Six weeks ago, Husker Wrestling head coach Mark Manning announced that long-time assistant Tony Ersland was leaving the program to become Purdue wrestling’s head man.
Fast forward to now and the big news is that former Husker Jordan Burroughs will be joining Manning’s staff as an official assistant coach.
Using a football analogy, this would be akin to Ndamukong Suh joining the Husker football coaching staff. One of, if not the best, at their given sports in the history of the university aiding the current staff in the prime of their careers.
He has a somewhat impressive resume being a two-time NCAA Champion, Olympic Gold Medalist, two-time World Champion and Pan American Games Champion.
Burroughs had spent the better part of his career in Lincoln after graduation, training as part of the Nebraska Wrestling Training Center,’a USA Wrestling sanctioned Regional Training Center.
This meant that not only was he was inside of Nebraska’s wrestling room often as part of training, but he also spent time participating in clinics around the country and training with USA Wrestling.
Perhaps the biggest advantage in hiring Burroughs is that he will now be able to officially recruit alongside Manning and assistant Bryan Snyder.
Can you imagine being a young high school wrestler, having your hero walk into your home and say, “I want you to come work out with me every day for the rest of your career.”?
There’s also the advantage of Burroughs training with current and future grapplers every day at the Hendricks Center on campus during practice.
In a prepared statement coach Mark Manning said:
"“We are pleased to announce Jordan as one of my top assistants. Jordan is one of the best wrestlers in the world and his accomplishments speak for themselves. We want him to continue to win World and Olympic titles until he completes his career.Jordan and his wife Lauren have made a commitment to be a part of Nebraska Athletics for a very long time. I along with the wrestlers and staff are glad to have the influence, mentorship and knowledge that Jordan brings to Nebraska wrestling.He has been a part of Nebraska wrestling for the last eight years and will continue to be a tremendous ambassador for the University of Nebraska.”"
This is an exciting time for a program on the rise in the Big Ten. With a favorable upcoming schedule and the No. 6 recruiting class in the nation last cycle according to Intermat, Burroughs only helps fuel the fire for Husker Wrestling’s future.
Perhaps taking in matches that feature teams from arguably the best wrestling conference will become the newest Husker sports sensation.
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