The NC State Wolfpack wrestling team opens its season today at 1 p.m. at Gardner-Webb on ESPN+. Here’s our in-depth season preview of the squad:

No. 4 NC State wrestling returns all 10 starters from a year ago, when it went undefeated in dual meets, won the ACC title and was ranked No. 3 nationally in the final coaches’ poll — but that doesn’t mean the team will have the same starting lineup in 2021.

A group of highly ranked freshmen have joined the squad and pushed several returners to give the Pack its deepest roster in ninth-year head coach Pat Popolizio’s tenure in Raleigh.

In the coronavirus world, where a positive test or even contact tracing can quickly change a lineup, the timing is perfect for that to be the case at NC State. However, the ACC is so tough now — it boasted a trio of top-10 teams last year — that any squad not at full strength will be severely handicapped in its title quest.

“The talent that is in this program right now is sky high,” Popolizio said. “In my time as a coach, this is by far the most talent we’ve ever had, from top to bottom.

“But I don’t think there’s been a week yet this year where all 10 guys have been practicing [due to COVID protocols]. It’s going to come down every week to, who’s in our lineup?”

When at full strength, the Wolfpack will be among the best teams in the country.

The team is headlined by a pair of brothers with national title dreams, not to mention the top-five preseason rankings 157-pound fifth-year senior Hayden Hidlay and 184-pound redshirt sophomore Trent Hidlay bring into the year. Trent will miss a handful of matches early in the season while recovering from a recent appendectomy, but the coach knows he’ll be back as quickly as possible.

The starting lineup is heavy on experience, with several of Hayden Hidlay’s recruiting classmates from the 2016 group that was ranked No. 1 nationally, including 141-pounder Tariq Wilson, a former third-place NCAA finisher; twins Thomas (165 pounds) and Daniel Bullard (174) — who earned second-team and honorable mention All-America honors, respectively, last year — and 197-pounder Nick Reenan.

“You take a No. 1 recruiting class and keep the majority of them together for five years, that’s really a coach’s dream,” Popolizio said. “They’ve been through everything. They’re ready to go to nationals and compete to win it. They’ve been through all those crazy dual meets, they’ve been through all those wild tournaments. They’ve traveled, faced adversity, seen excitement, been in crazy matches.

“Now, they’re like, ‘Let’s all go win an individual national title and try to win a national team title.’”

Those veterans are augmented by 125-pound redshirt sophomore Jakob Camacho, the defending conference champion and a second-team All-American himself in 2020; 133-pound redshirt sophomore Jarrett Trombley; junior heavyweight Deonte Wilson and freshman 149-pounder Ed Scott.

Plenty more are pushing for starting spots and have to be ready to step into the lineup in case teammates get caught in COVID protocols. 149-pound redshirt junior A.J. Leitten — last year’s starter at the weight — redshirt freshman heavyweight Owen Trephan, 133-pound freshman Ryan Jack and 197-pound rookie Isaac Trumble are just a few of the names pushing the current starters.

“I don’t think our plan was to be in position to have this much depth,” Popolizio admitted. “We were thinking these [freshmen] would come in here and redshirt … and then when the NCAA came out with this year not counting against their eligibility it added a crazy amount of depth for us, which I think every team in the country is going to need. I’m just glad we have it.

“If we need someone to step in, we’re going to be ready to go.”

After not being able to showcase one of the top rosters in the country at last year’s NCAA Championships, Popolizio’s Pack can’t wait to try and attain its national championship goals this time around.

“[The team’s mindset] is, ‘Let’s not take anything for granted, and let’s utilize the time that we have to train with each other. Any opportunity we have to compete, let’s make it something special,'" he explained.

“I think you can look across the lineup right now and there are multiple guys that are in position to compete for an individual national title.”

The coach's in-depth thoughts on all 10 weight classes are below:

After an up-and-down regular season last year, Jakob Camacho seemingly improved by the match. When the postseason rolled around, he not only won an ACC title by upsetting a former NCAA finalist, he was named the conference meet’s Most Outstanding Wrestler and would’ve been one of the most intriguing wrestlers to watch at the national championships if they had not been canceled.

The redshirt sophomore enters the year ranked as high as third nationally at his weight, and all seven major preseason ranks list him in the top nine.

“I think he's zoned in knowing he is one of the best guys in the country,” Popolizio said. “The sky’s the limit for him this year to compete to win a national title.”

Popolizio is the first to admit the Wolfpack “has a lot of options” at 133. Returning starter and redshirt sophomore Jarrett Trombley enters the year atop the depth chart, but plenty of others are competing for the spot, including freshman Ryan Jack, a consensus top-50 recruit nationally coming out of high school, and redshirt sophomore Alex Urquiza.

“Trombley right now is the guy, and I’ve seen tremendous focus from him,” the coach said. “I think that is because competition has been brought in, and it makes everyone better. He has responded and stepped up his game tremendously. I’m excited to see what he does this year.”

Trombley opens the year ranked among the national top 20 in six of the seven major preseason polls.

Although Jack has battled minor injuries and missed some time due to COVID quarantine this preseason, Popolizio said of the rookie: “I think he’s going to be something very special for NC State wrestling.”

This could be the team's deepest weight.

Popolizio thinks the shortened season sure to be full of coronavirus-related obstacles will benefit experienced veterans the most, and fifth-year senior Tariq Wilson fits that bill.

He has been through three seasons as a starter, and he’s also big for his weight class — meaning that only having to make weight for two months, as opposed to the normal grind of a five-month season, could also benefit the lanky Wilson.

“I think you saw glimpses of what he can do at Penn State [Dec. 22 in the freestyle match],” the coach noted. “Even though he’s not big into freestyle, there was a lot of offense out of him. Him clicking at the right time and wanting to do it is a very dangerous combo.

"We know when he sets his mind to it, he can make a run to win an NCAA title. For us to do what we want to do this year, we need him to keep that attitude and push himself.”

Wilson checks in between 9 and 14 in the seven major preseason polls and should contend for All-America honors once again.

A true sign of NC State’s incredible depth came in the team’s wrestleoffs at 149 pounds, where returning starter and redshirt junior A.J. Leitten placed third. True freshman Ed Scott won, while redshirt sophomore Matt Grippi placed second. Leitten is still appearing in preseason national rankings, an indication Scott will be capable of making noise right off the bat.

“I love what I see out of Ed Scott,” Popolizio said. “The plan wasn’t for him to be at 149 this year, but when the NCAA gave us this year [not counting against eligibility] we looked at each other and agreed this was the best thing for him.

“He’s put himself in position to compete right away and help our team get better. … Those guys are now helping each other, and we’ve got a hungry true freshman that if he believes in himself, there’s no reason why he can’t produce right away.”

According to the websites that rank wrestling recruits, he was the crown jewel of another excellent freshman class, checking in among the top 40 per all three major outlets and ranked as high as 19th overall regardless of weight.

Fifth-year senior Hayden Hidlay is attempting to become the Wolfpack’s first-ever four-time All-American. At a program with such a storied history, including eight individual NCAA champions, there aren't many firsts left to accomplish.

Hidlay made the NCAA finals as a redshirt freshman, then took fourth the following year, before earning the No. 2 seed prior to last season’s cancellation. He’s the reigning ACC Wrestler of the Year, has never lost to a conference foe and is 50-0 in bonus point matches during his career.

“He’s like having a coach on your team,” Popolizio said. “He’s good enough right now to be a full-time coach for a college program without any coaching experience. The guy is bred to lead and motivate guys. You can’t ask for anything more from him as a role model and citizen.

“If you were like, ‘What’s the perfect athlete and leader?’ This guy’s it. He’s special. We don’t take that for granted and use his knowledge and let him do what he’s great at — and that’s competing and leading.”

Another lineup mainstay going into his fourth year as a starter is fifth-year senior Thomas Bullard at 165. It’s always hard to separate Thomas from identical twin Daniel, the returning starter at 174 pounds, but Popolizio sees the confidence of both at an all-time high.

“They’ve put their time in, they do everything they need to do, and it comes down to them continuing to believe and grow,” he said. “Those guys have had a huge impact on our program’s success. They’ve been here for five years, training hard consistently, they’re hard-nosed and wrestling means a lot to them, so I think you’re going to see some good things for both those guys this year.”

Thomas is ranked between sixth and eighth nationally in the preseason polls, while Daniel is 10th or 11th in all seven rankings.

It’s always hard to keep in mind that despite how good of a debut Trent Hidlay had — he earned the No. 5 seed for NCAAs and went 23-4 — that was his first year in the lineup. The old cliché is the biggest jump for an athlete happens from year one of college to two, and that is certainly the case for Hidlay.

He was able to show it on the mat this offseason when competing in freestyle events. He placed third at October’s U.S. Senior Nationals (which features mostly post-college wrestlers) with a win over a former national champion and gave his bracket’s champion, former two-time NCAA champ Gabe Dean, his toughest match in a 2-1 loss.

He followed that up by being the only athlete to go 5-0 at the RTC Cup in December (which, again, featured many graduated athletes). His wins there included one over an NCAA champion and another against the fifth-place finisher from the 2019 World Championships.

“He’s improved tremendously since March,” Popolizio said. “It needs to be said because kids don’t realize that — they start winning more and think they’re just wrestling better. But they develop a lot over that first season; they gain that valuable experience going into deep water in matches.

“His confidence has sky rocketed. He’s one of the toughest kids you can come across, and he loves to compete. There’s nothing you can do to him to rattle him. It’s fun to watch him raise the roof as they say.”

While Hidlay recovers from his appendectomy, junior Jacob Ferreira is expected to step into the lineup after competing at three different weights last year (174, 184, 197).

“I think you’re going to see some good stuff out of him, too,” Popolizio said. “He’s pretty hard-nosed, pretty tough and he’s going to be a great asset for us right now. He adds a ton of value to our program and will fill in while Trent gets healthy.”

This is probably the biggest question mark on the roster right now. Fifth-year senior Nick Reenan was a blue-chip recruit and won the U.S. World Team Trials Challenge Tournament back in 2018, but tore his ACL during the ensuing college season. He finished the season despite the injury, had surgery in the offseason and returned to wrestle in 10 matches before being shut down early last year.

Junior Tyrie Houghton stepped in to place fourth at ACCs after Reenan went out, and freshman Isaac Trumble is another consensus top-60 recruit being thrown into the mix.

“I wish we had a crystal ball to tell you what will happen here,” Popolizio said. “I wish we had a long season to figure this out, but we don’t.

“I think Nick Reenan, on any given day, is good enough to win an NCAA title. But we’ve had a lot of setbacks physically, which have affected him mentally. He is turning the corner, but I’d like to see him believe in himself and know that he’s one of the best guys in the country.

“On paper, you can say Tyrie is our returning starter. He’s hard-working and getting better. His effort is always there, and we brought in Isaac Trumble. He’s a wild card this year and is going to be very difficult to wrestle with his height and style of wrestling. The kid is like 6-4, has a good gas tank.

“The hardest part for us will be figuring out who the guy is going to be. That’s going to be tough on me as a coach, trying to figure that out and being fair to everyone to do what’s best for NC State wrestling. … It’s such a short year if somebody knocks off one or two good guys — and luckily in our conference there are some good guys — it will be hard to take them out of the lineup. We’ve got to give all those guys a fair shot to compete. I like the fact that we have some really good options.”

Perhaps the most competitive match during NC State’s wrestleoffs came between returning heavyweight starter Deonte Wilson, a junior, and redshirt freshman Owen Trephan. It went to several overtimes before Wilson prevailed.

Wilson was the ACC runner-up last year and has the early edge, but the former top-100 recruit Trephan is right on his heels. Again, NC State should benefit from the competition.

“I love where Deonte Wilson is at,” Popolizio said. “I think he’s improved as much as anybody on our team. … I love the improvements he’s made, I love the work ethic, I love his toughness. Given his background, he’s had to work for everything he’s got, and when you watch him compete he’s got a chip on his shoulder.

“I expect really big things from him this year. When you have a guy his size that doesn’t get tired and moves the way he moves, he’s dangerous. Those guys are both good options for us, but Deonte has the experience right now.”

Wilson is ranked between 15th and 19th nationally in six of the seven preseason polls.

——

• Talk about it inside The Wolves' Den

• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolfpacker

• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolfpacker

• Like us on Facebook