What are Carson Kuhn’s chances of getting a bid to NCAAs?

Penn State had a dominant weekend both on the scoreboard and on the scoresheet.

The Nittany Lions outscored Purdue and Maryland by a combined 90-9. They also held a massive 64-1 takedown advantage en route to winning their 39th and 40th straight dual victories — a new all-time mark. However, Penn State forfeited at 125 pounds on Friday — the first time since November 2015.

The move has Nittany Lions fans asking a whole bunch of questions about the weight class. Here are a few:

If Carson Kuhn becomes certified and eligible to wrestle in the Big Ten tournament, what are his chances of knocking out one of the other guys for a bid to NCAAs? — PSUSean, Email

For the past two years, the Big Ten has received seven automatic bids to the NCAA championships. If the same were to hold true for this year, it would seem like Kuhn and nine others would be shooting for three automatic spots. I don’t know that anyone would disagree with me in that Iowa’s Spencer Lee, Ohio State’s Nathan Tomasello, Rutgers’ Nick Suriano and Minnesota’s Ethan Lizak would be the top four. Anything can happen when it comes to the postseason, but I’d have to say that Kuhn has a much better chance of placing than Devin Schnupp.

The main concern with Kuhn is whether he can stay healthy. He has wrestled just 25 collegiate matches. Now, he did take a year off to train at the Olympic Training Center and a mission trip to Chile, but most of his time away was due to injuries. He’s won 17 of those matches with four of them coming while wrestling unattached for Boise State. But he’s got the background to to prove he belongs. Kuhn finished third in the Pac-12 championships at 133 pounds in the 2015-2016 season. He was 174-12 in his high school career with all 12 losses coming in his freshman season. He won three straight Utah state championships and won the prestigious Dave Schultz Outstanding Wrestler Award for Utah. Kuhn also won a Junior Freestyle National Championship in 2010 a year after competing for the Junior FILA world team. Not only does Kuhn have the background, but he’s just got a much bigger frame than Schnupp. Oh yeah, and he’s also a man amongst boys. He is 24 years old — compared to most of opponents who might be 18 or 19 years old.

Guys were sick or injured Friday, and Kuhn still isn’t wrestling. Cael keeps saying Schnupp is getting better, but he’s just being nice. I’m afraid this will stop us from getting the national title. How close should we be to the panic button at 125? — Jay, Email

Jay, you and many fans have a lot of cause for concern. However, hitting the panic button isn’t going to do any good. I would say to look forward for things to come over the next several years.

I always thought, two years ago when I started covering the team, that if Penn State didn’t bring in someone else other than Suriano it was going to struggle should Suriano get hurt. During the 2016 season, the Nittany Lions had come to rely on Nico Megaludis at 125 — but they were lucky enough to have someone capable of dropping down when he got injured. Well, when Suriano went down with the ankle injury last season — there was no one capable of dropping down like Jordan Conaway. I wouldn’t be so concerned about the whole national title thoughts, though. I mean Penn State did win it last year without a wrestler at the weight class. Also, Tomasello, who will be the scoring wrestler for the Buckeyes, will have his hands full in the weight class with Suriano, Lee (who just beat him on Sunday), Lizak, Lehigh’s Darian Cruz (reigning champ), Oklahoma State’s Nick Piccininni and Utah Valley’s Taylor LaMont.

Who do we have coming in next year at 125? — @imlerjoe, Twitter

Needless to say, the Nittany Lions are going to be set for the next several years after this season. They have a trio of very talented wrestlers coming in that will be able to alternate between 125 and 133. Here is a brief synopsis of each wrestler:

Brody Teske, Fort Dodge, Iowa

▪  3-time state champion

▪  195-1 current high school career record, suffered first loss two weeks ago

Gavin Teasdale, Jefferson-Morgan

▪  3-time state champion

▪  141-1 current high school career record, suffered first loss at end of December

▪  Multiple time Fargo champion and Cadet world team member

Roman Bravo Young, Sunnyside, Ariz.

▪  3-time state champion

▪  171-0 current high school career record

▪  U.S. Cadet Champion

This story was originally published January 22, 2018 at 8:51 PM with the headline "What are Carson Kuhn’s chances of getting a bid to NCAAs?."