Will McDermott, a name that is unknown now, could be a staple in NIU wrestling in a couple years.

McDermott was redshirted for his freshman season, but he did see action in tournament play.

The Northern Star had a chance to talk to the 141-pound Mundelein native about his tournament experience, the only wresting movie known to man and why he likes Dashboard Confessional.

Northern Star: What brought you to NIU?

Will McDermott: What brought me to NIU was when I started looking for colleges my junior year.

I was looking for wrestling. All I cared about was Division I, a good program and to be pretty close to home. I looked on Web sites and read about who was good, and Northern came up No. 23 and it was no question.

NS: How was your first season? What was it like for you?

WM: We had some open tournaments as a team that I did OK in. I took second in two tournaments that we went to.

Basically they say you’re a redshirt; you don’t get to carry a bag or wear the singlet but [you] go to tournaments. So we would drive ourselves, pay for gas, pay for hotels and wrestle in as many tournaments as possible.

NS: Interesting. So you guys have to do extra work to participate in tournaments. Do a lot of redshirt freshmen do this?

WM: For the most part, no. There were a couple guys who really wanted to get better, and they went to all the tournaments.

But for the most part, [the redshirts] only went to the ones that were required. There were two that were required and the others were optional.

NS: What’s the hardest thing about wrestling?

WM: There’s two things. One is the time commitment, and the other one is the endurance it takes. I’ve done a lot of sports, and I’ve never been in one that makes your lungs burn as bad as wrestling.

NS: Let’s get to know the real Will. What types of music do you listen to?

WM: I like pretty much everything. Dave Matthews Band, Dashboard Confessional, the usual college stuff.

NS: Is there any music that gets you pumped up before a match?

WM: Senior year I got really into Dashboard. So I would play that CD on loop before tournaments.

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NS: What’s your favorite movie?

WM: I like “Office Space” and “Vision Quest” for anyone who knows anything about wrestling, but I like “Office Space” the best.

NS: “Vision Quest?”

WM: It’s the only wrestling movie out there.