I think most of it, frankly, is talent/recruiting. PSU's wide-open guys are, not surprisingly, guys like Retherford, Nolf, and Nickal, all of whom were blue-chip recruits who pretty much destroyed the competition in high school. They came on the scene with impressive pedigrees and picked up where they left off in high school.
It may be an over-simplification to some degree, but it's easy to look wide-open when you're piss-pounding your opponent. Likewise, it's tough to wrestle wide-open when you're getting your butt kicked. My point is that some kids just have it -- they're the kinds of guys who have the talent and confidence to let the fur fly, knowing that if they get taken down a time or two in the process, it won't matter, and they'll just punish the opponent for taking them down in the first place.
Of course, there's a role for coaching, philosophy, etc., but I think the vast majority of it is the "Jimmies and the Joes". I think PSU gets known for this wide-open style primarily because they've done a good job of bringing in super studs who brought that dominating style with them. They deserve credit for doing so, but I think it's much more about talent than any one philosophy or teaching technique.
