The Wisconsin wrestling team will welcome five promising redshirt freshmen to the competitive mat this year, all of whom could make a major impact for the Badgers this season.

Trey Bertram, Jimmy Duffy, Tyler Graff, Brad Nardick and Cole Schmitt helped comprise the 08-09 recruiting class, which was ranked No. 2 in the nation by InterMat and will fight for starting positions in the team’s lineup this Thursday in its annual Intra-Squad Scrimmage at the Field House.

The five young wrestlers will help fill the void left by Dallas Herbst, Kyle Massey, and Zach Tanelli, three All-Americans from last year’s squad that were lost to graduation.

Anchoring the bright group of redshirts is Graff, who is one of four Badgers individually ranked nationally in their respective weight classes. He enters his collegiate career ranked No. 10 in the 133 lbs. class. Graff has already claimed the starting role and will be prepared to compete against some of the toughest competition anyone on the team will face this season, as he is slated to face four of the top five ranked wrestlers — including the defending national champion — in the 133 lbs. weight class.

Bertram, a Minnesota state wrestling champion and four-time all-state honoree, will clash with Schmitt, who compiled a 173-7 record in high school, for the starting spot at 141 lbs. — the position formerly held by Tanelli.

Nardick, who trained at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs in 2007, will contend with three other teammates for starting 157 lbs. position while Duffy will be expected to push the performance of true freshman Brendan Ard at the 174 lbs., respectively.

Head coach Barry Davis, who enters his 16th year in command of the Badgers, spoke on the young group of wrestlers expected to replace the graduated seniors.

“We’re losing three All-Americans, so that’s a lot of winning there, a lot of experience, a lot of points,” Davis said. “I think they’ll step up. They’ve seen why Massey, Herbst and Tanelli were successful. They need to learn from that.”

The Badgers have a very young team this year with only two seniors and three juniors leading the way. Davis, however, does not automatically correlate youthfulness with inexperience. He cites the fact that his young players have wrestled for most of their lives and have exposed themselves to many challenges, such as going overseas for matches and competing in high-class events such as the Junior World Championships.

The five redshirt freshmen will face new difficulties as they enter their first year of competition. Bertram and Graff alluded to the longer and more grueling college season as an obstacle to overcome, while Bertram also noted every week they will see tough competition.

“It’s a lot tougher and grueling season. You have more matches every week,” Bertram said. “Every week you’re wrestling guys that are the best in the country.”

Bertram went on mention the benefits of having a young team, stating it allows the players to better relate to one another and allows the team to form a more cohesive group.

Davis believes with patience and the ability to address their mistakes, the young members of the team will be ready to face the challenges ahead. Davis also considers the players’ redshirt season to be an integral part of their progression, specifically naming Bertram, Graff, and Schmitt as doing a good job of understanding what they need to be ready for this year.

“They’re all doing really well,” he said.

The Badgers are coming off a 9-8 season last year, in which they finished fourth in the Big Ten Championships and ninth in the NCAA Championships.

The team enters this season ranked No. 11 by InterMat. With two returning All-Americans in Kyle Ruschell and fellow 08-09 recruit Andrew Howe, the entire Badgers team is keen on improving upon last year’s success.

“Everyone’s goal, I believe, is to win the national title,” Schmitt said. “I think everyone is on the same page and just pushing each other to achieve it.”

Davis has coached the Badgers to 10 consecutive years of winning at least nine games and expects the new redshirt freshman to keep the streak alive.

“The key is to not worry about mistakes, just go hard and fight the whole time,” Davis said. “I think they’re ready for the challenge.”