David Taylor and OSU have been a dominant force in the current NCAA season. The Olympic champion promised the day he joined the university that he would bring the Cowboys top to the table, and he is exactly doing that with all the coaching staff changes OSU has gone through, bringing in key people from Penn State. But how’s he establishing this dominant force?

The answer lies in the head coach’s mindset. Taylor is a fierce wrestler himself, and as he has taken such a big responsibility, he wants his wrestlers to take the opportunity on the mat to the maximum level. Such a competitive mentality has propelled OSU to the top, and as one of Taylor’s wrestling proteges is back in the NCAA under the new head coach’s wing, they have given their thoughts regarding the environment of the league.

A glorious comeback to the mat

So who’s back in the NCAA? It’s Second Lieutenant Wyatt Hendrickson, who is an Air Force Academy graduate. As he is stationed at the Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma, he is giving his time to wrestle as a heavyweight for OSU in his final season. Growing up as an OSU fan, Hendrickson’s dream is just a few months away from becoming true, as he will be completing his career under his favorite NCAA team.

On top of that, he’s receiving the ideal coaching from none other than David Taylor, who is on a path to establishing college wrestling dominance. The second lieutenant is already on a 4-0 streak, for which he is ranked third in the category in the league. As per Pokes Report, after wrestling at the Gallagher-Iba Arena, home of OSU, he made a candid confession, stating, “It definitely lived up to the hype with a big screen and all of the fans screaming; it was always my mentality to wrestle in a hostile environment, but most of the time I go out there thinking they are cheering for me.”

Hendrickson had dreams of competing in a loud stadium. He wanted that adrenaline to kick in after hearing the roar of the crowd, which he was provided at the Gallagher-Iba Arena from the fans cheering his name. The OSU crowd always lived up to its expectations, and as the game was held in their own stadium, they wanted their wrestlers to perform at their best. “It is kind of nice they are cheering for you and they are yelling your name. Stillwater is a special place, and a lot of special people are coming here to support what is a wrestling town,” said Hendrickson.

While the OSU wrestler is back in his form, he also confirmed that he doesn’t want to deviate from his goals. Surely, winning at home is a big one, but he’s still working on his techniques to perform much better than his current self. Hendrickson’s dedication has also caught the eye of Taylor, who has nothing but appreciation for his wrestler. The head coach was present during his game against Arizona State’s Cohlton Schultz and observed many intriguing details that showcased the impressive performance of the OSU wrestler.

“It is just good to see him out there doing those things. That guy (Schultz) was hard to take down, and when Wyatt wanted to go score, he scored. He was wrestling a really tough guy, and still in the third period he was trying to score late. It is good to see that, and now we can make some adjustments there. It’s good to be willing to see guys do that. They are tired and still going for it,” said the head coach of OSU. There’s a lot more that Hendrickson can achieve in the future, and even Taylor is confident about him. 

The Olympic champion was given a duty to get the Cowboys on top of the standings, and he’s been onto it since the start of the NCAA. He has developed an aggressive mindset in his wrestlers, as he wants them to take risks on the mat to get the maximum results out there. While he’s surely training a handful of talented college wrestlers, he’s also keen on looking forward to the future of OSU, especially the high school talents joining in from the next season. And one of them recently visited the university with a certain plan on his schedule.

Another possible prodigy for David Taylor’s OSU

Recently, many eyes have been locked on OSU’s wrestlers owing to their dominance in the season opener of the NCAA. Fans are expecting many more dominant performances from these wrestlers, who have been trained under a confident and determined David Taylor, as his ambitions are literally at the top of the sky. This exposure has also benefited the university, as many high school prodigies are looking forward to wrestling with the Cowboys under Taylor’s wing, one of them being Bo Bassett.

He’s an 18-year-old wrestler who is on a 74-0 streak. Due to his own dominant nature, he is also searching for a similar place that can make him more capable of pulling off such impressive performances at the college level of the sport. So, many rumors suggested that as Bassett attended OSU’s latest game at their home ground, he might have met the head coach and watched his wrestlers perform at their very best. Fans are also aware of the youngster’s ambitions, and it’s like many; he wants his name at the top of the rankings in the coming years. And even though OSU has its own 2026 roster ready with Rocklin Zinkin and Kaden Purler, the Olympic champion won’t mind another big talent joining his team.