first match of the tournament, Lauridsen won five matches in a row to place fifth in Maryland. Koehler went 2-2 and missed the podium.

“We’ll see how it plays out,” Manning said. “Kael Lauridsen is wrestling, but we’ll see — he’s got to keep earning it.”

Offseason Work Leads To Navy Classic Title

Nebraska had five individual champions at the Navy Classic this weekend. Throw in Lamer’s win at the Princeton Open, and Nebraska had six of its nine active starters win tournament titles.

According to Manning, that success started in March right after the NCAA Championships where Nebraska finished second and set program record after program record.

“A couple days after nationals, we had 25 guys in the room, so our guys have been very consistent. It was great to do that (last season), but now the slate is clean and it’s time for a new season,” Manning said. “I think our guys have a good understanding of hey, that was a great season and now we got to go and do it again – we have to put in the work. The guys have really just continued that same kind of routine.”

Nebraska’s two senior starters – Hardy at 141 and #6 Silas Allred at 184 – both won titles over the weekend. Hardy beat #15 Dylan Chappell 4-3 in the Navy Classic final while Allred beat #20 Malachi DuVall 9-6.

“They definitely are great leaders, and they’ve been through it,” Manning said of those two seniors. “Their knowledge through a lot of competition and their growth as a competitor and a wrestler just brings a lot of comfort to the other guys on our team – they know that Brock and Silas are pros and they’re going to wrestle hard. They’re going to go out and try to score lots of points with purpose. They try to do it every day, and they’re trying to get every guy bought into that mindset.”

One guy for Nebraska who outperformed his ranking in Maryland was LJ Araujo, who beat multiple ranked opponents on the way to his 165-pound title – he’s now ranked at #23 for his efforts. He beat then-#17 Evan Maag of George Mason — the top seed — via 6-5 decision in the quarterfinal round. The young Husker then beat #29 Jared Keslar of Pitt 8-0 by major decision before downing another Panther in Dylan Evans 5-2 in the final.

“I wasn’t (surprised),” Manning said of Arujau’s tournament. “In one-on-one competition, you got to bring the energy and effort to the fight, and LJ definitely did. He got himself ready to go. Sometimes last year as a redshirt, he was a little inconsistent. Just getting his mind stronger and focused on the right thing pre-match makes a huge difference in competition, so he did a really good job.”

Also winning titles for Nebraska were returning NCAA champion Antrell Taylor and #4 Christopher Minto. Taylor bonused his way to the final at 157, where he beat #33 Colton Weshleski of Virginia 7-2. 

“I think he made it look easy because he really worked at it,” Manning said of Taylor. “There are a lot of guys out there trying to slow Antrell down, and I think Antrell’s knowledge of being there where people are trying to slow him down has really made him a tougher out because he knows they’re going to try to slow him down and minimize the amount of attacks he’s trying to get off. He’s worked hard at that this summer and put in a lot of work. He knows what to expect and that he has to do these things if he wants to be successful. It’s not a given, he’s got to go get it. That’s where he’s really grown.”

Minto snuck by #22 Myles Takats of Bucknell 10-9 in tiebreakers in the semis before sending a message to the field at 174 by beating #7 Danny Wask of Navy 11-3 by major decision in the final.

“Christopher just did what he does — he’s really tough-minded. He has to continue to get sharper on some of his technique, but he wrestled really well in the finals – that guy (Wask) beat Lenny (Pinto) twice last year,” Manning said. “He’s a big part of our program and a big part of our mentality – that’s what Christopher brings to the mat. His mental aptitude is really good. His ability to think in big moments is really the difference.”

As for the junior Taylor, Manning says that his college success is just a stepping stone to the lofty goals he has for himself. For a guy who trains almost every day with multi-time World medalist James Green in the room, Taylor wants to be the best in the world.

“He’s really an exceptional athlete,” Manning said. “He’s really working at his craft and on the specifics that help people try to be World and Olympic champions. He’s got those goals in mind, so winning a national title is just part of it.”