Aaron Brooks on Nittany Lion Wrestling Club after David Taylor departure: 'Stays the same'

Aaron Brooks earned the Olympic 86 KG mantle over Gold Medalist David Taylor at this year’s Olympic Trials. So now with Taylor retired from competition and taking over the Oklahoma State wrestling program, Brooks is one of the leaders in the senior level room.

Despite Taylor bringing along former Penn State assistant Jimmy Kennedy and NLWC member and Olympic Bronze Medalist Thomas Gilman to Stillwater, things haven’t changed much at Penn State. Brooks, along with NLWC teammates Kyle Snyder, Kyle Dake and Zain Retherford will rep Team USA in men’s freestyle wrestling in Paris this summer.

Plus, Brooks and Penn State saw changes before so it’s a constant evolution of the wrestling room from college to senior-level guys.

“The room stays the same, which I think is cool,” Brooks told FloWrestling. “Because then right when they leave, we get new faces in. sS we got a young recruiting class that came in, Nick Lee’s coaching. But things are always constantly changing. And that’s happened a lot. I mean, even we had great guys, great teammates, like (Vincenzo Joseph) … doing what’s best for them. You know, so I think it’s just a part of that process and moving forward. But the room’s always a room which I love.”

Taylor, a four-time All-American and two-time NCAA champion for Penn State, was always a Nittany Lion. But with the changing of the guard this year, Brooks will attempt to win Olympic Gold fresh off a historic college career.

Aaron Brooks focused on Paris post-David Taylor

A five-time All-American (2020 with a canceled tournament) and four-time NCAA champion, Brooks looks like the best version of himself at the moment.

After winning his fourth title at the collegiate level, Brooks didn’t slow down in preparation for the Olympic Trials.

“But one thing I talked about with Coach Cael (Sanderson) before this tournament, so different conversation, but, like, a target. God always molds you for those things,” Brooks said in Kansas City after NCAAs.

“My whole life I’ve had a target, whether being in Maryland and got known a little bit on the national stage, it prepares you for that. I just look at it that way. I’ve always had a target, not just me going for a fourth title but I’ve always had a target on my back regardless. We kind of had that conversation. I think that’s the truth. It’s nothing different when you’ve had a target on your back your whole life.”

If Brooks has a target on his back, he seems to thrive. And if that’s the case in Paris, the United States might produce another Gold Medalist.