David Taylor is an American legend in wrestling, having won several gold medals across multiple premier competitions, including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. After retiring as a competitor in 2024, he has become a coach and has taken over the mantle of the Oklahoma State University (OSU) wrestling program. And it looks like he has been able to inculcate his winning mentality into the Cowboys.

Taylor’s boys have been clinical in the 2024-25 campaign, being undefeated and dominating every program that they have faced so far. 8-0 in the season right now, Taylor has rung the warning bells for their opponents.

OSU is one of the best programs right now under David Taylor

After inflicting a crushing 34-3 defeat on #5 NC State, Taylor spoke to the media about his team’s display and the philosophy of the Cowboys under him: “It’s a reflection of the work that we are putting in and the standard that we’re trying to wrestle as a program.” The win, which included 3 bonus-point victories, was a huge statement about what the opponents can expect when facing the Cowboys.

“We want our guys to have the reputation that we’re going to wrestle hard for seven minutes or whatever it takes,” said Taylor after his team handed NC State their worst defeat since January 2013. The coach was certainly pleased with the gritty performance of his boys against the Wolfpacks, although he did also add that they can do better and there’s room for growth.

David Taylor’s boys have been seen to be absolute mentality monsters, pushing through injuries and pain to get the job done. Even in the NC State clash, they were seen to dig deep and earn their wins in the latter parts of their bouts.

That will certainly please Taylor, whose comments will be extra significant in the context of the recent jibes his team has received from defending NCAA champion Carter Starocci.

Carter Starocci is probably not taking OSU seriously

Despite the Cowboys’ dominance, Starocci of #1 Penn State has refused to acknowledge the progress the Pokes have made. In a recent podcast, the 184 lbs category champion expressed his opinion on the growing popularity of the Cowboys under Taylor, even going as far as to say, “Everyone’s talking about, like, um, Oklahoma State and their new head coach and his big deal… like those guys are going to catch up; just wait a couple of years and things like that. I’m like, ‘Dude, those guys are not catching up. Like, those guys are not catching up; forget about it.”

Penn State has definitely set the pace for the ongoing season, opening up a huge gap at the top. They are also the defending NCAA DI champions. So, there is no doubt David Taylor and the Cowboys have their work cut out. But one has to acknowledge the progress they have made under Taylor in such a short time and how their results have been authoritative and convincing. In case Penn State and the OSU Cowboys end up meeting each other in the NCAA Championships, it will definitely be a colossal clash.