In conversation, Joey McKenna gives off a vibe of California cool, a relaxed, care-free attitude and amiable personality that would be a perfect fit on a Pacific Ocean beach.
But two years into a college career that saw him become Stanford's first-ever freshman All-American, McKenna gave up the warmth of the West Coast for Ohio winters and a chance to be on perhaps the country's best team - moving about 2,500 miles closer to home.
McKenna, a Blair product, transferred from Stanford to Ohio State for his junior season. He will be wrestling at 141 pounds on Sunday likely against former Clearview standout and Rutgers sophomore Mike VanBrill.
McKenna is 5-0 for the Buckeyes after a win at Maryland on Friday night. He spent the early part of the season competing in Poland at the U23 World Championsips, winning a bronze medal in the same competition Rutgers 165-pounder Richie Lewis captured a gold.
McKenna said last month he was looking forward to another Homecoming at Rutgers after helping Ohio State roll over Princeton at the Beast of the East, a tournament he won twice while at Blair.
The Towaco native who grew up about 45 minutes from Rutgers' campus said the move to Ohio State was designed to be closer to his Jersey roots.
World's best to compete at Rutgers
"It's good, I like it (at Ohio State) a lot and I'm excited to get to the meat of season," said McKenna, who is ranked sixth nationally by FloWrestling and Intermat, after the Princeton match. "It's tough but exciting.
"Stanford is a little far from home, I wanted to get back East and closer to my roots. I wanted to pursue my passions a little bit and Ohio State was the place for that. The room is just great, and I wanted to put myself in that kind of environment."
All 10 Buckeyes in the starting lineup are ranked nationally, including Olympic gold medalist and two-time World Champion Kyle Snyder, who McKenna called one of his closest friends.
"To be around such a highly competitive super technical guy that's the best in the world, that's going to be the GOAT, I'm excited for that," said McKenna.
McKenna finished third in the NCAAs as a freshman at Stanford, defeating Rutgers' Anthony Ashnault in the third-place match. He entered the tournament last year as the No. 2 seed but failed to place.
Now, he's ready to make another run at reaching the final and he could be one of many Buckeyes high up on the podium.
"I'm just looking to get one percent better every day and unlock my full potential here," said McKenna. "I have to start opening up more and getting to my offense and be the best wrestler I can be. There's a good feeling on this team that every guy can win. Special things are coming from this team."
Snyder said the key for McKenna and fellow Jersey native Myles Martin - the Buckeyes' 184-pounder and a 2016 national champion - is making sure they open up when the competition gets tougher.
"I think they both look great for their weight classes," said Snyder. "Joey and Myles can both win it this year. They just have to open up against guys who are close to as good as them and if they do that they can win NCAA titles this year."
Ohio State coach Tom Ryan said the Buckeyes haven't even seen near McKenna's full potential.
"He's driven, committed, he's just a class guy and he has fit right into our culture," said Ryan after the Princeton match. "He's had some trouble managing the one-hour weigh-in. Against Arizona State, I felt like he was a 4 (on a scale of 1 to 10). The next match he was a 5 or 6, and (against Princeton) a 6 or 7.
"We haven't seen close to what we see in practice. His body is shrinking, and when he has the energy he needs to be confident he can score all the time he'll look even better. It's a process, but we like his progression."
Bill Evans can be reached at bevans@njadvancemedia.com or by leaving a note in the comments below. Follow him on Twitter @BEvansSports. Find and like the NJ.com High School Wrestling page on Facebook.