Maryland wrestling needed help entering the 2025 campaign.
With senior Kal Miller electing to redshirt this season, the Terps need contributions from players other than No. 5 184-pounder Jaxon Smith and No. 10 133-pounder Braxton Brown.
No. 16 Branson John has shown promising signs he can do more than just contribute at 197 pounds. The sophomore sports a 7-0 record — three against opponents inside Flowrestling’s top 26 at the weight.
“I think he’s doing a good job of getting to his positions,” coach Alex Clemsen said. “He’s being very purposeful [and] he’s making sure that the action goes in the direction he wants it to.”
John was recruited to College Park as a 184-pounder, but moved down a weight class when Smith decided to drop to the 184-pound class. John began his freshman year at about 200 pounds and was forced to shed close to 26 pounds to make the 174-pound weight group. The cut took a toll on him.
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“You think about it 24/7,” John said. “You wake up in the morning, check your weight, think about what you can put in, how much you can drink throughout the day.”
John added that he felt physically weaker and more sluggish. It showed on the mat during an inconsistent freshman campaign. John posted a 14-19 record, but finished strong, placing sixth at the Big Ten tournament and qualifying for the NCAA tournament.
John’s plan heading into the offseason was to redshirt the next season and take Smith’s position after he graduated, until his body “took off.”
John said he didn’t do anything differently in the summer, but entered his second season with more muscle.
The added weight and John telling the coaching staff he didn’t want to redshirt led Maryland to move him up two weight classes. Clemsen had dealt with an offseason physical change two seasons ago, when Brown jumped from the 125-pound to the 133-pound class.
After hearing he would wrestle at 197 pounds, John changed his diet. He began to consume more protein, drink a gallon of water everyday and use creatine daily.
When John made his debut at the 197-pound class in Maryland’s Red vs Black scrimmage, he shone, but was visibly tired in the final period.
John acknowledged that his stamina needed work after the scrimmage, and made an effort to improve it in the week before the season opener.
The sophomore ran for two miles on the treadmill twice a week and used the ski machine after practice.
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“It kind of replicates like a snap down, in a way,” John said about the ski machine. “Just moving your full body and being able to do that for five minutes at a time, I feel like it helps my gas tank.”
The adjustments have yielded significant results for John, enabling him to maintain his aggressive play style while still having energy in later periods. One of the best examples came in John’s bout against Navy’s No. 17 Payton Thomas in the Journeyman Collegiate Classic.
After a reset to neutral position with 36 seconds left in sudden victory, John quickly walked back to the center of the mat as his opponent slowly got up to meet him. Six seconds later, John gained inside positioning and pulled Thomas to the ground, securing the winning takedown.
The win was John’s third against a ranked opponent this season and has contributed to his consistent rise.
“He’s doing a great job of staying on top of guys and making them carry his weight and making them work really hard to get up and get off the mat,” Clemsen said. “If you can be committed to really holding somebody down on top, he can change a match, and he’s doing a good job of doing that right now.”
