The sporting side of his life is paradoxical. On the one hand, Jeff Byers is a lifelong fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the team that seems stuck at the bottom of the National League Central division due to baseball’s economics.
But lest you grieve too much for Byers over the pitiful performances of his Pirates, note that he’s enjoyed broadcasting Penn State wrestling for the last 36 seasons. And the Nittany Lions have giveth far more to Jeff than the Pirates have taketh away.
Byers has an intimate knowledge of wrestling, and he’s over-the-moon thrilled by Penn State’s historic achievements under Coach Cael Sanderson. Although he’s careful to compliment opposing wrestlers, the man known as “Ironhead” emanates an unforgettable roar whenever a Nittany Lion executes a winning move. With the NCAA Wrestling Championships about to take place in Philadelphia—and the Lions expected to win their 12th team title out of the last 14 competitions—I expect to hear that roar frequently.
Each year, I enjoy the chance to interview Ironhead between the Big Ten and NCAA championships. His predictions are spot-on, and his perspective about the character-building aspects of the sport are insightful. The following are highlights of our hour-long conversation, including introductory comments about Byers’ work with Sports Radio 98.7 – The Fox. Did you know that the station will be carrying Pirates baseball this season?
Before we talk wrestling, how would you assess the status of Fox Sports Radio 98.7, now a year and a half old?
Byers: I think we’ve built a pretty good foundation, and I think this next year will bring strong growth for us. We have the Pittsburgh Pirates coming on this year for the first time in a while for our area, so I’m excited about that. I am a huge Pirates-Steelers-Penguins fan, and it is neat that we have the opportunity to bring the Pirates back to the area. I’ve always expected to be able to turn on the radio and listen to baseball over the summer, and I’m thrilled that we’re going to be the ones providing that service. March 27 will be the season opener with the Pirates playing away at the Marlins.
I’m not sure how to transition from the struggling Pirates to the triumphant Nittany Lion wrestlers, but I’ll just ask you how it feels to be associated with Penn State’s wrestling team.
Byers: It’s just fun. It is amazing to have a front row seat to history; this program is history in the making, and I’m just along for the ride. I’ve told many people over the years—and it’s the truth—if Penn State had never won a national title and if Cael never came here, I would still be loving the job. I love the sport, I love the program, and I’ve loved all of the coaches I’ve worked with. But it’s really remarkable to see these coaches bring a different approach to a sport that’s been around as long as wrestling has.
Which specific innovation by Cael are you talking about?
Byers: Well, I remember seeing something on a message board that talked about how these guys who are wrestling today have so much fun. And it was a wrestling mom who wrote back saying, “Then you’re not doing it right because wrestling isn’t fun; it is a grind.” But at Penn State, the approach really is to have fun while you’re in the room. Different people might define fun differently, but the idea is that you don’t want to be dreading practice. And for most of my life, the wrestlers I knew, even those who were really good at wrestling, dreaded having to get through the practices.
What makes Penn State’s practices fun?
Byers: There’s a bunch of different things. First of all, the coaches have a great sense of humor and they’re joking around with the guys and the guys will give it right back to them. And there’s been a lot made over the years about the dodgeball games they play, but I do think that’s a big part of it. Kids like playing dodgeball; adults like playing dodgeball. So you start practice with the kids playing games and that gets them in a competitive frame of mind but also in the frame of mind that “Hey, it’s going to be a fun day.’ So it’s not a bunch of yelling and ‘You guys better get to work.’ Everybody already knows that the end objective is to become the best wrestlers—and the best people that they can be.
With Penn State winning so many titles, is it getting harder to keep the wrestlers grounded? How do the coaches keep them from getting too full of themselves?
Byers: Part of the answer is that the wrestling room is so loaded with talent from the coaches to the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club guys to the members of the Penn State team. If anybody starts thinking that he’s more special than he is, there’s going to be somebody in that room to put him in his place on the mat. But I also think it’s the type of people that they’re recruiting. It’s not about ego; it’s about understanding that no matter how good you are there’s always an opportunity to get better. And again, I want to emphasize it’s not just what they’re accomplishing on the wrestling mat that matters. It’s the caliber of people they are. If you were the parent of a kiddo and looking for somebody that child could emulate, I don’t know that you could do better than Penn State’s wrestlers.
Talk to me about the fans. Maybe some are starting to get spoiled?
Byers: I think, for the most part, Penn State has great fans and I think they understand how special it is to be following this program. But once the expectation is set as high as it is, some people will almost demand that you get all 10 guys winning national titles. I think people have to understand just how good some of these other wrestlers are and some of these other coaches. What Penn State has been able to accomplish, given the number of great coaches and great wrestlers who are trying to figure out ways to beat them, is what makes this program’s accomplishments all the more astounding. And the other impressive thing is how the wrestlers handle a disappointing result.
Speaking of disappointment, Beau Bartlett and Shayne Van Ness suffered back-to-back losses in the semifinal round of the Big Tens…
Byers: Yes, and both bounced right back and came back to get third. So now, obviously, both want to win national titles. But I think if they don’t, they’ll each shake their opponent’s hand and in Bartlett’s case say, “Man, this was a really fun opportunity to compete here throughout my career, and I’ll see what the next chapter brings.” And for Van Ness, it’ll be, “Let’s go back to work and see if we can get this thing accomplished next year.”
As for fan response, I guess we’ve all been spoiled by Carter Starocci. Folks may assume he is automatically going to win an unprecedented fifth NCAA title, but Minnesota’s Max McEnelly is a beast and last year’s 184-pound champ, Parker Keckeisen, lost to Starocci in sudden victory at the pre-season NWCA All-Star Classic. Is Starocci a lock?
Byers: Nobody’s made a lot of money betting against Starocci, so I’m not going to be the one that bets against him. And I do think he has a different competitive edge to him than just about anybody I’ve ever met. I had somebody ask me the other day, “What makes Carter Starocci so great? And I said, “Winning.” I think they thought I was being funny or flippant, but what he does best is win. He obviously is great at takedowns, fantastic on top, all of that. But he figures out a way to get the win, and I just think he has that competitive drive that he’s just not going to allow himself to lose.
With that being said, one of the great things in wrestling is no matter how good you are, somebody is going to beat you. Cael Sanderson went undefeated collegiately, a remarkable accomplishment. But he lost in freestyle and he lost on the international level. So when I hear someone say, “We know Mitchell Mesenbrink is going to win,” I say, “Hold on.” Do I think he’s going to win? Yes. Is he a prohibitive favorite? Sure. But if you’ve been around this sport long enough, you know that Dan Gable can lose to Larry Owings, and Spencer Lee can get pinned by Matt Ramos.
Let’s discuss some of the other Nittany Lions. All reports from Penn State suggest that Josh Barr has made a great recovery from his injury at Big Tens. What do you know?
Byers: I’ll let Cael and the program speak on that. But I will say I’m upbeat, much more upbeat than I thought I’d be when I watched him walk off the arena floor in Evanston with great assistance.
Would you be amazed to see Barr win the title at 197 pounds?
Byers: He is certainly capable, but there is that injury and there is a lot of top-end talent at 197 pounds (Michigan’s Jacob Cardenas is seeded first; Iowa’s Stephen Buchanan is second; and A.J. Ferrari, the 2021 champ, is now wrestling for Cal State Bakersfield and seeded third). I think Barr has one of the tougher paths to a title, but he is entirely capable of winning the national title in Philadelphia.
What do you think of Levi Haines’ chances to win another championship? He took the title at 157 last year, but now he’s up two weight classes to 174, and waiting for him there is last year’s champ, Keegan O’Toole.
Byers: Yeah, and I would not write off Dean Hamiti (22-1, Oklahoma State). He’s right there. I think those three are very special wrestlers. Levi is just such a great wrestler and just such a special kid and special competitor. I think the potential semifinal match with Hamiti is going to be a whole lot of fun for wrestling fans if we do get to see it. And then if Haines wrestles O’Toole, you’re talking about one of the all-time anticipated finals.
Were you surprised by Luke Lilledahl’s championship performance at Big Tens? I thought his two regular season losses were kind of fluky, so I wasn’t too surprised.
Byers: I thought he was going to win the Big Ten title, but I’m not going to sit here and tell you I thought he was going to major Matt Ramos, the top seed. It just seemed to me that at the end of January he made a turn and really put some things together. And I think that’s been pretty typical for the elite freshmen that Penn State’s had under Cael. Whether they’re redshirting or competing, it’s in late January when it all starts to fall into place. I really like Luke’s chances of getting on top of the podium or certainly placing highly.
What do you think about Beau Bartlett? Are you betting on him?
Byers: I am. I think he is the guy to beat. I have no qualms about his seeding at number two, but I just think he has the confidence right now, and he’s always had the athleticism. I think all of the experience he’s gained throughout his collegiate career (five years) will pay dividends. Even though there’s five or six guys that I wouldn’t be shocked to see on the top of the podium, I think Beau’s going to go out and earn it.
All right, Greg Kerkvliet. I was a little disappointed that he couldn’t give Gable Steveson a better match at Big Tens. The hopeful side of me wonders if he was holding onto some things in his bag of tricks.
Byers: I think they (coaches and Kerkvliet) will make some adjustments, but I don’t think he was holding anything back. I think Steveson is really, really hard to score on. I think you saw Greg try to get in under the arms and try to force a tie-up and you saw Steveson’s power—he just stepped right through it. I think Greg will make some adjustments, but make no mistake about it. Gable Steveson is one of the all-time legends in the heavyweight division.
Mitchell Mesenbrink has been thrashing everyone he’s met—including Iowa’s Mikey Caliendo who he teched, 19-4, in January’s dual meet. But in their Big Ten championship bout, Mesenbrink won by only 4-1. What do you expect to see in Philadelphia?
Byers: What I expect might not be what’s going to happen, but I think both Mesenbrink and Caliendo will make some adjustments off of what they saw in that Big Ten final. And I think the margin will be wider in Mesenbrink’s favor. That doesn’t mean I think he’s just going to thoroughly dominate, but I do think it is hard to keep Mitchell Mesenbrink from scoring multiple takedowns throughout a bout. Caliendo is a terrific wrestler, but my expectation would be Mesenbrink by a wider margin.
All right, so if “Penn State Wrestling 2024-25” was a movie, what are a couple of scenes that would definitely make the final cut?
Byers: Oh man, there’s a lot to unpack there. Hopefully, there will be a lot of great scenes still to come that will be in that movie. But to this point, I would say Lilledahl’s performance against Ramos would certainly have to make the cut. I think Bartlett’s two wins here over Mendez would certainly be part of it. And Josh Barr’s tie-breaker reversal against Jacob Cardenas in their regular season meeting was a moment that fans will remember for a long time.
How about I put you out on a limb with team predictions? First, will Penn State surpass last year’s 172.5 points that set a new all-time record for the NCAA championships?
Byers: Yeah, I really think they will. It’s certainly not a given, and a lot of work has to be done for that to happen. But going in, yes, I’m optimistic that they can surpass last year.
Will all 10 Nittany Lion competitors earn All-American status by finishing in the top eight of their weight classes? I know that Minnesota in 2001 is the only team that ever did this.
Byers: I think this year’s Penn State squad has an excellent chance of matching Minnesota’s feat. Again, we’ll see what happens, but I really think these guys are ready to put together a special performance. So yes, I think they’ll get 10 All-Americans. Braeden Davis may be flying under the radar a bit, but he is very competitive and has a great gas tank. And I think he’s feeling as good as he has all year. I really think he can put some things together this weekend and surprise some folks.
And if you had to take a flying leap, how many Penn Staters will show up in this year’s group photo of NCAA champions?
Byers: I think all 10 are capable of going out and winning a national title. I think they have seven really strong contenders. But I think they’ll end up with six champions and I won’t be surprised if they end up with a seventh. On the other hand, I won’t be shocked if they get four.
And now it’s time for you to recognize some individuals by giving out your annual Ironhead Awards. First of all, who deserves the “Ironhead Award for Most Valiant Performance in a Single Bout”?
Byers: Oh boy, there’s lots of very good candidates for that one. But I am going to go with Barr’s win over Cardenas at the Jordan Center. There’s nothing like pulling one out in the last second—keeping your wits about you—and especially as a freshman in that situation.
How about the “Ironhead Award for Most Valiant Performer Throughout the Year”?
Byers: That’s a very tough call because there’s been valiant efforts up and down the lineup. But Tyler Kasak is the guy that has brought extra grittiness to a team that has a lot of grittiness. That guy has been an absolute warrior all season long, and then he came back from a concussion to win the Big Ten tournament.
Who is your “Greatest Off Mat Contributor”?
Byers: Zack Ryder is a personality who is fantastic for this team. He’s a gregarious guy, very funny, and he has a real ability to keep things loose on the team. And he’s also got the talent to challenge anybody on the wrestling mat. (Ryder was ranked fifth among all 2024 recruits by FloWrestling; this year he won the Southern Scuffle tournament despite his backup status.) But whatever happens on the mat, good or bad, he’s going to go out and enjoy his life. So he’s a great fit for Penn State because he has that perspective, and he’s my choice.
And who is the “Most Overlooked Contributor”?
Byers: One of the interesting things about this team is the number of guys who would be capable of winning All-American honors but are serving as backups. For example, Terrell Barraclough was a backup last year, and now he’s wrestling for Utah Valley and seeded fourth at nationals. On this year’s team, there were two incredible backups at 197 pounds—Connor Mirasola, a freshman with a very bright future, and Lucas Cochran, a strong candidate for the lineup. I would argue that both of them, if they were wrestling anywhere else, would be on the podium in Philadelphia. I think the way those two have handled the situation and really helped Josh Barr along the way is tremendous. So they are my dual winners.
