Husker coach Manning talks about March wrestling, Hutmacher

This time of year, as winter casts its cold shadow, dragging us all through the painfully long days with little sun in February, we long for the light at the end of the tunnel when March bring us out of the dark and into spring. Besides that, some well-watched NCAA tournament games will warm the hearts of many who have been looking ahead to bracket busters.

But as the winds of March move in like a lion, another NCAA sport blows into the arena with its own version of championship tournament competition.

This past weekend, the Nebraska men’s wrestling team improved to 10-1 on the season with a 28-9 dual home victory over Illinois Sunday afternoon. With three dual meets left on the schedule, Husker head coach Mark Manning has his team in position to make a great finish with four all-Americans leading the way.

“Really all that matters is March,” said Manning, who is in his 23rd year as head coach at Nebraska, while speaking Monday to Executive Club members at their weekly luncheon in downtown Lincoln at the Graduate Hotel. “So basically, in March we go into the NCAA wrestling tournament and there’s 10 of these bracket busters, 10 weight classes. My March is like March Madness a little bit. It’s all about March and getting your team ready.”

Manning’s All-Americans include Peyton Robb, the only senior on the team, sophomore Brock Hardy wrestling at 141 pounds, junior Ridge Lovett wrestling at 149 pounds and sophomore Silas Allred wrestling at 197 pounds.

There is, however, a newcomer on the team who also happens to be a senior on the Husker football team trying to make his mark in his second sport. Manning was asked a few questions about the defensive lineman from South Dakota on Monday, and he described the story as “kind of amazing.”

“I was talking to Matt Rhule the week they played Iowa, and Nash Hutmacher’s name was brought up,” Manning recalled. “I said ‘man, it would be great if that guy went out for wrestling,’ and Coach Rhule said, ‘He’s right in there having a meeting right now, and you can ask him.”

With that permission from Rhule, Manning said he waited until the next week, when his team was wrestling in an annual tournament in Las Vegas, to give Hutmacher a call and see how he felt about the opportunity to wrestle.

“So, I reached out to Nash (Hutmacher) and said ‘Hey, would you ever be interested in wrestling?’ He said ‘Absolutely, I would be but I have to run it by Coach Rhule and Coach (Terrance) Knighton, the D-line coach,’” Manning shared.

Manning said Hutmacher checked with his football coaches and was given the green light to wrestle. But then Manning made a couple of keen observations and noticed a possible obstacle that could keep Hutmacher off the mats. So, Manning made sure that Hutmacher was properly weighing all of his options and queried his large pupil about them.

“You know it’s 285 (pounds), right? The heavyweight class is 285. It’s not unlimited. So, you weigh 330,” and as Manning retold this story, the room erupted into laughter. “We’ve got a little work to do, right?”

The last time that Hutmacher had wrestled in high school in Chamberlin, South Dakota, was four years ago. Manning said besides getting down to the appropriate weight, it was going to be a learning curve from a Class B program in South Dakota to Big Ten wrestling. But he said what allowed him to make the grade was Hutmacher’s incredible competitive spirit.

“So, we set the little weight goals, and he just met them. His commitment level is just amazing,” said Manning. “He came out, and December 4th was his first practice, and January 6th he made 285 and wrestled in Wyoming. He made a commitment and he’s a man of his word. He’s one of those guys, just straight forward. You know what you’re getting and that’s who he is.”

Manning said that Hutmacher is “as strong as an ox, and he really looks great at 285 pounds.” He added that the football coaches would like to see him play a little smaller in the fall at 310 pounds. So, Manning and Rhule believe wrestling will help Hutmacher on the football field.

Manning compared Hutmacher to the entire Husker wrestling team, saying it takes commitment and discipline for the members of his wrestling team to be successful.