LINCOLN — Jordan Burroughs went undefeated and won a national championship as a junior. So what will he do to top that?

“I want to go undefeated, not give up any takedowns and just totally dominate,” he said. “Hopefully, I can win every award I can possibly win.”

The 157-pounder from Sicklerville, N.J., became the first undefeated wrestler in school history with a 35-0 junior season. But in Burroughs' eyes, he didn't accomplish as much as he should have.

He didn't win the Hodge Trophy, college wrestling's version of the Heisman, and NU didn't bring home a team championship. Most of all, Burroughs said, he wasn't as commanding as he would have liked to be.

“I don't think anyone expected me to dominate last year, and I had a couple close matches,” he said. “This year I just want to dominate every opponent.”

NU coach Mark Manning said he loves that his star wrestler has such aspirations, and those standards are attainable in his eyes after what Burroughs pulled off last season.

“That's how I want him thinking,” Manning said. “He's in a really tough weight class, and he's got to be at his best.”

Unlike last season, though, there's no chance Burroughs will catch any opponents by surprise.

While helping at a number of camps around the nation during the summer, Burroughs found that many people recognized him and knew about his national title.

He embraces being a target.

“I don't like when guys try to wrestle cautiously with me and don't try to get scored on,” he said. “I want guys to come after me and actually try to win. If they're ready to wrestle, I am as well.”

With the departure of Vince Jones and Brandon Browne, Manning said, Burroughs and fellow seniors Stephen Dwyer and Craig Brester have already shown in practices that they're ready to take on leadership roles. Burroughs said he takes that task seriously.

“I can't have any bad practices, because I feel like I have to lead by example every practice,” he said. “Even off the mat, I feel like I need to lead by example by going to and doing well in class. I know the freshmen look up to me and are watching me, so I want to always do the right thing.”

Burroughs will get his first chance to lead by example on the mat tonight with Nebraska's annual intrasquad wrestle-offs at 6 p.m. at the Devaney Center.

The Huskers, ranked No. 7 in InterMat's preseason Top 25, open their regular season Nov. 15 at home against Wisconsin, but Manning said today's meet will help settle a number of “wide open” starting spots.

• Projected starters: 125: Dalton Bullard (Jr.) or David Klingsheim (Fr.). 133: C.J. Napier (Fr.) or Ridge Kiley (RFr.). 141: Curtis Salazar (Jr.) or Mike Koehnlein (Jr.). 149: Chris Hacker (RFr.) or Ross Grande (RFr.). 157: Jordan Burroughs (Sr.). 165: Tyler Koehn (RFr.), James Nakashima (Jr.) or Alex Ward (Jr.). 174: Stephen Dwyer (Sr.). 184: Josh Ihnen (RFr.). 197: Craig Brester (Sr.). 285: Tucker Lane (So.).

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