Penn State wrestling commit Seth Nevills discusses family, food — and Happy Valley

Seth Nevills — a Penn State wrestling commit — is known as one of the top recruits in the country for the Class of 2018.

To family members and others, though, he’s simply known as the little brother of Nick, a starter for the Nittany Lions last season who finished 25-5.

Fans might as well get used to hearing that Nevills name at heavyweight for the next several years — so we thought we’d get to know the younger Nevills a bit better too. Check out the Q&A below:

Q: Why is it that you chose Penn State — was it because of your brother being there, or did you just feel this was the best fit?

A: A little bit of both. When you go out there, it is an amazing place. You can’t have better coaches than Cael (Sanderson), Casey (Cunningham) and Cody (Sanderson). Since my brother is there, that played a role in it. He’s going to help me out. You can’t ask for better scenarios.

Q: As a California guy, what is it that you are most looking forward to here on the East Coast and at Penn State?

A: Just getting to wrestle with some great guys and making friendships with the incoming guys — along with the group with me, above me and the guys that will come in the future after me. There are great people there, and Cael is always recruiting people to come in. It’s a great place. I’ve been out there a couple of times during the summers. I’m actually going there this summer again. I’m excited to go out there and wrestle for the best team in the country right now.

Q: Let’s change it up a bit. What’s your favorite food?

A: Oh man, that’s the toughest question a heavyweight can get asked. I’d probably say lasagna.

Q: What are some of the things you like to do outside of the sport?

A: Spikeball. I like to play spikeball a lot with a lot of the wrestlers. I play Xbox with Nick and Jason Nolf a lot, especially “Call of Duty.”

Q: What’s one thing you are going to miss when you go to college?

A: My animals. We have four dogs and four cats. That is one thing when I talked to Nick; he said that was one thing he missed when he left.

Q: When we talked to Nick right before nationals this year, he brought up the fantasy wrestling draft that you guys do. Can you give me a better sense of what that’s about?

A: So, my coaches, my family — whoever is not wrestling — and some other family friends, we do a wrestling pick ’em. One of them got a trophy, and we engrave the names of the people who win. This has been going on for a few years now. I didn’t win until this year. My very first year I played, I lost by a few points to Adam, our head coach. This year I told Nick, I said, “I’m going to pick you, but I’m going to need you to score me some points.” He came in pretty clutch for me. I had Vincenzo (Joseph) and Bo (Nickal), so that really helped.

Q: What was your strategy?

A: I went straight for Nick. Some of my family, like my mom, wanted to pick Nick because this was the first year we’ve had a family member in it. I got Nick, which I was excited for because my other family members couldn’t get him. ... You kind of just look at the people you’ve been watching throughout the year. Anything can happen in the NCAA tournament, so you have to look in-depth and take your time. For me, I try to pick a lot of Penn State guys. I know the top guys, but I don’t really know the lower-end guys. They did really well for me.

Q: What was it that drew you to pick Vincenzo?

A: I’ve been out there a few times, and I’ve seen him a little bit. I was talking to Nick, and Nick told me to pick him. Nick said he was a good bet, so I just trusted Nick.

Q: How are you looking forward to the cold weather and snow that we’ll be getting in the winter?

A: I’m pretty excited for it. Everybody says they are excited for it but once they get in it — yeah, not so much. Considering in Clovis, where it is 105 or 106, it sounds pretty good right now.

Q: You went 37-0 last year, and all of your wins were by pins. How hard is it to be prepared for the upcoming year after the year you just had?

A: You can’t lose focus. I tried to do it my sophomore year. I fell short in a couple of matches. I just didn’t want my junior year to lose one of my goals. When I set a goal, I like to achieve it. ... If I stay focused this next year and keep working out, I think I’ll be able to do it like I did this year.

Q: You mentioned how good of a recruiter Cael is. When you are coming in, you’ll be part of a historic class with top recruits like Gavin Teasdale, Roman Bravo-Young, Travis Wittlake and a couple of other guys. What’s it like to have your name associated with wrestlers like that?

A: It’s an amazing feeling, knowing that he is getting people that have the same mindset as you. The guys can just feed off of each other’s intensity and wanting to get better at the sport. They are really great guys. It’s just really great that he is getting them in with you and working out with you.

Q: If you have to have your dream wrestling match, who would it be against and why?

A: I’ve got a lot of them. One of them would probably be against (Ohio State’s) Kyle Snyder because he is the best right now. You always want to see how you’re going to do against the best. Cael, because we talk crap on each other. We are always going back and forth. I’d like to get a match with him. Probably one with each of my brothers just to put it to them.

This story was originally published June 30, 2017 at 11:29 PM with the headline "Penn State wrestling commit Seth Nevills discusses family, food — and Happy Valley."