Manning Meets With Media

Lincoln - On Wednesday, Jan. 14, Head Coach Mark Manning met with local media. The following is a recap of what Manning had to say about Nebraska's performance at last weekend's NWCA National Duals and the state of the Huskers. For a full video of the press conference, click on the link above.

Head Coach Mark Manning 
 

On NU’s fourth-place finish at National Duals....<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

“I think we did a good job. The competition is obviously really tough at National Duals. It was good for us because it was good timing. We needed a lot of challenges as far as a team and individually. We are about halfway through our season and we know what we have to work on and we know where we need to go. [National Duals] was a good performance for our team. We were right there with any of those teams. We have some strong individuals. We are looking forward to the next eight weeks.”

 

On where the team stands physically and mentally after National Duals....

“I think really good. Obviously, a lot of it is an individual sport, and we had some really good performances individually. I thought Tucker Lane made a big jump. It is about confidence when you compete against the highest-level guys. When you have big wins in pressure situations, it shows you can compete to be a national champion or All-American. I thought Tucker performed extremely well. Obviously, we have some growing pains down low. We know that, but we had a lot of positive things. I thought Robert Sanders had a good tournament, even though he only won one match. He lost to the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked guys in his weight. He fought his tail off and didn’t give up bonus points. He did a good job. Stephen Dwyer had a great win. Brandon Browne beat the Iowa kid [Jay Borschel] that beat him last year for third and fourth at the NCAAs. Vince Jones had a pretty good weekend. A lot of positives last weekend.”

 

On what Lane’s performance does for his teammates....

“It shows that he is right in there with those big guys. Tucker is really mobile and he can score on them. He is just going to keep building his confidence from this point on and I think that is what it is all about. We expected that from him, but until someone goes out there and does it, you never know. You have to do it in crunch time. He is starting to do that and that is a good sign. We have to keep taking him up another level.”

 

On if Lane is intimidated.....

“No, I think everyone is a little nervous. He was a little nervous at first, but it is all about growing out of that and maturing. You develop from that. Having a big win against the Iowa State kid who is ranked third [Dave Zabriskie], did a lot for him. We are obviously going to see that guy down the road here and hopefully he can beat him again.”

 

On the lower weights moving forward this season....

“Obviously, we have a lot of room for improvement. We won one match out of four weight classes. From 157 through heavyweight, it put us in a tough situation. It shows a lot of resiliency as far as our team goes, but we have to get better. We have to get more competitive. We have a couple guys at 133, Patrick Aleksanyan and Matt Vacanti, one of those guys has to step up. Same thing at 141, Jon Burns and Curtis Salazar. We have to get those guys performing at a higher level than they are right now.”

 

On what he does to make that happen....

“It is about building confidence in them and getting better technically. A lot of their mistakes are technical. You have to win some tough bouts. You have to find a way to do it. That is where your character and resiliency comes into play. You have to show some mental toughness.”

 

On not giving up bonus points at the lower weights....

“That is what we talked to our team about yesterday. For us to win big matches against Iowa and Iowa State, both teams that we lost close duals to, you can’t give up those big bonus points. It puts our upper weights classes in a tough position. That is where we are at right now and we are going to deal with it, and get better. Confront the problem and move on. I think from 157 to heavyweight we are a pretty formidable team.”

 

On how good Jordan Burroughs is......

“I think he is as good right now as any guy that has ever wrestled here. Right now he is ranked second or third, I don’t know why he isn’t ranked first, but we don’t really care too much about that. We are worried about March. He is going to be on that podium. He is pretty darn good, and he comes after you for seven minutes. He is taking it to a whole other level, and that is where Jordan is. He is taking wrestling to a whole other level, and he wants to dominate. Not just win, but dominate people. We have a few other guys that can do that too, so it shows a lot. He is definitely worth the price of admission and maybe a free bag of popcorn or pop.”

 

On what Nebraska needs to do to beat Iowa and Iowa State....

“We are right there with them. With Iowa State, we have had some tough losses to them the last couple years. Tough contested matches. We just have to win the close matches. It really comes down to that. It is no mystery.”

 

On if rotating wrestlers shakes their confidence....

“No, I think we have given some guys chances at 133 and 141. It is all about gaining some experience. Matt Vacanti is a lot younger than Patrick Aleksanyan. Patrick is a senior. Curtis Salazar has been in our program three years and Jon Burns has been in it one. It is just giving them some time to see what they can do against quality opponents. See who kind of steps up and rises up. When the lights come on, see what they do. You never really know about a guy until the lights are on. People can look good in a practice room, but you have to be performing when the chips are on the line. We have some good, talented guys there, now we just have to put it together. You only get confidence and gain that experience by getting out there. It is just trying to get some guys experience right now.”

 

On what point he decides who wrestles...

“We will have some wrestle-offs next week. Try to solidify some things and go with that lineup through the year.”

 

On the progression of Curtis Salazar....

“He showed a lot of fight last weekend. He did a pretty good job against the Iowa State guy [Nick Gallick]. He made some technical errors. There comes a point in anyone’s career when you have some competition in the wrestling room. It is going to make you better. It is going to push you to make you better and that is what we want. We want some competition. We want to see people step it up a notch and be competitive.”