When you think about the Southern Scuffle, you always think about high end talent from some of the nation's best teams. But one of my absolute favorite parts of this tournament is the number of elite redshirts we get to watch compete. This year's field may boast the most talented group of Redshirts yet. This list doesn't include the Kaid Brock's and Pat Lugo's whose shirts have already been pulled. These are the True Freshman whose Redshirts are still intact.

We all watched in amazement as Jason Nolf blazed through this tournament only to fall to James Green in the finals. Nolf took out Tommy Gantt and NCAA Finalist Brian Realbuto as a True Freshman at the Southern Scuffle.

This is not a completely extensive list of every redshirt in attendance, rather a select few guys who were blue chip recruits a few months ago and now put their development on full display for all to see. Seeing the improvements from these talents in such a small amount of time is always amazing. It's a credit to the coaching staffs and just how tough these D1 rooms are.

125 - Austin Assad - Michigan
Assad is a 2-time Fargo champ and is yet to taste defeat in either tournament he's entered having claimed titles at the MSU Open and the Cleveland State Open. He hasn't faced elite competition yet, but he will here.

Watch Assad's Fargo win over Kaden Gfeller below:


141 - Jared Prince - Navy
Prince has beaten Todd Preston, Rick Durso, Gary Dinmore and Mark Grey already. Many redshirts don't have one win on that level, yet Prince has 3 legit wins in the first couple months of his career. Prince looks to be an emerging star for the Naval Academy. He'll be more than challenged this weekend at the Scuffle.

141 - Sam Krivus - Virginia
This will be the 5th tournament Krivus entered this year. That's a lot of wrestling for a True Freshman year. He hasn't seen the success you may have expected considering his resume coming out of high school. I think his style didn't necessarily translate as seamlessly as others coming out, so there will be a learning curve for Krivus.

149 - Fredy Stroker - Minnesota
Stroker has seen action at a few tournaments this year and has taken losses to only Michael Kemerer and Justin Arthur. He had an impressive 8-1 win over NDSU's Mitch Bengtson. Stroker's neutral game will present a lot of problems to just about anyone in this 149 field. Even this year at Junior World Team Trials we saw him get to legs and score on Zain Retherford. He's not ready to tangle with a Zain yet in Folkstyle. However, I think we'll see him knock off some tough dudes this weekend.

157 - Larry Early III - Minnesota
We've seen LE3 take out Jo Jo in all 3 styles, but since then the story has been all Jo Jo on the D1 scene. That's not to say Larry is struggling in college. On the contrary, he's only fallen to Renaldo Rodriguez and teammate Brandon Kingsley this year.

Watch LE3 take out Jo Jo at last year's Who's #1:


157 - Vincenzo Joseph - PSU
Cenzo could be the guy I'm most excited to get a look at this year. Many of these guys we have an approximate idea where they stack up. Vincenzo has wrestled a very limited schedule as of right now. While his results were dominant, he hasn't faced any elite competition yet. I think Vincenzo is a mega-talent and could make a very deep run in this Scuffle bracket. His physicality always impressed me, but more than that his ability to get to legs against just about anyone sets him apart. I'm curious to see his development after his first few months in the PSU room.

Here's Vincenzo's win over Stroker at Who's #1:


157 - Joe Smith - Oklahoma State
Undoubtedly the most widely discussed Redshirt this year, Jo Jo Smith has already lived up to and surpassed the hype.  With wins over #8 Luke Smith, Joey LaVallee and Dylan Cottrell, thereÂ's no question Joe Smith can roll with just about anyone at 157.  Adding to the allure of JoeÂ's season is the looming potential for his redshirt to be pulled at any moment.  Much speculation has lead people to believe that his Southern Scuffle performance could determine which direction Coach John Smith goes. 

165 - Logan Massa - Michigan
So maybe I lied, Logan Massa is the guy IÂ'm most excited to watch.  This guy just took fourth at SENIOR Nationals.  It didnÂ't just fall in his lap either.  He beat Mike Moreno, Nestor Taffur and Kevin Levalley.  His two losses were a 6-5 defeat at the hands of Adam Hall and a 4-1 loss to Nick Marable.  Logan is far ahead of his time.   In his two D1 tournaments heÂ's 10-0 with 9 wins by bonus.  His lone decision was a 14-9 win against Forrest Przybysz (who just took out a very tough Jake Faust).  HeÂ's not ready for Dieringer yet, but anyone else in this field is fair game, I promise.

Here's Logan's Win Against Nestor Taffur last week at Senior Nationals:


184 - Bobby Steveson - Minnesota In BobbyÂ's five matches against d1 competition heÂ's faced Cody Krumweide in three of them.  So thatÂ's weird.  But heÂ's 2-1 against Cody and has been solid otherwise. IÂ'm curious to see how he looks down at 184.  I think this weight is a better fit for his body type.  His power and pace could make him a very tough out.  ItÂ's tough to know where exactly he fits in this mix with such a limited D1 sample size.