Everybody knows Penn State wrestling is in a class by itself, and some of the best wrestlers and coaches in the sport were asked about it Wednesday afternoon, the day before this year’s national tournament is supposed to begin.
Although none of the two wrestlers and three coaches flat out said that their team doesn’t have a chance this weekend, nothing they said suggested that, deep down, they aren’t feeling that way.
Hey, there’s no shame in that.
Just look at the facts: Penn State has won 11 national titles in 13 years, won its most recent title by a record 100 points last March in Kansas City and is -6000 to repeat in Philly per DraftKings.
Penn State Wrestling Crowns 4 National Champions, Sets NCAA Records for Points, Margin of Victory
So, yeah, everybody knows how it’s going to play out.
The question isn’t who will win this year: It’s how long will it take Cael Sanderson’s empire to be toppled?
Here’s what some of the outsiders had to say about it.
Gable Steveson, Minnesota heavyweight, 2X Hodge Trophy Winner and 2021 Olympic Gold Medalist: What Cael has done for the program is mind-boggling. Seeing a coach bring a group of guys together and dominate a collegiate sport is just crazy. It reminds me of Alabama football or Coach K [Mike Krzyzewski] at Duke in basketball, just taking over the game and running with it. … And I think they’re looking to break the team point record again this year, which is going to be a crazy thing. If they can keep doing that, that’s a cool thing.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Keegan O’Toole, Missouri, 2X national champion: Obviously we’re always trying to beat them, but again and again they’ve proven that they’re on top. Yeah, you draw parallels with coach [Nick] Saban at Alabama. It’s a dynasty.”
David Taylor, Penn State Wrestling legend, first-year Oklahoma State coach: “We laid out a plan when I got to Oklahoma State of what we are going to do to be successful, and I think first you’ve got to surround the guys with the best talent in the world. It’s developing a world-level RTC [Olympic regional training center], which we’ve done in a short period of time. You’ve got to recruit. You’ve got to surround your program with the best individuals, and it takes time, takes development, takes hard work. … It takes a long time. It takes day-in, day-out effort.”
Scott Goodale, Rutgers coach: “We’d love to be in that position one day. The sport is changing, there’s no question about it. College athletics is changing, no question about it. You need to get on board with those changes and make some things happen. Your administration has got to be on board with what you want to do.
“It’s hard, it’s hard. It’s getting the best guys in the world to come to your institution and want to compete. And it’s putting together a plan not only from your college athletes but your senior level athletes and maybe even levels less than that. It’s a huge mountain to climb right now, at least from where I sit, I can tell you that. But I think that’s the ultimate goal. “It might take a little bit, to be honest with you,” Goodale said.
Roger Reina, Penn coach (retiring after this season).
For Reina, the key is for colleges to adapt to change.
“These are timeless things,” Reina said. “I think if you would have talked to John Wooden in basketball decades ago, he probably would have said very much the same thing. But there’s levels to this, and what’s being done at Penn State with Cael and his staff and the team is remarkable. And yet I think it’s inspiring, too, to programs across the country. I tip my hat to them and yet I think the formula is very much the same as it’s always been, to be honest.”
