He never had much talent for wrestling. Although his dad was a star grappler for State High and then a coach for Penns Valley High School, Jeff Byers never found glory on a mat.
“I was an awful wrestler,” says Byers, who posted a record of 0-16…for the Little Lion JVs. “I loved the sport, I truly loved it, but I just did not have the instincts for it or the hips for it.”
But Byers had other gifts–eloquent speech and a passion for athletic competition–that led him into radio broadcasting and a decades-long association with the Penn State wrestling team. He’s been the much-loved voice of the Nittany Lions since 1990, and that gig has never been any better than it is right now.
Coach Cael Sanderson’s team has won nine of the last 11 NCAA national championships, and the man they call “Ironhead” has savored every Lion triumph during that run. “I am very cognizant of how fortunate I am to be around this program at this time,” Byers says. “It is really special to see something this historic up close.”
And Byers can expect the dynasty to continue for a while. Especially this season with four returning national champions in the lineup (Roman Bravo-Young, Carter Starocci, Aaron Brooks and Max Dean) plus a No. 2-ranked heavyweight (Greg Kerkvliet) and two redshirt freshmen that carry blue chip credentials (Shayne Van Ness and Alex Facundo). The Lions’ opening dual meet, a 44-3 win over Lock Haven, did nothing but reinforce the happy vibes in Happy Valley.
I was delighted to grab some time with Byers recently, not just to celebrate Penn State’s success but also to analyze the reasons behind it and to consider possibilities for this year. Edited portions of our conversation follow here.
As we enter this new season, what are you expecting to see?
Byers: I think it’s gonna be a fun season. I think you saw that already with North Dakota State beating Nebraska. As much as this has been a Penn State-dominated era, I do think that throughout college wrestling there is more parity.
When you speak about parity, you’re talking about everything below the top spot?
Byers: Yeah, I mean there’s more teams in the mix. Truthfully, I know that the results have been tremendous for Penn State, but I do think it gets more difficult each year for Penn State to retain their position as the top team. This is the team that everybody’s targeting and there’s a lot of things that have to come together to win a national title. I think that makes it more remarkable what Cael and his staff have been able to do. You have a lot of programs now that are all-in on trying to produce a national title contender. Obviously you have the Iowas and the Oklahoma States, but North Carolina State is committed to trying to win a national title. Michigan was on the brink and has made an all-in commitment. Even programs that aren’t having that type of success yet are all-in on trying to get there.
As for Penn State, is there an embarrassment of riches with four returning national champs?
Byers: Yes, it’s obviously a very talented room, but there was a time when some of the top programs were able to build up a little more depth than now. And I know fans get frustrated sometimes when your national champion goes down with an injury and you just have a middle-of-the-road guy to replace him. Why can’t you get depth? Well, you only have 9.9 scholarships, there are a lot of great programs with great coaches out there, and kids now have the ability to move pretty easily from one school to another.
How would you say the culture of the Penn State program differs from other college wrestling programs?
Byers: People are going to argue that it’s the winning that breeds the fun atmosphere in the room. But I really think it is the opposite. I think Cael came in with the approach that he wants the wrestling room to be a place where the kids want to be. And there’s a fine line here. I’m not saying those guys (coaches) don’t push the kids, cause they certainly do. But they really do make it a fun atmosphere that allows the kids to excel in practice and helps bring out the best that they have. When you go back to when Cael first came in, David Taylor and the other kids said, “We’re going to work our tails off, but we’re gonna have some fun while we’re doing it.”
What do other schools think is Penn State’s secret? Do they think it’s recruiting?
Byers: I suspect that’s largely what they think. And I do think that is certainly a big part of the success here. Do I think David Taylor or Jason Nolf or Bo Nickal would’ve been successful anywhere they went? Yeah, those kids were gonna be successful. Do I think they would’ve all been in the NCAA finals four times no matter where they went? I wonder about that. I do think part of what happens at Penn State is you’re taking that elite talent and you’re combining it with the mindset. And you’re combining it with a lot of resources that are focused on developing you to be the very best that you can be.
You can see the Penn State kids, even the ones that have tremendous success early, showing discernible improvement from one year to the next. Roman Bravo-Young was tremendous as a freshman, had great success in a really tough weight class and was completely unsatisfied with being an all-American. (Bravo Young placed eighth at 133 pounds in 2019.) He went to work to figure out what it was gonna take to be in the national title hunt. And you saw him win two national titles (2021 and 2022). I think you’ll see he’s made another step forward this off-season. Winning national titles is part of it, but they’re coming here to challenge themselves to become the best they can be.
Since 2011, Nittany Lion wrestlers are 45-6 (.882) in semifinal matches at the NCAA tournament. And they’re 32-13 in championship matches (.711). That’s staggering against such high-quality opponents. How do you explain that?
Byers: I think it’s a lot of things coming together. I think it is the consistency with which they approach each day of the year. It’s not the week before nationals and suddenly everybody’s in a frenzy to work on things. Also, if you’re a Jason Nolf and you’re able to wrestle Bo Nickal in the room or you’re Aaron Brooks and you wrestle David Taylor or Carter Starocci or Max Dean in the room, when you wrestle a top opponent you’ve already faced that caliber of competition.
And I do think there is a lot to be said for the gratitude that these guys have. By and large, the Penn State kids are not going out there with the mentality that “I have to win or this season is a loss.” Instead, it’s “Holy cow, I have an opportunity here to wrestle for the national title.” That mentality of gratitude and being excited about the opportunity rather than nervous is a big part of the equation.
What does Cael say to his wrestler before a match?
Byers: It’s a consistent message to go out there and have fun. “Hey, you’ve done all this work, so why not go out and try the stuff you’ve been working on in practice? Have some fun, let it fly and see what happens.”
Bill, I think I’ve told you the story before, but there was a kid early in Cael’s tenure who was winning, but he was winning 3-2, 4-3 type matches. Cael was not happy about it because the kid was not capitalizing on the talent that he had. He was not trying to score as many points as possible and was just trying to protect against a loss. That’s not what the coaches want to see, especially early in your career.
Speaking of the coaching staff, both Cody Sanderson (Cael’s brother) and Casey Cunningham are now in their 14th seasons at Penn State. How does Cael keep them here?
Byers: I think financially they’re in a good situation at Penn State. But I think they are loyal individuals. They’re extremely humble and extremely hard-working and I think they’re truly in it for the right reasons. They’re all here at Penn State to help the kids in any way they can. And I think whether that’s from a psychological standpoint, from a physical standpoint, from an academic standpoint or from a spiritual standpoint, these guys are available to the kids to try to improve themselves. Not just as wrestlers but as people.
I don’t know that you could have a collection of better individuals than Cael, Casey and Cody. And when I tell you that there’s no ego, there is no ego. I can’t imagine three human beings that I would respect or admire more on the planet than those three.
In focusing on this year’s team, everybody is disappointed that Robbie Howard can’t go. I would like your thoughts on Robbie and on how you think Gary Steen will do in that 125-pound spot.
Byers: I think shoulder injuries are tough and I obviously feel bad for Robbie. I hope that he is able to get it taken care of and allows enough rest time to where he can come back and show what he is capable of doing.
And it’ll be interesting to see how Gary Steen develops. I think he’s obviously got a lot of credentials behind him. I think he is probably still a little undersized for the weight here at the collegiate level, but I think he’s a guy that will make some real leaps during the course of the season. In some ways, I think it’s a nice situation for him cause I don’t think there’s a ton of pressure there. I mean he wasn’t projected to be the starter.
In your mind, what are the chances that all four returning national champs can successfully defend their titles?
Byers: Roman is a special kid, but obviously Daton Fix (he lost to RBY in the 2021 and 2022 finals) is also an elite athlete. Roman has a lot of confidence now when he wrestles Daton, and I think Daton feels like he has to make some adjustments.
Starocci, Brooks and Dean could all face opponents from previous NCAA title matches. Mekhi Lewis lost to Starocci last year in a tie-breaker. Trent Hidlay, from Mifflin County High School and North Carolina State, lost to Brooks in 2021 by 3-2 on a stalling call. And Iowa’s Jacob Warner lost to Dean by 3-2 last year. What do you expect?
Byers: All of those returning champions are obviously gonna have an excellent opportunity and they’re all very driven and very talented and it’s gonna take someone special to beat them. But I think there are some special kids out there. I just don’t think there’s any guarantees in this sport. There’s a lot of things that have to go the right way for you to be able to come out on top.
Talk to me about Greg Kerkvliet. He is currently ranked number two at heavyweight by InterMat, but things look tight to me among the top four wrestlers.
Byers: Yes, I think there’s a dropoff after those top four (Arizona State’s Cohlton Schultz is ranked first; Michigan’s Mason Parris is third; Iowa’s Tony Cassioppi is fourth). But I think it’s gonna be really fun to see how things develop at that weight. Greg is a really talented kid and I think his mental approach is probably the most important thing for the upcoming season. I think maybe he does put a little more pressure on himself than he needs to. He’s a terrific kid, he’s a terrific wrestler, and I hope he just lets it fly — lets himself go out and have fun. I think he has a real good chance to capture the title.
What is Kerkvliet’s biggest upgrade for this season?
Byers: I think he continues to work on his mat game, and I think that’s probably the area where he can make the biggest strides — getting out from underneath against good opponents and being able to ride. He’s very good on the mat, it’s not like that’s a deficiency, but against the top-level guys that’s probably the area that he wants to hone. He has a tremendous offensive arsenal when he’s on his feet.
Which emerging wrestler do you think will provide the fans with the greatest excitement? Terrell Barraclough was in the lineup part of last year, Beau Bartlett is dropping down to his ideal weight at 141 pounds, and there are two elite redshirt freshmen, Shayne Van Ness and Alex Facundo.
Byers: I’m really excited to see where Terrell is because I do think he’s a guy that can take a couple of leaps forward in his wrestling and I think it’s a confidence thing. I think Beau Bartlett will be more confident just being at the lower weight and he’s obviously got a tremendous skill set. And I think both Van Ness and Facundo are special talents and you want to see how they develop. Facundo is in a really tough weight class (165 pounds), but he’s got a chance to be really special and I think he’ll be competitive with everybody. (Top-ranked Keegan O’Toole won last year’s NCAA title at 165 pounds; second-ranked Shane Griffith captured the national crown at 165 in 2021 and third-ranked David Carr won the national title in 2021 at 157 pounds.)
Maybe we could finish with your most outlandish prediction for the future. What do you see coming that might shock people?
Byers: I don’t know if there’s anything that this program will do that will shock anybody. I think all four returning champs are going to be in the mix and Kerkvliet is also right there. Meanwhile, it’s not exactly a secret that Levi Haines is a talented individual. (Haines, a freshman from Biglerville High School, captured a PIAA crown in 2021 and then skipped his last year of high school competition to train and to compete in open tournaments.) I think they’re planning to redshirt him, but if you’re looking for the next guy that has a chance to be a three or four-time finalist, I think he’s a guy that has that type of talent. And he’s a guy that has the makeup of those former great ones where the talent is unmistakable, and he has the humility, the work ethic, the willingness to do whatever’s asked of him. That’s the stuff you heard about Jason Nolf and Bo Nickal and David Taylor when they were first getting started.
