Nick Knustek

[Justafan]

His aspirations are way higher than Lehigh athletically. Whether those aspirations will be realized is yet to be determined. He is considered to be a bit short to play DL at the highest levels. Football is his dream though.

I also have no idea if Lehigh is an academic fit. There are a lot of variables.

[mookie]

At best he'd be a preferred walk-on for Division 1 football. He's a much better wrestling prospect.

[Oracle]

They all want to play in the NFL.

[HFO]

The Nazareth wrestler (Kinney) I'm told wants to do both football and wrestling with football being the primary sport.

We've tried that before.

So because we don’t have a football team he’s going somewhere else?

He's already talking with Penn State and Iowa and not for DL, but likely OG or Center. Wrestling will fund his scholarship. Preferred walk-on status as freshman and redshirt wrestling his freshman year. Will give coaches opportunity to evaluate where he is for football. He will have other offers primarily Army, Navy, Air Force who do allow multiple sport just be requesting it for any appointee.

I am leaning he is going to Iowa despite the depth there at heavyweight.

[lu_alum]

The Nazareth wrestler (Kinney) I'm told wants to do both football and wrestling with football being the primary sport.

We've tried that before.

So because we don’t have a football team he’s going somewhere else?

He's already talking with Penn State and Iowa and not for DL, but likely OG or Center. Wrestling will fund his scholarship. Preferred walk-on status as freshman and redshirt wrestling his freshman year. Will give coaches opportunity to evaluate where he is for football. He will have other offers primarily Army, Navy, Air Force who do allow multiple sport just be requesting it for any appointee.

I am leaning he is going to Iowa despite the depth there at heavyweight.

My understanding is that football must fund the scholarship if an athlete plays another sport.

[legger]

**** How tall is he and what is his walking around weight. If he is seriously thinking about the NFL especially as a Def or Off Line player he better be at least 6 foot height wise. From the video I have seen, where he is wrestling 152 or thereabouts, which means he probably walks around about 175-80. He is solidly built and fairly well muscled, but to have any chance at the NFL, he would have to put on 40-50 lbs at least, but would be better suited for a Linebacker rather than a Line position. Well we can all dream.

[Richb-3]

**** How tall is he and what is his walking around weight. If he is seriously thinking about the NFL especially as a Def or Off Line player he better be at least 6 foot height wise. From the video I have seen, where he is wrestling 152 or thereabouts, which means he probably walks around about 175-80. He is solidly built and fairly well muscled, but to have any chance at the NFL, he would have to put on 40-50 lbs at least, but would be better suited for a Linebacker rather than a Line position. Well we can all dream.

The conversation got switched to Kinney, Nazareth's HWT/football player

[lu90]

**** How tall is he and what is his walking around weight. If he is seriously thinking about the NFL especially as a Def or Off Line player he better be at least 6 foot height wise. From the video I have seen, where he is wrestling 152 or thereabouts, which means he probably walks around about 175-80. He is solidly built and fairly well muscled, but to have any chance at the NFL, he would have to put on 40-50 lbs at least, but would be better suited for a Linebacker rather than a Line position. Well we can all dream.

The conversation got switched to Kinney, Nazareth's HWT/football player

For now....

[HFO]

So because we don’t have a football team he’s going somewhere else?

He's already talking with Penn State and Iowa and not for DL, but likely OG or Center. Wrestling will fund his scholarship. Preferred walk-on status as freshman and redshirt wrestling his freshman year. Will give coaches opportunity to evaluate where he is for football. He will have other offers primarily Army, Navy, Air Force who do allow multiple sport just be requesting it for any appointee.

I am leaning he is going to Iowa despite the depth there at heavyweight.

My understanding is that football must fund the scholarship if an athlete plays another sport.

I believe it has changed, but not sure. Ben Kueter at Iowa is on redshirt. Can even take an Olympic redshirt too. He is primary football, but obviously will wrestle as soon as Brands can get a hold of him. Iowa has something like 5 football players who were State Champion. Ferentz loves those types of guys.

Sean is listed at 6'3" 290. He is more like 6'1" 275. He made visits to Army and Penn State. Football is his #1 just like Kueter. Wrestling is what many big guys do to keep active in winter. It doesn't pay the bills. Nazareth is still active in D11 Playoffs so Kinney has not been able to do other visits. I suspect once Nazareth is out whether to Parkland or down the road to St. Joseph's Prep, he will do his remaining visits. I suspect he will decide very quickly if he gets a deal from either Penn State or Iowa.

Obviously, he meets Academy minimum standard of 1050 SAT and is a good student. Kolat is big on him as is Ward at Army so. Kinney does have Lehigh on his football list. If not Iowa or Penn State, I lean it will Annapolis which has a good tradition with heavyweights. It would be nice if Kerry, Zach and Jordan can convince him to stay local. He seems however ready to go out and see something else.

[HFO]

If Kunstek decommits from Ohio State to Lehigh, then it will get hot again.

Kinney may have a shot at Iowa. Looks like Cassioppi is out with the gambling thing. Ben Kueter has been already practicing with the wrestling team. Doing doubles of football and wrestling practice. So if no redshirt this year, then next year has option of redshirt wrestling and play football. Will be interesting to see if he enters US Open or Olympic Trials.

For Kinney to make 285, he would likely play Center as Big 10 guards now all run about 325llbs +. A 40lb drop for wrestling not likely to happen. If he is a 305 lb center and develops the technical skills, shedding 20lbs and gaining 20lbs is a now issue.

With Kueter/Kinney duo. Kueter on football scholarship. Kinney on a wrestling scholarship. It is doable. The same is true for Penn State. Kinney on wrestling scholarship and walk-on for football. Cael then recruits an elite backup. So it will be interesting to see who wins out, Penn State, Iowa, or an Academy. Lehigh football/wrestling an outside shot.

2024 Kueter
2025 Kinney, Kueter redshirt
2026 Kueter, Kinney redshirt
2027 Kueter
2028 Kinney or Both Kinney/Kueter take Olympic redshirt
2029 Kueter or NFL
2030 Kinney


https://www.hawkcentral.com/story/sport ... 850841007/

https://theathletic.com/4641567/2023/06 ... pics-2028/

https://www.maxpreps.com/pa/nazareth/na ... 9sr6srtcbb

Kinney can play. He moves well. Not overly fast. There is a lot to work with. Unlike the 5 star recruits, he neither has the speed or the physical strength yet. If you ever seen Sean, he is still a boy-man. Has the "baby fat". Has not developed full adult male muscularity. He is nimble on his feet and has good hand fighting. 5 years on a Big 10 campus weightroom and he will be formidable.

Guys like him are why many colleges miss on players. Some young men have been maturing post puberty from age 11, while others do not go into full testosterone production until late teens and have growth/strength burst while in college. We see it in wrestling where some guys in high school are just physically overpowering because where they are at in physical maturation post puberty. Then they lose that edge in college and become solid to average wrestlers.

For a kid from Nazareth, Iowa would be a good home for him. Iowa City big enough, but not so big. The atmosphere of both football and wrestling is huge there. Been fortunate to have been there a few times. It is a place where he develop his own identity whether football or wrestling. For a multi-time PA wrestling state champion, if he stays in state, that is a lot of pressure to perform.

Garth Lakitsky of Tamaqua was last one to give the Penn State duo a real shot. Never got above 3rd string at LB. Don't think he ever wrestled for Penn State. Finished off college at Kutztown. 3x State Champion Darling of Nazareth also felt the pressure of going to Penn State and performing and also ended up at Kutztown. There have been others.

Finding the right institution for the student is huge. Especially the freshman year experience. If it does not go well, you will lose them. So any of these elites the coaches have to provide resources and set expectations. Kinney really wants a shot at Big 10 football, so walk-on will get him there. Brands really wants wrestlers so he might have the money. Managed well over 6 years, there is a way to have insurance of an elite backup and still wrestler these guys in alternate years with redshirts and Olympic years.

It will be interesting.