If there’s one thing David Taylor wanted to do, it was relive his Tokyo glory and snag another Olympic gold in the 86 kg category at the Paris Olympics. But Aaron Brooks had other plans, crushing those dreams in the U.S. Olympic Trials finals. Instead of sulking, though, the 33-year-old wrestling legend surprised everyone by announcing his retirement. Plot twist? He’s not done with the sport—far from it. Oklahoma State was on the hunt for a new head coach, and abracadabra! The Magic Man himself appeared as the perfect pick to lead the wrestling squad.

With the NCAA season fast approaching, everyone’s buzzing about what Taylor’s first lineup as head coach might look like. According to The Oklahoman, when asked about it, the now 39-year-old was refreshingly candid. “I think the lineup is pretty straightforward. There’s a few weight classes that are contested – probably a little more than others.” But does he have a plan in mind? The Magic Man said, “There’s different things that we’re looking at when we put guys in the lineup.” Fair enough. But it’s clear he’s hyped for the season opener, sending a strong message to his team.

“Competition can bring the best out in you, and sometimes bring not the best out in you, so we want guys that competition brings the best out in them,” David Taylor confessed. While he’s clearly excited, he hasn’t spilled all the tea about which guys are landing starting spots. And let’s be real—this is his first gig as a head coach, so everyone’s curious to see how he handles the role. “There was a lot of things going on, you know? A lot of moving pieces,” he admitted.

Some spots in the lineup are already locked down, like Troy Spratley at 125 pounds and Dustin Plott at 184 pounds. But a few spots are still up for grabs. The team also pulled in some serious talent through transfers. Cameron Amine (165 pounds), Dean Hamiti Jr. (174 pounds), and Wyatt Hendrickson (heavyweight) have all joined the squad, and these guys have been tearing it up in national competitions. Taylor’s stoked about them because, unlike some transfers who coast toward the end of their careers, these guys are locked in and ready to win. But how’s the team doing under Taylor’s leadership?

Coach David Taylor added, “We’re really excited about the team that we have now.” The Nittany Lion also emphasized how he was looking forward to the recruiting class. “Just been a lot of momentum around the program in all areas,” Taylor stated. 

There were also certain concerns about how he was handling the grey areas. But David Taylor has it covered. “You just learn, you just got to adjust, and I feel pretty well equipped in all those areas.” But this isn’t the only thing he has in mind. The coach is looking forward to reviving his wrestling career. “So early on, obviously, there was a lot of question. But as time going on, it’s just adjusting,” he reiterated. The head coach is also looking to change things around. 

How is David Taylor changing the wrestling at OSU?

Taking on a new role is always challenging, and the coach was asked in a recent press conference whether he’s come across any surprises so far. But by the look on the head coach’s face, he wasn’t expecting it. “Yeah, I didn’t know there was so much flexibility in scheduling,” Taylor admitted. 

However, David Taylor added that this brought up an issue with other coaches. In certain circumstances, they would try to twist his hand to sway his decision. “It’s the way we do it, you know, I’m like, ‘No, it’s not the way do it, you know schedule says this, we’re going to do this.” Regardless of this, the coach repeated that he never realized scheduling could be flexible. 

The coach restated, “Like we’ve wrestled OU, you know, home and way our whole, you know, really historically forever. But they only want to do one match this year. So, we’re only going to wrestle them once this year at OU.” Turns out, they don’t want to come back, which made the crowd laugh.

But coming back to schedule, “So, I think that was surprising to me, the jockeying with that, like you know, just why we haven’t released our schedule,” David Taylor stated. With the wrestler excited about the upcoming, it looks like the NCAA might be as thrilling as ever. Are you ready to see him take on his new role?