Penn State wrestling’s Seth Nevills unfazed after receiving call that changed his career trajectory
Seth Nevills waited for the call for more than a week — and tried his best to keep calm.
The Penn State heavyweight knew his redshirt would likely be pulled. He knew he would likely become the starter, informed via phone call, after reigning national champ Anthony Cassar suffered an injury Dec. 22 while trying to qualify for the Olympic Trials.
But on Tuesday, as he recounted his road from redshirt to starting wrestler, from spectator to a 2-0 dual record, he told reporters he didn’t want to get his hopes up earlier this month. “My friends were like, ‘He’s going to do it,’” Nevills recalled, referring to the Nittany Lions’ head coach pulling his redshirt. “But you never know. Everyone knows Coach Cael (Sanderson) is a mysterious guy.”
So, while bowling with his girlfriend and her family in California, sometime before Jan. 7, he tried to hide a grin when his phone buzzed with a text from Sanderson. Coach wanted to talk; Nevills just didn’t know about what. But, after telling his girlfriend he needed to take the call, she started jumping up and down.
“I tried to remain calm in case it wasn’t that call,” Nevills added. “After he told me, I was pretty excited. I told her family; it was a pretty exciting time.”
Nevills, a grayshirt freshman, recalled his journey while mostly keeping his gaze fixed to the floor just outside the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex. He’s risen quickly from backup to a starter with outside expectations of being nationally ranked so, while he insisted this hasn’t been a “whirlwind,” the 260-pound talent is still growing accustomed to the brighter spotlight.
But, on the mat, he’s been unfazed. Making his Rec Hall debut this past weekend, Nevills finished with a pair of decisions — including a key win over Illinois’ Luke Luffman in the final bout of the match. With the Nittany Lions holding on to a slim 19-16 lead, Nevills opened the first period with a low takedown and 2:34 in riding time. He never trailed in the bout, a 6-3 victory.
“Seth’s a real calm guy,” teammate Nick Lee said. “He didn’t let the situation get to him at all. He does everything right.”
Added Mark Hall, the nation’s No. 1 wrestler at 174 pounds: “He’s ready to go. He’s big, and he’s strong.”
Nevills’ path to this point has been a crooked one. After Cassar won the national title last season while Nevills grayshirted, the four-time California high school champ expected to be Penn State’s starting heavyweight this season — until Cassar announced his return for one final year. Nevills didn’t much mind. “When he puts it into perspective,” Nevills said, referring to Sanderson, “it didn’t seem so bad — because another full year of training here, that’s leaps and bounds where you’re going to be.”
But, on Dec. 22, Cassar suffered a shoulder injury during the Senior Nationals in Fort Worth, Texas. Sanderson announced Jan. 7 that Cassar would miss the rest of the season so he could rehab, avoid surgery and prepare for the Last Chance Olympic qualifier March 26-28. And, by then, Nevills already knew the plan.
The hard part for the second-year wrestler is just getting used to the scenario he’s replayed in his head for the last year and a half. He’d often wonder during matches what it wold be like if was out there wrestling. “Now that I’m out here, I need to change my perspective and my expectations when I was out in the stands,” Nevills told reporters. “I have to transfer that to reality.”
Maybe to outsiders, it already appears as if he’s done that with back-to-back dual wins and an overall 8-0 season record, including open tournaments. But Nevills wasn’t satisfied. He wanted to score bonus points over the weekend, and he only managed two decisions.
But Nevills, Sanderson and teammates all believe the best is yet to come. What started at the bowling alley and will continue for this season, and maybe for the next three, could be an interesting career.
“Coach Cael always says if I go out and wrestle my best match,” Nevills said, “I can do anything.”
