After David Taylor Blow, Penn State’s Jason Nolf’s Next Move Hints at Exit From Wrestling

Before stepping into the fresh wrestling season, Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson might find several of his pupils on the brink of leaving the wrestling sport. Previously, reigning Olympic champion David Taylor left the camp to accept the coaching role in the rival, Oklahoma State Wrestling. Now, it is time for another champion to change the color and it is Jason Nolf. 

As per the latest on X, the 74 kg weight-class phenom is looking for a debut in professional grappling. So while shifting to a new sport, Jason Nolf will face Andrew Simmons, the British professional wrestler, in the first round. It will happen on June 9, weeks before the Paris Olympics. Furthermore, after a memorable showdown at Penn State, such a decision may bring out several questions, especially when he defeated a legend in the US Olympic wrestling trials at Penn State a few months ago. 

While keeping his best punch forward, in the US Olympic wrestling trials, Jason Nolf defeated Jordan Burroughs, the 2012 Olympics champion, on April 19. The 70 kg fight for the Olympic berth ultimately became a revenge game as in the past, Jordan had gone behind Carter Starocci, the Penn State phenom, willingly. So watching Jordan face a loss in the Olympic trial from a Penn State wrestler became a sweet affair for the fans. However, in the final round, heartbreak was waiting for Jason Nolf. 

In the 70 kg weight class final, the 28-year-old faced his colleague at Penn State, Kyle Dake. Jason Nolf ultimately fell short of overpowering the 33-year-old veteran as Dake grabbed his Paris Olympics, defeating Jason Nolf in the best of three finals. Failing to earn the Paris Olympics ticket may have influenced Jason Nolf’s decision.

However, with the latest announcement, wrestling fans may count it as the end of one special move that has been introduced and sharpened by Jason Nolf on the wrestling mat. 

With Penn State legend’s exit chance, his introduced move is in crisis 

Among his many achievements on the wrestling mat, Jason Nolf holds the crown for introducing a special wrestling move that has earned a lot of respect from wrestling enthusiasts. Ultimately, the move was featured in Ryan Holmes’ all-time greats’ list regarding the NCAA wrestling. It is called Winn-Dixie. 

As per the fans and the wrestlers, the move resembles the emphatic sankaku technique in the turtle position, commonly found in judo. Jason Nolf perfected this technique during his time at Penn State wrestling camp. Over the years, he taught the technique to many wrestling aspirants. Some of them later earned laurels while inflicting the move on their opponents. One such wrestler is Gage Wright. 

The wrestler inflicted the Winn Dixie move on Colin Kelly in the 2023 Ironman Wrestling final in the 175 lbs category. However, Kelly found no answer to such a move as he lost the bout against Wright. Eventually, after bagging the title, Gage Wright claimed that he had learned the technique from Jason Nolf, calling him the ‘grandfather’. However, now, Nolf’s hint to exit from the wrestling sport might end the display of Winn Dixie on the mat.