Penn State wrestling legend David Taylor named new head coach at Oklahoma State; how does it impact the Lions?

Penn State wrestling alum and Nittany Lion Wrestling Club member David Taylor is leaving State College for Stillwater, Okla. “The Magic Man’ is the new head coach at Oklahoma State, the Cowboys wrestling team announced on Monday It will mark the first time that Taylor, 33, is the leader of a college wrestling team. He became a surprise candidate for the job in recent days after many assumed it would go to Coleman Scott, who is the team’s current associate head coach and also a program alum who is the former North Carolina head coach. Why Scott did not ultimately take over for Cowboys’ legendary leader John Smith, who retired after the 2023-2024 season, is unclear. But, it led to Taylor becoming the coach of the storied Big 12 program.

“Forever grateful for my Penn State family, I am looking forward to this new chapter with @CowboyWrestling @OSUAthletics,” Taylor wrote on Twitter.

Forever grateful for my Penn State family, I am looking forward to this new chapter with @CowboyWrestling @OSUAthletics pic.twitter.com/7e6otWqXHl

— David Taylor (@magicman_osu) May 7, 2024

Taylor was 134-3 as a Nittany Lion and is a multi-time Hodge Trophy winner, which is the Heisman trophy of college wrestling. He also won a gold medal at the 2020 Olympic games in Toyko and is a two-time NCAA champion and three-time world champion in freestyle. Before moving on to the college coaching ranks, he was still competing, as he finished second at April’s U.S. Olympic Team Trials after being beaten by Aaron Brooks in the 86-kilogram finals. Taylor runs the M2 Training Center in Pleasant Gap. He also has a farm and business interests in the State College area. Before the Trials, he said transitioning his career to MMA was not out of the question. But, his move into college coaching ends that possibility.

“I’m interested in it,” Taylor told MMAFighting.com. “Right now, my focus is being an Olympic champion. If that happens, it’s time re-evaluate and see what’s next. MMA is something that’s very interesting to me. A lot of wrestlers talk about it because they want the hype or whatever it may be, but I’ve put some time into training this past year.

“I went out to Factory X with coach Marc Montoya and I really enjoyed it. I liked the elements of what my folkstyle wrestling and my mat wrestling brings to MMA. It’s something that could translate well. It’s not something you can talk about because there’s killers in that arena. Just because what I’ve done in wrestling, it’s not going to instantly translate. But if I have that fire to transition and do it, I believe I can be successful. That door is open. I think about it probably every single day.”

How does David Taylor going to Oklahoma State impact Penn State?

It was not readily apparent to the public that Taylor had his sights set on entering the coaching ranks, But, there are few jobs with the resources and history that can match Oklahoma State. So, it’s logical to think it will be a good fit for Taylor. Some will question the fact that he’s never coached in college, of course. But, he is a high-level trainer, has more name recognition for recruiting aside from anyone not named Cael Sanderson, and knows how to run a wrestling operation.

Will Penn State lose any wrestlers or recruits to the Cowboys? That remains to be seen. Third-year Penn State wrestler Levi Haines skipped his senior high school season to train at M2. So did Lions second-year grappler Tyler Kasak and Class of 2024 commits Zack Ryder and Brock Weiss. Whether or not any of them will leave to follow Taylor is not yet clear. But, those will be the four to watch closely in the days ahead. The same goes for any wrestlers who don’t have a spot in the Lions lineup but could fill a hole at the Big 12 school. On the coaching side of things, assistant coach Jimmy Kennedy would be someone to watch for moving on.

The short answer is that, yes, someone(s) will likely leave. But, with Sanderson and co., still in town, Penn State will weather the storm.