Angel Escobedo explains advantage of CJ Red on Indiana wrestling staff

Indiana wrestling coach Angel Escobedo added CJ Red to the staff in a full-time role this month, giving the Hoosier’s a unique perspective.

Red, a four-time All-American wrestler at Nebraska, served as a volunteer assistant the last two seasons. Now, he’s full go ahead of the 2024-25 campaign.

Escobedo spoke with On3 and described the advantage of having Red on the coaching staff.

“Yeah, I mean, he’s great,” Escobedo told On3. “His energy is so contagious. He’s funny, you know, he can talk to guys and relate to guys in a way that, the rest of our staff can’t, just with his age and his name carries weight. He’s gonna be a phenomenal coach. I mean, he already is and as time progresses, and now that he’s full fledged into the coaching, he’s going to be one of the bright assistants you’ll see.”

Red went 88-46 at Nebraska, wrestling every season at 141 pounds. He finished 7th at NCAAs in 2018, 8th in ‘19, a coaches All-American in ‘20 and 6th in ‘21.

CJ Red a ‘phenomenal’ addition to Indiana wrestling staff

“CJ is just phenomenal,” Escobedo said. “I think for us to do that, it was a smart move. You know, you’re just going to continue to not only attract recruits, but develop recruits and develop our guys and keep it light hearted. 

“There’s a video out there on Instagram of him coaching team Indiana at Cadets and one of the kids ‘fived’ the guy and they kind of pan over to CJ and he’s making this weird face … I mean he can make you laugh and he can keep it light hearted and serious at the same time and you need that in a coaching staff.”

Red brings that much needed balance of seriousness and playfulness in the wrestling room. That delicate balance was crucial to Escobedo adding Red to the staff full time.

“That’s a perfect way to describe him,” he said. “And you know for me and this program, our environment, we want to keep it light hearted and you know fun. I want my guys to have a great experience in college when they look back five years. They’re like, ‘man who remembers the days when we were teammates and how fun the coaching staff was? How fun it was my time here?’ 

“Because they’re gonna remember that more than the wins or the losses. So having him be able to do that, it’s going to carry a lot of weight for these guys and their experience forever. And you know, we gotta have laughter. Laughter is a great part of life. Whether you’re winning or losing, you got to find that type of laughter and you can look to CJ to create that.”