Need objective views on Nolf
- Thread starter Chickenman Testa
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He is ready.... just precautionary.
Agree... Just like last year. OSU wins the B1G, PSU wins the Natty.
He looked a little hesitant to push off of the knee in the beginning of the first match but when in scrambles he wasn't favoring it. Slow start in the first match but was actually speeding up toward the end of the 2nd.. Hit a whirly bird in the 2nd as well. Would have liked to have seen him wrestle Pantsofflayo but prob a smart idea not to as he is prob the strongest at the weight. Seeing Kem get pinned was a little relief too.
I think I was more nervous everytime someone got near his knee!
I don't think he exhibited his usual relentless aggression in neutral--still made it look like a beat down, but not a Nolf beat down. Looked the same on top to me--maybe even a little meaner. Glad he has more time to heal now, I bet he wins NCAAs
My untrained eye said he was 85% himself.
He definitely wasn’t his absolutely ferocious-self like he was earlier this year.
He seemed more technical and didn’t have his “mean streak”. Probably knocking off the rust.
He couldn’t finish on a few shots in 1st period vs Minny Short, but had an excellent 2nd & 3rd period.
Also, he started to cut loose after TD (showing confidence in neutral) rather than be conservative and ride out after a TD.
I think he could have won the tourney if he had not defaulted.
He definitely wasn’t his absolutely ferocious-self like he was earlier this year.
He seemed more technical and didn’t have his “mean streak”. Probably knocking off the rust.
He couldn’t finish on a few shots in 1st period vs Minny Short, but had an excellent 2nd & 3rd period.
Also, he started to cut loose after TD (showing confidence in neutral) rather than be conservative and ride out after a TD.
I think he could have won the tourney if he had not defaulted.
To me he looked a bit more tentative than usual, less willing to take risks, more willing to look to the ref to call potentially dangerous/stalemate, and slightly rusty, especially during the first half of the 2nd match. More like Ironman than Thor. You know, not full blown deity, just a mortal but superior athlete.
Truthfully, after seeing him in action today I have no difficulty believing he could win NCAAs. On the other hand, it's not hard to imagine a particularly nasty yank or tweak to his knee abruptly ending his season. I detected no limp, but to my eye Nolf looks more vulnerable in a knee brace than Spencer Lee does.
Truthfully, after seeing him in action today I have no difficulty believing he could win NCAAs. On the other hand, it's not hard to imagine a particularly nasty yank or tweak to his knee abruptly ending his season. I detected no limp, but to my eye Nolf looks more vulnerable in a knee brace than Spencer Lee does.
I will add that he was walking around on the concourse, smiling, laughing, and shaking hands with people at the end of Session I today (so after his two matches) in no apparent pain or discomfort.
I thought he my have tweaked his knee early in 2nd match; got up very slowly, and was favoring it just a bit thereafter as he walked around mat; that didnt stop him from shooting, but I am just a little worried it may have been aggravated.
But then I have become a pessimist generally.
Of course I didnt see what BigFreddy saw.
But then I have become a pessimist generally.
Of course I didnt see what BigFreddy saw.
You should know better than to rely on them to observe anything.
FWIW, Cael told reporters after today's sessions that it was always the plan to wrestle Nolf only 2 matches. He seemed to be weighing whether he should reveal that fact. Assuming it's true, that suggests that the decision to not continue wasn't based on a re-aggravation of the injury. Fingers crossed.
He looked good relative to a normal wrestler. He looked about 75% of the wrestler that we're accustomed to, IMO. Good, but not the same guy we're used to.
I think he was favoring the knee at times, which inhibited his normal high pace and "catch and release" style where he racks up a lot of TDs in a short span. As others have stated, he seemed a bit tentative in some situations, though maybe a little bit of that was rust.
Clearly he can still pound opponents like Jake Short and the MSU wrestler, but I think matches against top guys would be much closer than pre-injury. Hopefully another 12 days of recovery time will help, but I doubt he'll be all that close to 100%.
I think he was favoring the knee at times, which inhibited his normal high pace and "catch and release" style where he racks up a lot of TDs in a short span. As others have stated, he seemed a bit tentative in some situations, though maybe a little bit of that was rust.
Clearly he can still pound opponents like Jake Short and the MSU wrestler, but I think matches against top guys would be much closer than pre-injury. Hopefully another 12 days of recovery time will help, but I doubt he'll be all that close to 100%.
I had him at 80% but a good 80%. I wouldn't be surprised to see him at 90% by nationals, which would be plenty to win a title. He seemed, as others have said, a little tentative, but seemed to gain confidence the more he wrestled. All in all, nothing but good signs to my eye.
I was just about to type this exact thing, right down to the same percentages. If he can get to 90% by Nationals, the smart money is on Nolf to successfully defend his title.
Here in the arena, his wrestling was as several have said...looked like he was testing the knee, and was feeling more confident each minute on the mat. Strength was there, though when he was in a predicament with the knee, he waited for a stalemate, something Jason would never have done before.
Jason was walking around normally, and even ran up the stairs in our section after stopping by the parents section...looked fine to all of us...and another 10 days or so of recovery is just what the doctor ordered.
Jason was walking around normally, and even ran up the stairs in our section after stopping by the parents section...looked fine to all of us...and another 10 days or so of recovery is just what the doctor ordered.
No one mentioned it so I guess I will. He is mainly a right leg lead, but from what I remember he was almost always a left leg lead and kept his injured leg behind him. He definitely is not a 100% and was tentative, and still he is better than everyone!! I have the utmost respect for him putting it on the line for the team, and for the coaching staff pulling him after two solid matches.
Definitely the right decision to sit him. He had a little difficulty with Pants when he was healthy. I think he was a 90% version of himself, good enough to win it but I also thought he tweaked it a little in in the second match. Winning big 10s is next to meaningless, not worth the risk/reward. We could still win but we'll have to run the table, Nato now has a free ride pretty much, pletch has friggin nine lives... Nationals is the real prize. Let's hope we get both Kuhn and Keener to qualify and I'll be happy.
Overall Summary......not as good as I hoped but better than I feared. He was limited to left leg forward only. He had to avoid his "Here is my leg....now watch what I can do" attacks. A couple of times he settled for stalemates when he would probably have scored. He clearly was limited...or simply chose to be limited for safety reasons. Here is to hoping he gets close to 100% by nationals.
PS: The dog dies in the end.
PS: The dog dies in the end.
It was absolutely the right decision to have him withdraw. Big Tens are not the prize. Any Penn State fan would honestly admit that seeing Nolf out there and winning easily two matches is a cause for optimism. 80 percent or whatever. Several weeks ago or less, there was panic, depression and/or anxiety. Nolf is needed to win the team championship and every one of us think he should earn his own 157 crown again. This adds some drama. And makes everything more interesting.
You could tell Nolf was rusty and a little tentative in the beginning of his matches however overall his performances were better then I expected, especially beating Short 15-2. Short is by no means a world beater but he's been wrestling relatively well the latter part of the season and should of been able to slow down the match and keep it close if Jason wasn't close to 100%.
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He definitely didn't have his usual movement on that knee. However, he still dominated his two matches and has two more weeks to figure it out.
All in all, I'm thrilled with what we saw. It could have been a lot worse. (re-tweaked it, didn't wrestle at all). It was a win for us.
All in all, I'm thrilled with what we saw. It could have been a lot worse. (re-tweaked it, didn't wrestle at all). It was a win for us.
Was Nolf his old self? No. Does he have enough to win right now? Yes. Will the next 10 days get him a little healthier? Yes
Was I happy as hell to see him take the mat? Hell Yes! After that Rutgers match I thought he was done for year.
The positive is we now know he will wrestle thru NCAAs and if there was anyone that can win the whole thing with an injury, it’s Jason Nolf.
Was I happy as hell to see him take the mat? Hell Yes! After that Rutgers match I thought he was done for year.
The positive is we now know he will wrestle thru NCAAs and if there was anyone that can win the whole thing with an injury, it’s Jason Nolf.
I think we have to be happy with what we saw from Jason. As stated numerous times above, yeah, he looked tentative and cautious at times, but that had to be expected. He beat Short 19-5 in the dual, and yesterday was a similar score, but with different tactics. He banged some rust off this weekend, and now has a week and a half to gear up for another title.
Here’s a related observation: I felt ALL referrees in ALL matches I watched (which was a lot) were faster on the trigger with both PD and stalemates. Conference and NCAA tourneys have always been faster with the Stalemates but the PD’s were this time too. Well done. I also thought the officiating was pretty great too.
To Jason: his engine really revved up late in that 2nd Match. He’s good to go and 100%. I would not be surprised if he wears no brace at NCAA....or sheds it on Saturday. Hopefully the Kemdawg loss will end the discussion of who should be seeded #1 in 11 days
To Jason: his engine really revved up late in that 2nd Match. He’s good to go and 100%. I would not be surprised if he wears no brace at NCAA....or sheds it on Saturday. Hopefully the Kemdawg loss will end the discussion of who should be seeded #1 in 11 days
I think the 1 has to go to Hidlay now. Of course Jason is the best, but he placed 6th at his conference tourney, and Hidlay is unbeaten.
The good news is the committee can and does consider inj def and mff as they choose. They can look at Nolf as undefeated and as returning champion, they might. Yesterday’s Kem loss changes who #1 or 2 faces in the NCAA semis anyway so I don’t know who gets what.
I agree with Bruce but I would say he was more like 60% but a 60% Nolf is going to still look good against the 2 opponents he did wrestle. I have concerns only against 3-5 wrestlers at nationals. He may be 75% and wrestle a more conservative style and still win this thing but those that think he looked fine were watching something different than myself. That being said, he is one of the toughest, greatest wrestlers I have ever had the pleasure of watching and would not bet against him even at 65%-80% which is where he will probably be.
Edit: Did we ever really find out what the official injury was? I would not be surprised if he is wrestling through something that will need surgery after the season? I hope he is 100% as some have said and that he pins his way to a NCAA Championship.
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I think the committee has been mostly consistent in handing the undefeated wrestler in lesser conference x the top seed over the otherwise consensus favorite in head to head. This year it'll be Hidlay at 157 and McFadden at 165. And is anyone going to take Cruz over Lee, Suriano, or NaTo? Cruz also probably getting a top seed, though, as a past champion, he has a better overall argument than Hidlay or McFadden .
the jersey kid had a loss last year to Gman. then had 2 injury default losses (pic in nat duals) and 1st rnd of big tens. He also did not have other notable college level accolades to fall back on.
He got the 3 seed at nationals.
nolf is who he is and should at a minimum get the #2. with wins (decisive wins) against both finalists, a returning NC and 2 time finalist.
People arguing against it are simply letting their bias light shine......
humans are still the deciding factor for now. the machines and algorithms time is down the road.
He got the 3 seed at nationals.
nolf is who he is and should at a minimum get the #2. with wins (decisive wins) against both finalists, a returning NC and 2 time finalist.
People arguing against it are simply letting their bias light shine......
humans are still the deciding factor for now. the machines and algorithms time is down the road.
Lemonpie reports that Nolf looked handsome.
Good point about Nolf having to alter (or choosing to alter) his lead leg. I suspect that is not an easy transition. It also took away his "dangle leg as bait" attacks.
This^^. If what we saw at BIGs is what we get at NCAAs, Nolf can likely handle most opponents, though perhaps bonus potential is reduced a bit. But the handful of other top guys would become a real concern, whereas pre-injury Nolf would be a clear favorite over the entire field.
Half way thru the second match I was hoping he would not wrestle again this weekend. He appeared to be the same Nolf as always in regards to what he wanted to do but was definitely relying on technique. He also was a little gimpy in returns to the middle in the second match. Finally, he was protecting the bad leg and wasn't going to expose it.
I know what he means for PSU in 10 days but I'm not sure I want him out there TBH. Pain is one thing but an injury is another. No one in the PSU program or on here wants the kid jeopardizing his future.
I know what he means for PSU in 10 days but I'm not sure I want him out there TBH. Pain is one thing but an injury is another. No one in the PSU program or on here wants the kid jeopardizing his future.
Has Nolf ever wrestled Micah? He has not wrestled either this year--isn't the committee supposed to only look at this year's results? He did beat Pantaleao, but it wasn't super decisive. I get the eyeball test argument though, I do.
