Penn State’s lineup picture may be getting a shakeup, and Mitchell Mesenbrink is the name at the center of it.
FloWrestling has Mesenbrink ranked No. 1 pound-for-pound in the country, which hardly comes as a surprise. He’s coming off two straight national championships, owns the reigning Dan Hodge Trophy, and is 89-1 in his college career. The wrinkle is that Flo has him slotted at 174 pounds, not 165, where all of that success has come.
That ranking hints at a possible shift for Penn State this season. If Mesenbrink does move up to 174, Tyler Kasak would likely slide to 157 after his redshirt season, while PJ Duke would move into 165.
Flo’s rankings point in that direction, with Duke at No. 1 at 165 after taking third at 157 as a true freshman last year. Kasak, meanwhile, is ranked No. 2 at 157 behind Oklahoma State’s defending national champion Landon Robideau.
Kasak last competed fully in the 2024-25 season, when he entered the NCAA Championships as the No. 1 seed at 157 and finished third.
If that’s how it plays out, Penn State would be stacking three elite weights in a way that’s hard to ignore. Between Kasak, Duke and Mesenbrink, the group has six top-three finishes, two national titles and a Hodge Trophy.
There is still one more possibility to watch: Levi Haines back at 174 for Penn State. Haines would have to get a temporary restraining order against the NCAA for that to happen, but it’s something to keep in mind.
However it shakes out, Penn State remains the overwhelming favorite to win its 14th national title in 16 years.
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Penn State Just Reignited Its Most Divisive Football Legacy Debate
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The exhibits framing is what makes it impossible to ignore, especially for a fan base that has spent years wrestling with how to remember that era. It does not mention the child sexual abuse charges against former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky or Paternos handling of the situation, and that choice is already shaping the conversation around the museum addition. Penn State coach Matt Campbell noted the importance of the programs history, but the question of how much of that history should be celebrated, and how much should be confronted, remains very much alive. [Read more 🡒]