He’s got a broad back. A twitch so quick that he can drop to his knees – and rise from them, almost as fast as the eye can track it. He is almost impossible to take down because of these two attributes. The fortunate wrestler that even makes a successful shot on Nebraska’s Jordan Burroughs has little chance of actually completing it for two points.

And yet it’s not Burroughs’ athleticism and speed that’s most impressive about his current undefeated season, which included his second straight Big 12 Championship in NU Coliseum.

It’s the look the 157-pounder has just before the match begins. The presence. The swagger. The way he steps back from his foe, adjusts his headgear, and then stones the guy with a double leg shot so quick it looks like a form tackle in football. There isn’t anything odd or unmistakable about it, either. It’s a guy who knows he owns the mat, and the competitor placed on it with him.

Burroughs didn’t always have it. Used to be a puppy, as NU coach Mark Manning says it. But now, that dog’s got bite and glare.

“He’s like Tom Brady walking on to the field,” Manning said.
Manning is just as quick to point out the undefeated Burroughs hasn’t won anything yet. The expected Big 12 title, which came when Burroughs beat Missouri’s Michael Chandler in the finals Saturday night, is one thing.

“I was Big 12 champion last year, too,” he said.

But he has to finish with a run through the NCAA Championships. And no Husker has ever been an undefeated national champion. NU’s Bryan Snyder, also a 157-pounder, came closest, going undefeated two straight years in 2001 and 2002 only to lose twice in the NCAA finals in overtime. Snyder’s last lost came down to nothing more than an escape.

Sometimes he drops by Nebraska’s wrestling room. He’s NU’s only four-time All-American.

“I give him his due for that,” Burroughs said.

In two weeks, Snyder might have to return the favor.

Burroughs throttled his first competition Saturday in the same fashion he has all year, beating Neil Erisman, the nation’s No. 10 wrestler, 16-6. Burroughs let Erisman tire himself out over the first two periods before drilling him with takedowns in the third. He can afford to, at this point, because opponents are so wary of his quickness that they spend much of the match just trying to fend off his shots and keep the contest close.

But then he had to fight against Chandler. Brady faced his New York Giants, so to speak. Chandler got the first takedown of the match, then rode Burroughs for a full 90 seconds.

“I can’t even remember the last time that happened,” Burroughs said. “A couple bad things flashed through my head.”

Chandler, with his small, squat body, often fell into a three-point stance – he looked like some eight-man football fullback – that made him hard to take down. Burroughs had slip and move and feint, but he got three takedowns – two of them right at the end of the first and second periods. When it mattered, he converted.

Now he goes to nationals with a 30-0 mark and No. 3 ranking. Third, you say? Yep. Gregor Gillespie of Edinboro and Mike Poeta of Illinois, both undefeated, are ranked ahead of Burroughs. Gillespie won the 149 national title in 2007. Poeta got the finals last year before losing to Cornell’s Jordan Leen – whom Burroughs has already beaten this year.

Based on competition alone, Burroughs, who has beaten seven of the nation’s current top ten wrestlers, should get the first seed. Even then, he’ll face a brutal draw. NCAA champions. Tough defensive guys. Probably Chandler again.

But after finishing third at 149 last year – Burroughs lost to Brent Metcalf, who’s poised to repeat this year, a guy Burroughs would like to wrestle again in an all-star match of some kind next year – there isn’t a whole lot more for him to do. Except win it all. Which means not losing for a whole season.

Point blank: It’s hard to do.

“Anything less than first would be a disappointment,” Burroughs said.

If he achieves it, and becomes the first Husker in history to do so, you’d really have ask yourself: Has any Husker athlete had a better season in 2008-09 than Burroughs? Maybe NU football player Ndamukong Suh. And that’s it.

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