Something doesn’t seem right about the phrase.

Pataky won a PIAA Class AAA 112-pound title at Clearfield in 2004. He graduated from the wrestling warehouse a year later. He then spent the 2006 postseason as Penn State s starting 125-pounder.

Shouldn’t Pataky be entering the second half, possibly the fourth quarter, of his college career?

Well, it s a lengthy tale, one that has reached a fascinating point.

Barring injury, Pataky will return to his starting 125-pound spot when the Nittany Lions begin their dual meet season Nov. 16 against Hofstra at Rec Hall. The meet will end Pataky s 927-day layoff between appearances in a Penn State singlet.

Pataky never went away. He spent the past two years hanging around and training with many of his current teammates.

But he enters this year after two straight redshirt seasons.

He took a traditional redshirt season in 2006-07. He then requested and received an Olympic redshirt for 2007-08. Pataky’s second year away from college competition culminated with an appearance in this past summer s Olympic freestyle trials in Las Vegas.