"Silver" Gopher returns from an early retirement

Minnesota's Brandon Paulson isn't seeded among the top six 118 pounders heading into this weekend's Big Ten Wrestling Championships at The Bryce Jordan Center.

The silver medal hanging around Paulson's neck, however, suggests he might be a little underrated.

Paulson, who will replace freshman Brett Lawrence, was a three-year starter for the Golden Gophers before announcing his retirement at the end of last season.

Citing a lack of motivation after taking silver in Atlanta, Paulson's hiatus lasted until this year's National Duals at Iowa -- when he remembered the thrill of wrestling, as well as his extra year of eligibility.

"Watching the National Duals, the intensity was just so high," Paulson, 24, said. "It got my juices flowing a bit."

After consulting with Minnesota coach J Robinson, Paulson began practicing with the team. His late return was slated for the Gophers' second-to-last dual meet, against Northwestern on Feb. 20.

Paulson won, but he didn't wrestle. He picked up a forfeit victory and, after sitting out Minnesota's finale against Purdue two days later, is heading into Big Tens totally untested.

His unimpressive 1-0 record was the determining factor for the 118-pound seedings, while past accomplishments weren't taken into account.

"They don't want to seed me? That's fine," Paulson said. "It's more fun that way. I'll be a bad draw for somebody."

That's for sure.

Penn State coach John Fritz said he could hardly believe the news when he heard Paulson was back in business.

"I'm really surprised. He just came out of nowhere," Fritz told reporters at a news conference Tuesday at the Jordan Center. "I know he decided not to wrestle, but now I guess he decided to get back in it. That was a surprise. When I heard that, I was like, 'You're kidding me.' "

Paulson's return elicited added surprise because of what it did for the Gophers' already strong lineup. Nine of the Gophers' 10 wrestlers were nationally ranked at the end of the dual-meet season, the exception falling at 118.

- Brandon Paulson, Minnesota University Golden Gopher wrestler

"We don't want to make a big deal out of it," Robinson said. "He expressed interest, and the coaches talked to him. That's how the decision was reached."

Iowa coach Jim Zalesky said Paulson's return was both surprising and hard to gauge.

"I heard that he was trying to get back in there. I was aware he had a year of eligibility left, so I was kind of surprised he didn't come back earlier this year," said Zalesky, whose Hawkeyes have won 24 straight Big Ten titles. "It's hard to tell how he'll do because he hasn't wrestled. He hasn't had any matches to show everybody exactly where he's at."

Though he hasn't wrestled competitively since last year's NCAA Tournament -- in which he was booted after one round -- Paulson said he's no newcomer to the sport.

He said his experience in past years outweighs his inexperience this season.

"I've wrestled 18 years of my life and I haven't forgotten how to do it," Paulson said. "The way I look at it, I've been in bigger tournaments than anybody I'll be wrestling."