A cluster of 10 wrestlers, donning their blue warmups and waiting for the announcer to shout out each of their names, stood at the far right corner of the mat before Sunday's meet with Michigan.
Nine of the 10 formed a huddle around the smallest grappler of the bunch and anticipated the sound of his name emanating across the gym. The 125-pound wrestler, Brad Pataky, stared off into space, shook his legs one after the other to loosen them and swerved his neck from side to side.
He prepared himself for the match the way he always does -- with an intensity that can decide a Nittany Lion win or, conversely, put Penn State in an early hole.
Teammate Cyler Sanderson, appearing to rev up Pataky even more, patted the 125-pounder's chest. But Sanderson actually intended to do just the opposite.
"I'm actually trying to get him to relax," Sanderson said.
"I'm glad that he starts us off because he usually starts us off with a bang."
That bang was waiting to be unleashed Sunday before the referee signaled the start of Pataky's match against Michigan's Sean Boyle.
Pataky said he concentrates on his gameplan as he paces the sideline, but he also focuses on starting the meet off right and being physical with an opponent.
After the redshirt junior shook Boyle's hand during the starting lineup announcement, he couldn't stop moving or energizing himself for the upcoming bout. The Clearfield native jumped in the air with knees bending backward and grappled a phantom opponent on the sideline.
Not even when assistant coach Troy Letters approached with advice did Pataky stop moving. He simply nodded his head, agreeing to enact what Letters suggested.
"I was telling Brad to make sure he stays relaxed," Letters said. "Sometimes Brad can get so worked up before a match, by the time he gets out there, it's like he wrestled two, three matches already."
The whirlwind started at the referee's whistle. In seconds, Pataky had his first takedown. When the horn blew, the scoreboard read Pataky 13, Boyle 0.
Pataky's notable energy had left its mark. His intensity swept through the Lion starters en route to a 29-10 win. No early hole would be set.
"He's real focused," head coach Cael Sanderson said. "He knows exactly what he's doing, what he's going to do. The whistle blows, he's getting after it."
Though Pataky's intensity set the tone Sunday, Letters knows the redshirt junior's emotions before matches can also get him in trouble. Letters said sometimes the 125-pounder's mind can veer from thinking about the looming hand-tie battle, something Pataky has been working on.
Against Boyle, though, Letters thought Pataky performed up to par.
"He has all the tools to win the title," Letters said. "It's just he needs to make sure he thinks the right thoughts. Sometimes he thinks the wrong thoughts -- just think of the right thing and let the wrestling do the talking."
Pataky's wrestling did more than talk on Sunday. It let out a bang.
