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    Brian Jerzak •

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    Highly-touted freshman has relentless mentality

    Four-time Colorado state wrestling champion Tyler Graff is preparing for his first official season with the Wisconsin Badgers in 2009-10. Last season he took a redshirt year to fine-tune his wrestling and prepare for the next four years. Graff has had success nationally and internationally and is prepared for his indoctrination into Big Ten wrestling.

    After compiling a 162-1 record in high school, Graff, who will compete at 133 pounds, is one of those guys who relishes everything about the sport and if past experience shows the wrestling world anything, will continue to thrive and enjoy every moment -- as long as Graff can.

    Tyler Graff
    Graff's wrestling career started largely because his parents wanted him to be involved in sports and knew he needed an outlet for his childhood energies.

    "My dad brought me to a wrestling room when I was seven years old," said Graff. "I guess I was always an aggressive kid and I liked it right away just because I was able to grab people and wrestle people. The coaches just taught me from there."

    Even if he couldn't foresee the success he was going to have, Graff knew right away wrestling was something he was going to enjoy for as long as he could.

    "I enjoyed it a lot," said Graff. "I enjoyed going to practice and wrestling and competing and stuff. It was fun right from the start."

    Before long Graff got involved in national tournaments and started to have success at that level.

    "When I was 10 or 11, I entered some of the little kid competitions and national competitions," recalled Graff. "I was doing well in those and it improved my confidence. The coaches I was around, some of them were Olympic gold medalists. Hearing their stories got me thinking 'I'd like to be like that.'"

    In order to be like that, he had to enjoy the grind. He continued to grow in all aspects of the sport and found that he enjoyed the less glamorous aspects of wrestling. That desire to get better had to come from within, but it was fueled by some of his early coaches.

    Tyler Graff (Photo/Tech-Fall.com)
    "Hearing some of my coaches talk about some of the prices you have to pay to win," said Graff, "like do your best, it is not always fun -- a better word would be it's not always comfortable -- but you should enjoy it because you've got to think of it as an adventure or as a way to accomplish your goals."

    Partially because of how much he enjoyed it, he took to the coaching he received completely and in turn developed a style that is hard to pin down.

    "I couldn't necessarily say I am good at any one thing," said Graff. "I like to think I am good everywhere."

    Unable to come up with a portion of his wrestling style that he would consider a strength, he commented on a part of wrestling that, although he might not say it, can only lead to success.

    "I just enjoy the challenge," said Graff. "I like everything about it. Whether it is training, preparation, weight management, performing, everything. I enjoy it all and it is never a duty or something I feel I have to do. It is a privilege."

    His preparation and his approach on the mat are two of the reasons he has been so tough to beat.

    "I feel I can't really force anything," said Graff. "If I really had to push to put pressure on a guy I feel like I would have to get a really good setup, get him off balance and make them come to me in some way. I find ways to get my offense off -- you can't really force anything. I see what is there and I take it."

    He developed that style of wrestling over time.

    "I wasn't always like that," said Graff. "At some points I was one dimensional in some areas, but I think just as the years have gone on and being around a lot of different coaches and learning from other people I have just been able to absorb their styles and taking what is good for me and what works."

    Tyler Graff defeated NCAA champion Franklin Gomez of Michigan State at the 2009 U.S. Nationals (Photo/Dave Jedlicka/jedicheetah.com)
    That approach helped him to one of the most successful high school careers in Colorado. His one loss came during his freshman year. The expectations and pressure that might have come with such a long winning streak might have worn down Graff, but instead he thrived on it.

    "I didn't feel any pressure whatsoever," said InterMat's No. 10-ranked 133-pounder. "I thought of every day and every match as an opportunity and that is the main goal, improvement, the bigger picture and taking it one day at a time."

    Before he wrestled at the collegiate level, he was able to compete internationally. He placed second in the 2007 Junior Pan-American Games and was a two-time member of the Junior World Team (2007 and 2008).

    "Those experiences were really good and they really motivated me," said Graff. "Even though they didn't quite go the way I wanted them to. I was disappointed, but I came away with things to work on, things I can improve on. I was more hungry after I left."

    After his experiences internationally and after doing everything he could possibly do as a Loveland Colorado high school wrestler, he was one of the most sought after wrestlers in the 2008 recruiting class.

    "I was looking at a few schools," said Graff. "Wisconsin was always one I would keep in mind because a buddy of mine, Tommy Clum, came here. He was a two-time All-American and he was one of the guys I looked up to when I was in the Excel wrestling program (in Colorado). He would be at the camps and he kind of told me one time that he thought Coach (Barry) Davis and I would get along and thought alike. I believed him, but it was a lot different when I actually met Barry for the first time. When I first got here I met the coaches, saw the (wrestling) room, saw the guys and I was pretty much sold right there."

    "His work ethic was perfect for the sport of wrestling," said Davis. "There are not a lot of kids that you know about that know the history of wrestling. He knows guys back in the 80's. He is a historian in that way and I think that really caught my eyes as well."

    Graff and Coach Davis elaborated on what they had in common.

    Barry Davis
    "We both had a relentless mentality," said Graff. "Like a dictating mentality that they've got. I agree with it 100 percent. I believe in dominating on and off the mat, in practice -- everything. That personality alone got my attention."

    "It's all about work ethic and what you have to do to be a good wrestler," said Davis. "Spending the time in the (wrestling) room to not only get better in the sport, but figuring it out your opponents, watching them on film and ways to attack. Finding ways to not only beat your opponent physically, but how to beat them mentally. Right away we connected with Ty. When we talk, we talk at a high level at a real in-depth place about the sport. With him knowing so much about wrestling and being an historian we can talk about that stuff."

    Last season Graff took a redshirt year and compiled a record of 18-2 as a redshirt. This year he will be in the mix from day one, but he used last year to fine-tune his entire game.

    "Most of it was done in the (wrestling) room," said Graff. "A lot of it was technical and mental. Basically I matured as a wrestler -- not making mistakes I made in high school or being more composed in situations and knowing how to wrestle in all areas."

    Graff made sure he put in plenty of time in the wrestling room -- a fact his coaches noticed during his first year. Coach Davis said that Graff is the kind of guy who is always taking notes and is always the last guy out of the wrestling room.

    This year Coach Davis has a clear vision for Graff -- and all his wrestlers.

    Tyler Graff (Photo/Tech-Fall.com)
    "My thing is in every match you lay it on the line and that makes inroads to get better come March," said Davis. "Don't worry about going undefeated. Just worry about wrestling ... and winning and losing will take care of itself. If you go out and compete like that, you will make bigger strides than worrying about winning and losing and saying 'this is my goal, if I just win I will keep my goal'. No, you achieve your goal by going on the mat, competing, letting it loose on the mat and that will show you were you are at. Throughout the season it will make you better because you are not afraid to make mistakes. You will build much quicker that way."

    This season Graff dives into the grind of a Big Ten season and will be facing some of the best wrestlers in the nation right off the bat. Regardless of how his freshman season shapes up, with his love for the preparation and Coach Davis' vision to build toward March, Graff will get better and better during his freshman campaign and throughout his time in Madison. Taking into account his desire to continue to wrestle internationally after his time as a Badger is up, Graff will continue to compete, train and enjoy every moment -- as long as he can.
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