The old saying in sports is that you are only as strong as your weakest link, and for the No. 10 Penn State wrestling team, that link was at 165.

The Nittany Lions have sent out four different wrestlers over the last season-and-a-half to compete at that weight: Jarrad Turner, Phil Bomberger, Steven Troup and Brian Cantalupi. The foursome combined for a dual match record of 3-23. But the Lions seemed to have found a cure in freshman David Erwin.

"One hundred sixty-five has always been a weight class we've been looking to improve on," Penn State wrestling coach Troy Sunderland said. "With David coming in as a true freshman, and doing all that he has done, we are pleased with his talent to know when and where to turn. He has that innate ability to be in the right sport at the right time."

Erwin, an Urbana, Ohio, native, was the most highly touted recruit in Penn State's top-ranked class.

He was seen as a possible savior for the Lions' troubles at 165, so he was brought along slowly in the beginning because the coaching staff wanted to prevent any mental damage that could occur if they threw him into the fire too quickly.

The fire included top-five ranked Troy Letters of Lehigh and No. 1 Ryan Churella of Michigan, both big-time senior wrestlers.

"We wanted to get a better feel of the level of wrestling that he was capable of doing," Sunderland said of his decision not to wrestle Erwin early. "We wanted to get him some experience in the college practice room, working with him and making some adjustments."

Those adjustments have sent Erwin flying out of the gates in his first five dual meet matches.

He has had little trouble with any of his opponents, out scoring them 59-14, including a 14-5 shellacking of David Nakasone of Lehigh. His four major decision victories -- the other match being one point shy -- have propelled him from the preseason hype to the No. 10 wrestler at his weight.

And it is no coincidence that Erwin's appearance in the starting lineup coincided with the team's current five-match win streak.

Sunderland says Erwin brings the balance that team needs to win. He also attributes his individual success on the mat to his efforts as an unattached wrestler.

"He got confidence at a couple of the matches that he wrestled in at the open tournaments he went to," Sunderland said. "We wanted him to have that before we put him into a dual match situation. We just wanted to make sure he was confident wrestling as a true freshman."

His confidence showed through from the minute he set foot on his first collegiate mat at the East Stroudsburg Open, where he finished fourth and amassed a record of 4-2. But his talent was realized two weeks later at the Nittany Lion Open, when he dominated the field, which included a pin in the semis and an 11-3 victory over Bomberger to capture his title.

While Erwin has looked like a star in the making over the last month, the idea will be tested this weekend when he wrestles in his first two Big Ten matches.

The Lions are welcoming No. 18 Michigan State and then will have a showdown with No. 1 Minnesota and the wrestler that Erwin is tied with at No. 10, Matt Nagel.

So with his first Big Ten match on the horizon, what is the wrestler everyone on the team says has a ton of confidence feeling?

"Nervous. I am always nervous before a match," he said.