Is PJ Duke redshirting next year? Why?

[scorenomore]

17 hours ago, lu_alum said:

PSU will very likely be in a position that they could ORS 70% or more of their starting lineup - particularly with scholarship/roster cap changes.

Good point, so next chance for the someone in the field to win NCAAs is 2028!

[scorenomore]

Is Kasak out?  He hasn't competed since nationals and is typically a freestyle guy.  I think PJ wrestles and Kasak takes a medical.

[manatree]

5 hours ago, peanut said:

The reason he might consider greyshirting is schoolwork. Getting into peak condition for mid to late September. Traveling to Europe. I assume a camp in Europe to acclimate himself. Competing. Coming back. How much would he really be able to study? If he’s on the world team now, he may decide to treat it as his full time job now. 

It will be interesting to see what Duke & Haines do as the last day of the competition is the day before the fifth week of classes. With training, that is a tough pull for any student, let alone a first year student. I think it would be hard for either of them to do any coursework until after Zagreb. Don’t know what the NCAA rules would be for trying to not take courses until the 2nd 7week session which starts Oct 20. 

[Hilton Head Joe]

3 hours ago, BruceyB said:

Name one wrestler that graduated high school at 21. You're exaggerating what is taking place in high school sports. Bo Bassett is the most criticized hold-back and he will be 19 when he graduates high school, and turn 20 in August as he begins his true freshman year. He is one year older than typical for his grade. People create way too much drama around a kid being a year old for his grade. Who cares. Once you get to college you have guys in the 6th and 7th years now with RS, Olympic RS, free medical RS. Being 1 year older than your peers entering college has literally never mattered less than it does now.

No way am I going to do that. Not calling a kid out when it was there dad that did this to them. Like I said I know two kids my son wrestled at Bison duals this year that were going to be pushing 21 after their PG year. They went to a prep. Not naming. That aint cool cause I am butt hurt  But it is happening. The majority of elite D1 wrestler's are at least a one year hold back. That is the norm. I do know the 3 year holdbacks are rare but not unheard of. Again it is all legal. I am more upset with the system than even the dads wanting glory for their sons at all costs. Money, money, money. But PJ should not redshirt. The one thing that made Snyder so great is he was never a hold back correct? And never redshirted and nearly was a 4 time champ.

 

[BruceyB]

1 minute ago, Hilton Head Joe said:

No way am I going to do that. Not calling a kid out when it was there dad that did this to them. Like I said I know two kids my son wrestled at Bison duals this year that were going to be pushing 21 after their PG year. They went to a prep. Not naming. That aint cool cause I am butt hurt  But it is happening. The majority of elite D1 wrestler's are at least a one year hold back. That is the norm. I do know the 3 year holdbacks are rare but not unheard of. Again it is all legal. I am more upset with the system than even the dads wanting glory for their sons at all costs. Money, money, money. But PJ should not redshirt. The one thing that made Snyder so great is he was never a hold back correct? And never redshirted and nearly was a 4 time champ.

 

I have no problem with a 1 year hold back. There are reasons for it that I agree with. I do agree with you that double holdbacks and PG years that aren't a "greyshirt" are ridiculous. 

[ionel]

8 minutes ago, BruceyB said:

I have no problem with a 1 year hold back. There are reasons for it that I agree with. I do agree with you that double holdbacks and PG years that aren't a "greyshirt" are ridiculous. 

reasons?

[nhs67]

8 hours ago, juniorvarsity said:

Why not just redshirt?

If PJ Duke does U20s and Seniors, then why not just redshirt as a freshman? He could go to ranking series events in 2026. The first two are usually in February and early march and then the next two are late May and early June. He will probably be the 2026 Pan Ams rep too. It could be a lot of competition in a redshirt year. Plus he can get Big Ten duals at 157.

Duke could take the U23 spot as well...

[BruceyB]

43 minutes ago, ionel said:

reasons?

My parents didn't feel that my youngest brother was emotionally mature enough to start kindergarten when he was 5, so he started school a year later than most. The same happened with one of my closest friends. 

Also, high school wrestling was the most fun I ever had as an athlete. My child would likely be undersized for 106 as a freshman seeing as I was very undersized for 103. I would strongly consider starting them a year late in school so they have a chance to enjoy 4 years of high school sports. And if I didn't start them late, and going into 9th grade my child was undersized and wanted to repeat a grade to maximize their high school wrestling experience, I would gladly let them. 

[Husker_Du]

22 hours ago, lu_alum said:

PSU will very likely be in a position that they could ORS 70% or more of their starting lineup - particularly with scholarship/roster cap changes.

that's a good point. 

but i still would wrestle Duke this year then RS him in '26-27

[Eagle26]

48 minutes ago, Husker_Du said:

that's a good point. 

but i still would wrestle Duke this year then RS him in '26-27

Do you think Duke would want to take an ORS in 27/28 then? I don’t think he would want to have two redshirts in a row, and he definitely want to focus on an Olympic run. Maybe he would go the Snyder route and do a modified schedule?

[cowcards]

4 hours ago, ionel said:

reasons?

Social, Emotional, & Physical maturity. I drove to college on my 18th birthday. Being pushed back a year before the 6th grade would've done wonders for me in those areas. I would've hated it if I did it after that point. 

[The Kid]

18 hours ago, BruceyB said:

I have no problem with a 1 year hold back. There are reasons for it that I agree with. I do agree with you that double holdbacks and PG years that aren't a "greyshirt" are ridiculous. 

Especially if you're considered the best program in the country.

They redshirted Retherford after he wrestled as a true freshman.  Because he was never going to beat Stieber again.

Weak stuff.  Barr as a 21 year old freshman?  lol

 

[The Kid]

16 hours ago, Eagle26 said:

Do you think Duke would want to take an ORS in 27/28 then? I don’t think he would want to have two redshirts in a row, and he definitely want to focus on an Olympic run. Maybe he would go the Snyder route and do a modified schedule?

Modified schedule at psu?  Yeah ok.

[JimmyCinnabon]

On 6/15/2025 at 8:33 PM, Caveira said:

I don’t disagree.   With that said money will make it way worse over time imo.   Plus plenty in the sport and on this board are beyond behind it.   One guy skipped his first year of 8th grade (to take it again next year) to play video games…. So he could grow in the sport.  I think that behavior is behind nonsense.  It’s certainly not cheating…. But it’s 200% morally bankrupt.  

Repeating 8th grade is 200% morally bankrupt? It sounds like you're really grading on a curve here. What kinda of percentage does actually doing something bad get you? Seventeen billion percent morally bankrupt?

[Caveira]

Just now, JimmyCinnabon said:

Repeating 8th grade is 200% morally bankrupt? It sounds like you're really grading on a curve here. What kinda of percentage does actually doing something bad get you? Seventeen billion percent morally bankrupt?

You saying doing 8th grade twice on purpose to grow and get better (and play vids all day) so you have an advantage over people who didn’t ….. isn’t morally bankrupt?

[JimmyCinnabon]

14 hours ago, cowcards said:

Social, Emotional, & Physical maturity. I drove to college on my 18th birthday. Being pushed back a year before the 6th grade would've done wonders for me in those areas. I would've hated it if I did it after that point. 

I was born right at the cutoff date to start school. My mom could have started me in kindergarten but I would have been one of the youngest kids in the class. Instead she started me the next year and I was one of the oldest kids in my class and I absolutely loved that. If you're close to the cutoff date I would honestly recommend starting your child the next year. At least that is how I feel from personal experience.

My niece and my best friend's son were both born in March, two weeks apart. My sister started my niece in kindergarten while my best friend opted to start his kid in kindergarten the following year. My niece will be in 4th grade in the fall while my buddy's kid will be in 3rd grade. I'd rather be the kid in 3rd grade that is older than everyone.

I really don't have an opinion on purposely holding your kid back in 8th grade if he is a kid that could be a D1 athlete. At this point there is A LOT to gain by holding your kid back a year. You can set your entire family up financially by doing that at this point. I certainly don't blame parents these days for putting their kids in a position to set themselves up financially for the rest of their lives, even if it means their kid takes a year to play video games. 

[Wrestleknownothing]

46 minutes ago, The Kid said:

Because he was never going to beat Stieber again.

 

I laughed out loud when I read that sentence. Thank ypu for adding levity to the conversation.

[The Kid]

2 minutes ago, Wrestleknownothing said:

I laughed out loud when I read that sentence. Thank ypu for adding levity to the conversation.

Why did the phenomenal Retherford redshirt?  To help the team?  Or his ego?

Same with Nico redshiring in his junior year to avoid Delgado. lol

Edited 5 hours ago by The Kid

[JimmyCinnabon]

9 minutes ago, Caveira said:

You saying doing 8th grade twice on purpose to grow and get better (and play vids all day) so you have an advantage over people who didn’t ….. isn’t morally bankrupt?

No, I don't think having a kid repeat the 8th grade because of athletics is morally bankrupt. I mean, if that is what passes for morally bankrupt then what in the hell do we call people who do real, actual bad things? I think we need some perspective here man. If the floor for being morally bankrupt is having your son repeat 8th grade then I am afraid that the bar for being a morally good person will be so high that literally nobody can reach it. 

On a side note if you haven't watched The Good Place then you should. What we are talking about here is the entire premise of the show. It's an incredibly funny and entertaining watch.

[Caveira]

5 minutes ago, JimmyCinnabon said:

No, I don't think having a kid repeat the 8th grade because of athletics is morally bankrupt. I mean, if that is what passes for morally bankrupt then what in the hell do we call people who do real, actual bad things? I think we need some perspective here man. If the floor for being morally bankrupt is having your son repeat 8th grade then I am afraid that the bar for being a morally good person will be so high that literally nobody can reach it. 

On a side note if you haven't watched The Good Place then you should. What we are talking about here is the entire premise of the show. It's an incredibly funny and entertaining watch.

Did he repeat.  Or sit out to play vids on purpose?

Edited 5 hours ago by Caveira

[JimmyCinnabon]

3 minutes ago, The Kid said:

Why did the phenomenal Retherford redshirt?  To help the team?  Or his ego?

Same with Nico redshiring in his junior year to avoid Delgado. lol

They 100% redshirted so they could have a better chance of winning an individual title. It worked considering they both came back and won an individual title. I am not sure anyone has ever put forth any other explanation of why they redshirted when they did. Is there something inherently wrong with them making decisions that would allow them to achieve their goals? I am not understanding your post.

[JimmyCinnabon]

2 minutes ago, Caveira said:

Did he repeat.  Or sir out to play vids on purpose?

I think he repeated 8th grade to benefit him in his wrestling career. I am not sure why it matters that RBY played video games that year. He could have planted a garden. Or taken up wood working. I don't know that it's relevant what a 14/15 year old kid did while he repeated the 8th grade, taking classes that he already passed. It was for wrestling obviously. 

[Caveira]

2 minutes ago, JimmyCinnabon said:

I think he repeated 8th grade to benefit him in his wrestling career. I am not sure why it matters that RBY played video games that year. He could have planted a garden. Or taken up wood working. I don't know that it's relevant what a 14/15 year old kid did while he repeated the 8th grade, taking classes that he already passed. It was for wrestling obviously. 

It’s morally bankrupt.   All of the kids doing it are morally bankrupt not just the one that played vids.   It’s prolly more on the parents though… a 12/13 year old really shouldn’t be making those decisions.  

Edited 5 hours ago by Caveira

[JimmyCinnabon]

Just now, Caveira said:

It’s morally bankrupt.   All of the kids doing it are morally bankrupt not just the one that played vids.   It’s prolly more in the parents though… a 12/13 year old really shouldn’t be making those decisions.  

I'd hate to see how you react to someone who did something actually bad. You have an impossible bar to clear my man if repeating the 8th grade is morally bankrupt. 

[Caveira]

2 minutes ago, JimmyCinnabon said:

I'd hate to see how you react to someone who did something actually bad. You have an impossible bar to clear my man if repeating the 8th grade is morally bankrupt. 

It’s not repeating 8th grade.  That is only true if they were academically deficient.   It’s skipping it to gain an advantage over the other kids.  
 

don’t be obtuse.  You know it’s skipping and not repeating.   Repeating is doing it twice.   Not do it one time and the other time playing video games.  

Edited 5 hours ago by Caveira