When OSU appointed David Taylor as their new head coach, many in the wrestling fraternity frowned with doubt. How will the former Olympian who had failed to qualify for Paris 2024 step into the shoes of a legend like John Smith? How will the former Penn State athlete fair as a coach against the formidable Cael Sanderson? Fast-forward to today, and the nay-sayers are nowhere to be seen.

That’s because the former world champion has done something neither the OSU legend nor Sanderson could do in their debut year. At the 2024 NCAA DI Championships, the Taylor Cowboys won two individual titles. Favorites Dean Hamiti (174 Lbs) and Wyatt Hendrickson (285 Lbs) lived up to the hype, bringing home the national title in their respective weight classes.

That’s more than either Smith or Sanderson managed in their debut years. David Taylor’s former coach and his Nittany Lions have ruled the NCAA for over a decade. In fact, Taylor himself helped Sanderson and the Lions build their legacy during his competitive wrestling days. This year, Penn State once again picked up the team title, with three championship matches left to play out.

However, among the handful of times Cael Sanderson’s wrestlers didn’t get a podium finish was during his debut year in 2010. Yet, what about, Taylor’s predecessor? The winning coach in OSU’s history, John Smith, won NCAA titles for OSU both as a student-athlete and a coach. The former coach gave his alma mater five NCAA team titles as a coach.

What’s more? Smith’s 490-73-6 record puts him even ahead of the dominant Cale Sanderson. The only two coaches ahead of Smith in D1 dual wins are Harold Nichols and Dale Thomas. Yet even the legendary NCAA coach won only one national title in his debut year. OSU icon Pat Smith won the 157 lbs division title under Smith’s tutelage in 1992. However, David Taylor’s success wouldn’t have been possible without stellar performances from two of OSU’s best talents.

David Taylor’s championship-winning athletes

While experts projected Taylor’s OSU to finish among the top three, there were other favorites with better odds in Hamiti and Hendrickson’s divisions. At the end of the night, OSU proved the analysts right, finishing third as a team and posting a massive improvement from last year’s 10th-place finish. It was another metric where the first-year coach exceeded expectations.

However, Dean Hamiti and Wyatt Hendrickson truly shone the brightest for the team. The cards were stacked against the 174-pound wrestler. His biggest rivals, former champion Levi Haines from Penn State and defending champion Keegan O’Toole both made it to the final four. To make things even more challenging, Hamiti had to face Haines to get to O’Toole.

Despite the challenges, David Taylor’s student made it happen. “Incredible tournament by Oklahoma State’s Dean Hamiti as David Taylor & co as gets their first National Champ! Hamiti took out back-to-back returning National Champs in Levi Haines & Keegan O’Toole to win the 174lbs title,” wrote podcaster Justin Basch.

However, it was heavyweight Wyatt Hendrickson who gave the rookie coach his final treat of the night. Despite facing clear favorite and former Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson, Wyatt Hendrickson turned around the Minnesota star’s early 3-2 lead to a buzzer-beating 5-4 victory. Is this the beginning of the rise of OSU under David Taylor?