Only a year ago, Quentin Wright was about to start his All-America season.
Now, the sophomore begins 2009 on the sidelines -- preparing to wrestle at the 184-pound or 197-pound weight class next year.
"He put on a lot of weight this offseason -- really, really started to grow," Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said. "We feel like a redshirt year for him will really do him a lot of good."
With Ed Ruth slated to wrestle at 184 next season, Wright is more likely to wrestle at 197. In Wright vacating his 174 spot, senior David Erwin was ripe to regain the role as starter, but after Justin Ortega's 6-2 win over Erwin at the Intrasquad Dual meet, uncertainty looms at the position.
Meanwhile, Wright remains off the mat --- staring down invisible opponents and grappling the air in warm-ups before practice.
He is ready to go if needed, and Sanderson said nothing is assured with any of the redshirts until the Big Ten championship.
"He's a guy that could obviously jump in there and compete for a national title this year," Sanderson said.
"These guys are all preparing to compete. They're all training hard, and we'll know soon enough."
Sanderson said the choice of redshirting wrestlers depends on several factors. He mentioned how the coaches know each wrestler's ambitions by being around them every day.
Wright's original goal may not have been to redshirt, but the sophomore contemplated how he would respond if Sanderson approached him with the redshirting idea. So when the time came, Wright was prepared.
"Whenever he said it, I was like, 'OK now let's make a game plan to win nationals next year,' " Wright said.
He is ready to sacrifice this year for the future -- a future he is excited about.
"Whatever the coaches need me to do, I'm going to do it," Wright said. "But my goal is going to stay the same -- to become the national champion, work as hard as I can every day in practice, and if the coaches feel redshirting is going to be good, I'm going to do it."
This mentality has Wright in the weight room and lifting to his maximum potential. Wright has also increased his meal sizes and his eating frequency -- five to six times each day. He said his goal is to add calories in order to bulk up for next year.
In the intrasquad scrimmage, Wright planned on wrestling in the 197-pound weight class but needed to drop to 184 pounds. Wright still didn't miss a beat. The sophomore defeated David Crowell, a Pittsburgh transfer who isn't eligible until the spring semester, 8-2 after taking a 5-0 lead after the second period.
On a team where Sanderson is looking for wrestlers who lead by example, Wright stands at the forefront. He looks to coach other grapplers this year even though he won't compete.
This approach seems to be contagious.
"The attitude has been great," assistant coach Cody Sanderson said. "They know what they want to do. They know we have high expectations for them, and they're working hard to get there."
"There," for Wright, is 2010. It's the year when wrestling in Philadelphia for the national championship is Priority No. 1.
"I can't look forward too far, but next year, as long as I'm wrestling, it's going to be awesome," Wright said. "I get a whole year now to train up and get rested and get ready for the spotlight whenever it's there."
