Berger Here to Push, Be Pushed

When Tyler Berger says Isaiah White is a “freak,” he means so in the most positive, endearing way.

A “freak” in wrestling, at the every least, indicates somebody who is physically gifted and strong enough to dominate his opponent on the mat. Somebody not afraid to be assertive and take command.

Berger, a fifth-year senior on the Nebraska wrestling team, saw something else in White that bothered him, though. Mentally, White wasn’t on top of his game. His mindset needed work.

After White, a Nebraska junior, had lost a match at the Northeast Duals earlier this season, Berger remembered White being very upset.

White wasn’t alone.

“I went up to him after the match and I got in his face a little bit,” Berger said, “and I said, ‘This is not acceptable.’ We kind of talked about it later, next week in the locker room, and he told me it wouldn’t happen again.”

If this sounds like something from the Jason Peter and Grant Wistrom football era, well, that’s probably the biggest compliment you could give Berger.

“This is definitely my team,” Berger said. “I take control over it.”

Fast forward a few weeks later, to the Cliff Kleen Invitational in Las Vegas. White won all five of his matches – three over ranked foes – en route to the 165-pound title. He earned Big Ten Wrester of the Week honors.

Berger couldn’t have been happier for White. And if you’re a member of the Nebraska wrestling team, you couldn’t be happier than to have somebody like Berger on your side.

“He’s just grown into a great leader,” Nebraska coach Mark Manning said. “He’s really developed himself and he’s always been very talented, but more than that he’s developed the mental side of himself, and that’s what I’m really proud of. He’s really matured as a young man the last couple of years.”

Not only has Berger taken charge of his role as team leader, he also continues to excel himself on the mat. Entering No. 11 Nebraska’s Saturday night dual at No. 12 North Carolina, the 157-pounder needs one win for career victory No. 100.

Berger, a two-time All-American, hadn’t contemplated winning 100 matches when he arrived on campus. A native of Prineville, Oregon, he was simply trying to navigate his way through the rugged Big Ten.

“Now that it’s close, it’s exciting,” Berger said. “Now I can look back on the 99 wins and how far I’ve come since I was a freshman and what it took to get to the point where I am now.”

Berger will tell you he’s grown more as a man than as a wrestler, that he’s a completely different person now than he was when he joined Manning’s program. He actually puts more emphasis on that than he does the wrestling.

“Spiritually, I’m in a lot more mature place than I was when I walked in,” Berger said. “Wrestling forms us in a lot of areas, but having Coach Manning and Coach (Bryan) Snyder and Jordan (Burroughs) and James (Green) … I’ve just learned how to be mentally tougher. Not just in wrestling; I’ve learned how to make sacrifices in ways in areas I didn’t want to make sacrifices in.”

You can add Nebraska volunteer assistant Eric Montoya to that list of mentors. Berger’s former Husker teammate changed the way he viewed wrestling and helped him develop a killer’s instinct on the mat.

“Seeing the way he prepared, he just had a hunger for wrestling that I hadn’t seen before, and passion and love and fight for the sport, more than anything I’ve ever seen in my life,” Berger said. “Dude is an absolute fighter in every sense of the word.”

Berger also sees the potential in Nebraska's team, and how good it can be, despite the fact 23 of its 35 wrestlers are freshmen or sophomores. Berger is here to build them up, but he’s not going to be nice about it; what he says sometimes, he admits, teammates may not want to hear, but need to hear.

“I’m not here to be liked,” Berger said. “I’m here to push us to the greatest we can be. Ultimately, I want them to know it’s out of love.”

Berger came halfway across the country to wrestle because he wanted to be pushed himself every match, week-in and week-out, and not just in the postseason. He knew he could find that in the Big Ten Conference.

Even in facing ACC competition this weekend, Berger has a chance to avenge his only loss from last year’s NCAA Tournament, when he faces North Carolina State’s Hayden Hidlay on Sunday.

“If you do shy away from those matches,” Berger said, “it’s like, ‘What are you doing at this level?’ I love the sport of wrestling. I want to wrestle guys who are going to push me.”

Berger’s ultimate goal is to win a national championship. In addition to Hidlay, Penn State’s Jason Nolf, the defending champion, stands in his way.

“Jason is standing in way of his goal,” Manning said, “but I’ve been telling Tyler that Tyler is really standing in the way. Don’t let yourself stand in the way of your goals. I think Tyler has the ability and the characteristics to be the national champion of that weight class.”

Reach Brian at brosenthal@huskers.com or follow him on Twitter @GBRosenthal.