Still water Oklahoma State University named former NCAA champion, two-time Penn State champion and U.S. gold medal winning Olympic wrestler David Taylor as the sixth head of the Cowboys wrestling program on Monday night (May 6). He announced on social media that he would be hired as a coach. Taylor follows in the footsteps of another highly decorated American wrestler, two-time Olympic gold medalist John Smith. Taylor, 33, like Smith, has no formal coaching experience as he has competed in freestyle wrestling around the world since his collegiate career at Penn State ended in 2014. There are similarities between Taylor's employment and Smith's. He became the winningest head coach in Oklahoma State wrestling history.
poke report
John Smith and Coleman Scott will co-coach this season.
Taylor's hiring will come as a surprise to many Oklahoma State fans and wrestling enthusiasts. Assistant head coach Coleman Scott was thought to be replacing Smith after Scott left his position as head coach at the University of North Carolina to become John Smith's top assistant. Mr. Smith claimed that no promises were made to Mr. Scott when he was hired.
This will raise some alarms, as Scott helped improve the program this season and was recognized by Smith, other coaches on the staff, and wrestlers on the team. It was universal.
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Last month, Weiberg boarded a plane to pick up Steve Lutz, the new OSU basketball coach.
Polks Report sources said several large donors and backers of the program had suggested Taylor as a possible candidate. The Pokes Report states that Oklahoma State Director of Athletics Chad Weiberg traveled to State College, Pennsylvania, to meet with former Nittany Lions wrestler and multiple Olympic and World Championship gold medalist. It was confirmed. Wyberg had dinner with Taylor and discussed his work. Reported donors and Mr. Weiberg's interest may be considering a “John Smith” type hire. Smith is different. Although he had never officially coached before Oklahoma State hired him, he knew the lay of the land inside out, having grown up and wrestled in the shadows and inside of Gallagher Hall.
Mr. Weiberg had previously hired only one coach, women's basketball coach Jaycee Hoyt, but last month he hired two more in two prominent sports, Mr. Taylor in wrestling and previously in basketball coach Steve Lutz. Hired a head coach.
Some may see this hire as an outside-the-box, fly-in hire with the potential to be a huge success, or a slap in the face to the program itself. Weiberg has to think of this as hiring the best coach he can find for one of the most successful programs of all time in college athletics, regardless of sport.
Nittany Lions Wrestling Club
david taylor
Taylor, who just finished his career as a freestyle wrestler at the 2024 Olympic Trials in April, was a two-time All-American champion at Penn State, where he won the Hodge Trophy twice and is only the third person at the university to win the Hodge Trophy. He finished his career as a multi-award winning player. He is the all-time four-time Big Ten Champion in NCAA history with a career record of 134-3, including 50 pins, 42 tech falls and 29 major decisions.
After his collegiate career, Taylor compiled an overall record of 152-21 in freestyle wrestling, including three U.S. Open Championship gold medals, three Pan American Championship gold medals, one World Cup gold medal, and a World Championship gold medal. Includes 3 pieces and 1 Olympiad. Gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
As a wrestler for the Nittany Lions and Sanderson, Taylor was a mainstay in helping Cael Sanderson build a strong Penn State program. Since his college career, he has remained at State University as a resident athlete for the Nittany Lions Wrestling Club. He has competed under that support system and contributed to the entire Penn State operation.
This is a quote from his bio on the Nittany Lions Wrestling Club website. “David's personality, demeanor and success on the wrestling mat have greatly contributed to the success of the NLWC program as a whole.”
One of the biggest concerns in hiring Taylor is what will happen if current Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson decides to retire. Although he is young, he has very good abilities. Is Taylor considered as a possible replacement for his former college head coach? By then, you'd expect Taylor to call Oklahoma State home and have as much or more success than Penn State.
Oklahoma State is scheduled to hold a formal press conference to introduce Taylor later this week. Details are expected to be announced on Tuesday.