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David Taylor to Oklahoma State & related news

Yup. Queue up that 2010 Iowa blog story again with them laughing at us. The fortunate things for us is that we’ve got Cael who will not ignore the threat DT poses (like Iowa largely patronized Cael as a coach), and we’re in the middle of the most talent rich area by far.

I just wish I had Terry Pegula money. I’d be there coming over the top of Richison with wheelbarrows of financial support


I'm being told he's (Pegula) getting a call.
 
I couldn't care less about the "good of the sport" and I truly don't believe any PSU fan when they say they're happy about this because this is "good for the sport". I also don't believe anyone who says their primary concern is "the good of the sport" when talking about anti PSU dominance, no they just don't want PSU to win and pretending they have any more noble intentions is laughable, so spare me.
I don't come at it from a "good of the sport" perspective. I come at it from a "I enjoy the season more when there's a little uncertainty" perspective.

It's not noble, it's purely selfish.
 
Yup. Queue up that 2010 Iowa blog story again with them laughing at us. The fortunate things for us is that we’ve got Cael who will not ignore the threat DT poses (like Iowa largely patronized Cael as a coach), and we’re in the middle of the most talent rich area by far.

I just wish I had Terry Pegula money. I’d be there coming over the top of Richison with wheelbarrows of financial support
It's not really the same situation considering Iowa was armed with a pair of pea shooters, while we still have Dirty Harry's .44 Magnum.

DT will be great at OK State and may win a title or two in the coming years. We can't win them all. But I'd still wouldn't trade our situation for theirs until Cael and Co. exit. Then all bets are off.

If Cael time warped and took over PSU in the mid late 80s, do you think he would have won 10 out of the next 12? I don't. It would have taken some more time.

Dynasties are also a matter of timing.
 
I would assume they are looking for someone to work with 149 and 157 as Kennedy did. Since Cenzo's walking around weight is significantly higher than that, probably not a good fit. Molinaro at least fits the size requirement.
Nick Lee? Guessing he’s not done with competing yet though..
 
No. Think it’s more of an “everybody gravitates to the big school” type deal. Plenty of Penn State fans that never went to Penn State.
I get that--and if he just had season tickets and gave a check every year, it'd be one thing-but his level of giving is uncommon for even alumni. That's all. Maybe it's all based on PSU hate, lol.
 
Good idea. I'll shoot him a text. ;)
Fran Healy Reaction GIF by Travis
 
It's not really the same situation considering Iowa was armed with a pair of pea shooters, while we still have Dirty Harry's .44 Magnum.

DT will be great at OK State and may win a title or two in the coming years. We can't win them all. But I'd still wouldn't trade our situation for theirs until Cael and Co. exit. Then all bets are off.

If Cael time warped and took over PSU in the mid late 80s, do you think he would have won 10 out of the next 12? I don't. It would have taken some more time.

Dynasties are also a matter of timing.
I am probably naive, but I look at Penn State's advantages as systemic in a way that can't be arbitraged away unless the school (and donor base) decides to do so.

What do I mean by this? I mean that if every school put forth their best effort to have the best wrestling program possible, Penn State's will be the best program. This is due mainly (but not limited to) geography and financial commitment.

Penn State's ceiling and floor are higher than any other school and probably always has been. It explains why Cael was in such a hurry to get there in the first place.
 
any of you guys run into Cael and get his thoughts on DT to OSU?
I was wondering if Nerf was going to interview Cael on his thoughts. The other thing is, should the prized student be making more money than his teacher? Cael and our staff should be the highest paid college wrestling coaches in the country.
 
I was wondering if Nerf was going to interview Cael on his thoughts. The other thing is, should the prized student be making more money than his teacher? Cael and our staff should be the highest paid college wrestling coaches in the country.
I have thought about hanging around Lorenzo to try and catch him--or shooting an email--but nothing official will be set up again by Penn State until October/November.
 
It was inevitable that this was going to happen. Gable protegees wound up coaching at dozens of schools and none of them had the success he had. I think Taylor is a great coaching prospect, but he has a lot to prove. He could wind up successful and winning titles like Brands and Ryan, or he could wind up being like Duane Goldman, Jim Heffernan or Barry Davis.
 
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No. Think it’s more of an “everybody gravitates to the big school” type deal. Plenty of Penn State fans that never went to Penn State.
My understanding is that it is also his way of improving Oklahoma statewide for wrestling. The idea of improving the program and RTC will benefit all college programs in the state and the high school and youth programs
 
It was inevitable that this was going to happen. Gable protegees wound up coaching at dozens of schools and none of them had the success he had. I think Taylor is a great coaching prospect, but he has a lot to prove. He could wind up successful and winning titles like Brands and Ryan, or he could wind up being like Duane Goldman, Jim Heffernan or Barry Davis.
Who was Gable's David Taylor? Did he have a guy that seemed to be so poised/set up for success in coaching as David?
 
I'm being told he's (Pegula) getting a call.
Interesting .... shows Cael means business. Pegula I'm not sure how big of a wrestling fan he is but he isn't typically listed among the big wrestling donors. (Ira Lubert and Galen Dreibelbis are that) I have heard obviously he is a fan of anything involving PSU winning and has been at nationals but have to be careful going to that well over and over since PSU fans think he's the solution to everything NIL. Yes people with his money can solve problems with their passive income basically but similarly, they didn't get where they have by mindlessly throwing it around without drawing lines.

Similar to Chad Richison only committing to help Oklahoma State wrestling (he doesn't donate for any other sport) and also he only was opening the checkbook if they showed they were serious about changes (hiring DT and not Coleman)
 
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I am probably naive, but I look at Penn State's advantages as systemic in a way that can't be arbitraged away unless the school (and donor base) decides to do so.

What do I mean by this? I mean that if every school put forth their best effort to have the best wrestling program possible, Penn State's will be the best program. This is due mainly (but not limited to) geography and financial commitment.

Penn State's ceiling and floor are higher than any other school and probably always has been. It explains why Cael was in such a hurry to get there in the first place.
We're the best team. Ohio State is the best program.

But seriously, if every school put forth their best effort, then Pitt would cut into our advantage, and Ohio State might end up the best program.

To an extent there's been some luck over the years -- there are still only 10 weights, and we've recruited a lot of high-end guys who chose other schools. The lucky part is that they've mostly dispersed. I think we'd still have many team titles had those guys not dispersed so much, but we might not have a dynasty.
 
Who was Gable's David Taylor? Did he have a guy that seemed to be so poised/set up for success in coaching as David?
Zalesky in terms of folkstyle accomplishments was every bit the equal of DT. 3x champ, 131-7, last 2 years undefeated, 89 match win streak - longest in Iowa’s history. He won 3 with Gable’s recruits then the program started to crater.
 
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Yup. Queue up that 2010 Iowa blog story again with them laughing at us. The fortunate things for us is that we’ve got Cael who will not ignore the threat DT poses (like Iowa largely patronized Cael as a coach), and we’re in the middle of the most talent rich area by far.

I just wish I had Terry Pegula money. I’d be there coming over the top of Richison with wheelbarrows of financial support
I don’t think there has to be much of a response. When you get down to it we’re loaded. This is an individual sport, although having good non-starters helps development. The fact that talent may become more concentrated in another camp doesn’t fundamentally change that you try to get the best you can at each weight, it mostly just changes the way points are distributed among the other squads. Only that relatively minor development bump at the new concentrated squad competes for your points.
 
I am probably naive, but I look at Penn State's advantages as systemic in a way that can't be arbitraged away unless the school (and donor base) decides to do so.

What do I mean by this? I mean that if every school put forth their best effort to have the best wrestling program possible, Penn State's will be the best program. This is due mainly (but not limited to) geography and financial commitment.

Penn State's ceiling and floor are higher than any other school and probably always has been. It explains why Cael was in such a hurry to get there in the first place.
You must have started following wrestling in 2010.
 
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I can't tell if you're being facetious or not.

Was Zalesky viewed as a great up-and-coming coaching candidate? I realize the wrestling world was much different then.
He was an Iowa assistant under Gable for 6 yrs, and before that a Goofer assistant under Robinson for 3 yrs.

I don't remember about "up and coming" but he was viewed as someone who had put in his time and learned from the best.
 
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No. Think it’s more of an “everybody gravitates to the big school” type deal. Plenty of Penn State fans that never went to Penn State.
I went to UPenn, but **** the Quakers!

But seriously, I was a faculty brat who got free tuition if I got in, so it was a no brainer, but I had almost nothing in common with the vast majority of very wealthy classmates I had. Where I am from, you liked Penn State or Notre Dame - full stop. I’d be in the stands at Franklin Field watching I-AA dorks for the camaraderie, but listening on my Walkman to Penn State games (or going to the bar to watch them).

I knew I was a fish out of water my first day in the Quad when I saw people out there tossing footballs and such. Most of them threw worse than my sister - it was like, do any of you have fathers? These were kids who went to Broadway plays when they were 8, but had never played smear the queer, king of the hill, red rover, kick the can, etc. Mind boggling to me.

So, yeah, if I had Pegula’s dough, Cael’s getting about $20 million within the month just as a show of force.
 
Interesting .... shows Cael means business. Pegula I'm not sure how big of a wrestling fan he is but he isn't typically listed among the big wrestling donors. (Ira Lubert and Galen Dreibelbis are that) I have heard obviously he is a fan of anything involving PSU winning and has been at nationals but have to be careful going to that well over and over since PSU fans think he's the solution to everything NIL. Yes people with his money can solve problems with their passive income basically but similarly, they didn't get where they have by mindlessly throwing it around without drawing lines.

Similar to Chad Richison only committing to help Oklahoma State wrestling (he doesn't donate for any other sport) and also he only was opening the checkbook if they showed they were serious about changes (hiring DT and not Coleman)

Interesting .... shows Cael means business. Pegula I'm not sure how big of a wrestling fan he is but he isn't typically listed among the big wrestling donors. (Ira Lubert and Galen Dreibelbis are that) I have heard obviously he is a fan of anything involving PSU winning and has been at nationals but have to be careful going to that well over and over since PSU fans think he's the solution to everything NIL. Yes people with his money can solve problems with their passive income basically but similarly, they didn't get where they have by mindlessly throwing it around without drawing lines.

Similar to Chad Richison only committing to help Oklahoma State wrestling (he doesn't donate for any other sport) and also he only was opening the checkbook if they showed they were serious about changes (hiring DT and not Coleman)
Maybe Sean McDermott says hold my beer and has a talk with Pegula due to his relationship with Coach Cael? Lol
 
He was an Iowa assistant under Gable for 6 yrs, and before that a Goofer assistant under Robinson for 3 yrs.

I don't remember about "up and coming" but he was viewed as someone who had put in his time and learned from the best.
He was the hand-picked successor to Gable who had been groomed for the job, including a stint outside the program. Then he won 3 straight titles out of the box. He was much more of a "sure thing" than Taylor is now. 9 years of learning and grooming for Zalesky.

Then, of course, things went south and Gable undermined Zalesky at Iowa. No love lost between those two.
 
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You must have started following wrestling in 2010.
DT might transform college wrestling the way Cael did. Cael might move on from PSU in a few years to pursue something else. Who knows? I don’t want to be the “bury my head in the sand Iowa guy” and assume this move is a meaningless speed bump.

That said… until a program can go 70-7 in the NCAA semis (or whatever the ridiculous record is) I won’t believe it is as simple as throwing big money at a bigtime wrestler turned coach and some bigtime recruits. NCAA semis are usually stud vs stud… guys every program recruited… guys who are top 5 seeds usually… guys who rarely lose.

You win 90% of those matches and you have something unique going on. Coaching, confidence, weight management, team comraderie, different styles of practice partners, whatever it is. I guess we will see if DT can create it, or create something different and unique that will materially impact what PSU has right now. I am skeptical.
 
I view this all as a clear win-win from a Penn State fan perspective. Taylor can get some solid on the job head coaching experience, rack up a long string of second-place team finishes, and return to be the head coach at Penn State in 12 to 15 years when Cael retires. How can anyone dislike that?
 
just watched DTs press conf. No big deal and he did a good job. Says he is going to win and a key to that is a good RTC. Seems like Tyler Caldwell is still on 'staff' as he was mentioned working with the u20 and u23 kids along with D Fix. Didn't see Kennedy or Thomas but were verbally introduced.
 
I am probably naive, but … if every school put forth their best effort to have the best wrestling program possible, Penn State's will be the best program. This is due mainly (but not limited to) geography and financial commitment
Other schools cannot suddenly develop geography, but they certainly can develop financial commitment overnight. It just takes one rich booster.
 
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