David Taylor’s ‘Pied Piper’ Oklahoma Bid Receives Full Support from North Carolina’s Wrestling Coach

David Taylor was living life as the undisputed king of the US, wrestling until he signed up for Oklahoma. Treading in uncharted territory, Taylor has already made significant progress. To strengthen his coaching team, Taylor has roped in a couple of excellent staff from Penn State. He has hired Thomas Gilman and Jimmy Kennedy as assistant coaches to make sure everything is taken good care of. 

Taking up the responsibility to train future wrestling champions, Taylor took up the mantle of being the head mentor of the Oklahoma State team. While there might have been some indifferences with Christian Carroll, things are looking bright both for Oklahoma and Taylor. This move is welcomed by none other than Rob Koll. 

Rob Koll terms David Taylor as the “Pied Piper” of Oklahoma

Rob Koll is the undisputed mastermind of the North Carolina wrestling team. Recently, he sat down in an interview on an episode of ‘The Athlete Podcast with Mike Mal’. Speaking about a variety of topics, Koll then stumbled upon the discussion of David Taylor and his performance with Oklahoma. Koll stated that Taylor is one of the biggest names in the history of US wrestling and can be a major attraction. 

Putting his thoughts into words, Koll stated, “I mean, David is one of the biggest names and faces in our sport. He’s got a fantastic club to obviously draw people, he’s a little bit of a Pied Piper.” The North Carolina coach also stated playfully that he didn’t want to sound too friendly as he will have to battle it out next season to find the best talents.

Koll said, “And you know, I don’t want to give him too much credit because I’m gonna get I’m gonna probably be recruiting against him here in the near future.” Koll then threw a playful jab at Taylor and said, “So, other than that, he’s an absolute worthless piece of you know what.”

Meanwhile, David Taylor has already started making plans for the next season. With the inclusion of Daniel Manibog and Kody Routledge, Taylor wants Oklahoma to emerge as one of the top contenders for the title next year. And unsurprisingly, this champion mentality is purely a reflection of how David Taylor himself used to channel his thoughts when he was an athlete. 

David Taylor’s golden days of wrestling 

David Taylor was a freestyle wrestler, competing in the 86 kg category. He made his professional debut back in 2010 and immediately won the University US National Title. Soon he became a big deal at the NCAA circuit and justified the hype by claiming four consecutive Big Ten golds from 2011 to 2014. He then spread his wings and conquered almost all the prestigious championships in the US. These included the NCAA Division 1 Championships, US Open Championship, Golden Grand Prix, Pan American Championships, and the World Cup. 

Competing at the World Championships, Taylor proved to be a phenom, winning the title thrice. However, the biggest moment of his career came when he won the Olympic gold in Tokyo. Competing in his favorite 86 kg category, Taylor defeated a promising Hassan Yazdani to claim the ultimate prize in wrestling. And now, instilling the killer mentality into the budding wrestlers, Taylor is razor-focused on replicating his success as a coach as well.