DT at Golden Grand Prix

[Tom McAndrew]

this was DT's first competition at 86 kg.

if I'm reading the results correctly, here's how he did:

R1 - won by injury defaultover Umidjon Ismanov (UAB), 8-4
Quarter - lost to Gardilyev Nurmagomed (AZE), 6-0

Nurmagomed won his semis, so DT wrestled in 1 of the bronze medal matches

Bronze - lost to Ehsan Lashgari (IRI), by a 10-0 TF

looks like he has some work to do to compete at 86 kg.

 

[amalone]

No doubt. Ehsan Lashgari is World Elite... but getting beat 10-0 is an eye opener. Still made it to the bronze medal match which makes me wonder what improvements can be done to catch up to the world's best? DT hung with Jordan Burroughs and used reach/DT wrestling ability to do so... but seemed to have strength as an ultimate weakness on a bigger stage.. i.e. Kyle Dake. Guys at 86kg are rock solid specimens and that's not one of David's stronger suits.

Not sure how that gap can be forged.

 

[shak66_psu]

86kg is too much

 

[nitlion6]

I have seen David walking around the wrestling room, and have talked to him. He is a big man right now and none of the added weight looks like wasteful mass.
As he progresses towards the trials he will continue to get stronger, my guess is the strength increase over the next 4 to 6 months will be a fairly steep incline. His technique for grappling with bigger and stronger opponents will steadily increase also.
I have no idea where he will level off, but 6 months from now he will a completely different athlete than the one who just competed.

 

[CropDuster507]

Some of the old tricks he's used to (like throwing the far side leg in from a side by side wizzer) aren't going to work on guys bigger than him. Lashgari had a strength advantage that was too much.

 

[shak66_psu]

Some of the old tricks he's used to (like throwing the far side leg in from a side by side wizzer) aren't going to work on guys bigger than him. Lashgari had a strength advantage that was too much.

DT is one of the best wrestlers I have ever seen - but strength was at the bottom of the list for him - competing against world elites at 86 kg just isn't going to work - strength alone distinguishes a lot of those guys.. I doubt if any of the top 10 in the World 86 kg are better 'wrestlers' than DT, but all can beat him at a World Freestyle event - that's just the way it is.

 

[tikk10]

DT is one of the best wrestlers I have ever seen - but strength was at the bottom of the list for him - competing against world elites at 86 kg just isn't going to work - strength alone distinguishes a lot of those guys.. I doubt if any of the top 10 in the World 86 kg are better 'wrestlers' than DT, but all can beat him at a World Freestyle event - that's just the way it is.

Ed isn't as strong as most wrestlers he faces either and has had some success, but he is stronger than DT and more used to wrestling that class. I think DT's dedication will get him there eventually but it's not going to happen overnight. I imagine lifting in the gym will be part of the program.

 

[shak66_psu]

Ed isn't as strong as most wrestlers he faces either and has had some success, but he is stronger than DT and more used to wrestling that class. I think DT's dedication will get him there eventually but it's not going to happen overnight. I imagine lifting in the gym will be part of the program.

i disagree with that - Ruth is also one of the best wrestlers i have ever seen - but he is also crazy strong and one of the things that differentiates him.

 

[AgSurfer]

i disagree with that - Ruth is also one of the best wrestlers i have ever seen - but he is also crazy strong and one of the things that differentiates him.

I'll second that. Have any of you guys ever seen Ed Ruth close up? I had a chance to speak to him briefly at ASU, and I can tell you he looks solid as a rock. I also watched him wrestle Stauffer collegiate style for what I assume was to help prep him for the NWCA match. Stauffer is pretty good, but I think Ed was not going all out against him, and he still got 5 - 6 takedowns. It's going to be really interesting to see how Ed does in MMA once he is 100% focused on it.

 

[tikk10]

I'll second that. Have any of you guys ever seen Ed Ruth close up? I had a chance to speak to him briefly at ASU, and I can tell you he looks solid as a rock. I also watched him wrestle Stauffer collegiate style for what I assume was to help prep him for the NWCA match. Stauffer is pretty good, but I think Ed was not going all out against him, and he still got 5 - 6 takedowns. It's going to be really interesting to see how Ed does in MMA once he is 100% focused on it.

Just to jump in and defend my statement, I have seen Ed wrestle in person, and I wasn't suggesting he's not strong, just that, like DT, he's often wrestling stronger guys than him, at least upper body-wise. I don't think I've seen him turn someone in FS with something other than a leg lace. Brute force isn't in his arsenal maybe because he's never needed it--he's a better wrestler than nearly everyone. I'm not criticizing Ed, I love watching him wrestle as much as any other wrestler. But the top international FS guys are like tree stumps--reach down for an ankle pick and they don't move. They can all throw and they all have a gutwrench, and that's not really Ed's game. When Ed puts you on your back it's usually because you didn't realize your head was that close to your knee, or made some other mistake that Ed picked apart in a fraction of a second.

 

[Tom McAndrew]

You can access a video of DT's 1st round match. DT seemed like something was bothering him in the 2nd period, and he had to take injury time. It appears they were working on his back. After the injury time he got a TD, where Ismanov injured his knee, and had to medical forfeit.

enjoy

CLICK HERE

 

[MDAlum]

You can access a video of DT's 1st round match. DT seemed like something was bothering him in the 2nd period, and he had to take injury time. It appears they were working on his back. After the injury time he got a TD, where Ismanov injured his knee, and had to medical forfeit.

enjoy

CLICK HERE

Just watching that match, two things jump out that support the arguments above.

One, DT is easily much bigger. It is obviously a huge jump to go to 86Kg, and he is packing on the weight. He looks good though, he just isn't the tall lanky wrestler we watched for years.

Two, he is being out muscled so far. That could change over time, but he often got in on the legs and couldn't gain control. In fact he shot and got flipped. He was clearly in control of the pace, even with the injury affecting him, so lets see how he develops.

 

[Tom McAndrew]

DT was a guest on FRL, and spoke with CP and Willie for 30 minutes. Some of the topics he chatted about were:

- his experience at the Golden Grand Prix
- his adjustment to the new weight
- going against Ed Ruth in a future meet
- comparing PSU's current roster to the roster the 4 years when he started for PSU
- the possibility of his becoming a coach
- how upperclassmen get upset, and how he avoided that
- his approach to opponents that don't try to win

You can access FRL at THIS LINK. DT's segment starts around the 30 minute mark.

 

[T J]

Appreciate David Taylor's comments. He's an articulate guy who doesn't shy away from sharing his perspective.

Thanks Tom. Enjoyed the interview.

 

[zwick99]

I have seen David walking around the wrestling room, and have talked to him. He is a big man right now and none of the added weight looks like wasteful mass.
As he progresses towards the trials he will continue to get stronger, my guess is the strength increase over the next 4 to 6 months will be a fairly steep incline. His technique for grappling with bigger and stronger opponents will steadily increase also.
I have no idea where he will level off, but 6 months from now he will a completely different athlete than the one who just competed.

He looked real small compared to the guy that beat him.

 

[NEPAwolverine]

he needs time to fully lift/eat/grow into the new weight class. But he is such a super talent, and so dedicated to improving himself, that I am confident that he will get better.

 

[Tom McAndrew]

you can watch a video of DT's bronze medal match against Ehsan Lashgari (IRI) at THIS LINK.

I indicated above that DT lost this match by a 10-0 TF. Certainly not one of DT's better showings. I wonder how much the back injury from the R1 match was affecting him.

 

[zwick99]

he needs time to fully lift/eat/grow into the new weight class. But he is such a super talent, and so dedicated to improving himself, that I am confident that he will get better.

He needs to drop weight. He is done growing.

 

[psualt]

He needs to drop weight. He is done growing.

Do you think that being able to eat, train harder and add muscle is a bad thing? If you've listened to any of his interviews it isn't hard to understand the bump. I would venture that more wrestlers may be better suited doing this but old habits are hard to break.