In a surprising move, Nebraska’s Lenny Pinto entered the transfer portal yesterday.
A three-time NCAA Qualifier for the Huskers, Pinto will be a senior next season and has one year of eligibility remaining.
Pinto twice made it to the Round of 12 at NCAAs — the blood round — where a win gets you All-American status and a loss sends you home. Both times he dropped tough matches.
An offensive dynamo, Pinto will leave Lincoln with a 71-24 record while wrestling at 184 and 174 with career wins over Dustin Plott of Oklahoma State (NCAA finalist), Bernie Truax of Penn State (4x All-American), and All-Americans Bennett Berge (SDSU), Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) and Patrick Kennedy (Iowa).
I’ve heard speculation that he’s going to Rutgers to be closer to home (Pennsylvania) and reunite with former teammate Mikey Labriola — an assistant coach for the Scarlet Knights. But until something is announced, that’s exactly what it is — speculation.
Regardless, I wish Pinto the best and I hope he finds the situation he’s looking for.
What Does It Mean?
I don’t care what program you are, losing a guy like Lenny Pinto from your team isn’t easy — it stings. However, this Husker roster is built to withstand something like this happening.
After moving everyone from Antrell Taylor to Silas Allred down a weight this season, Pinto dropped from 184 pounds to 174. He had arguably his best year this season, but it’s unclear how sustainable those weight class moves will be going forward.
Nebraska has a lot of flexibility in its upper weights from 174 to 197 — a lot of it will depend on how the transfer portal plays out. Nebraska has hosted some really good guys (mostly at 149) but hasn’t received a commitment from anyone as of yet.
Husker freshman All-American Christopher Minto had a hard time making 165 pounds at times this season after redshirting at 174 the year before — I foresee him moving up to 174 in the future…just maybe not this next season. Unless Nebraska grabs a 165-pounder out of the portal, there’s not a viable option at the weight if Minto isn’t there.
Yes, the loss of Pinto opens up the 174-pound spot. And yes, Minto could move up and compete for that spot — he’s an All-American.
However, Nebraska has a hammer coming off redshirt in LJ Araujo. A five-time North Dakota State Champion, Araujo is also a U20 World Bronze Medalist while wrestling for Brazil this past summer.
Pinto once described Araujo as “a 174-pound Brock Hardy” so that should give you an idea of his skillset — he’s really good on top with not only riding but turns and pins as well.
While redshirting this past year, Araujo lost three of his first four matches. He went on to win his final nine matches of the season — two by pinfall, two by technical fall, three by major decision.
I can remember Araujo committing to Nebraska just a couple days before Super 32 (the toughest high school tournament of the year), and I didn’t know who he was. I watched that tournament and was blown away by his top game as he won a 165-pound title. From that day on, he’s been one of the young prospects that I’ve viewed as a future difference-maker for the Huskers.
Check out that match here at the 1:32:23 mark.
With Pinto moving on, it’s unclear what will happen at 184 and 197. Freshman All-American Camden McDanel has a redshirt available still, and I think Nebraska was looking to use it this next season to let Silas Allred move back up to 197 for his senior season.
That scenario was contingent on Pinto moving back up to 184 though, so with Pinto out of the picture, Allred may need to stay down at 184. Other options would be moving Araujo up to 184, but I don’t think that’s a good idea despite him having the length to possibly make the move up. Incoming freshman Ty Eise is an elite prospect and projects at 184 pounds, so he could be an option as well if Allred does indeed move back to 197.