David Taylor was named Outstanding Wrestler at the NCAAs (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Penn State sophomore David Taylor is one of the most talked-about wrestlers in college wrestling, and for good reason. The 2012 Hodge Trophy winner was dominant in his second season, finishing 32-0 with 15 pins and nine technical falls. After receiving a wild card bid to the Olympic Team Trials in Iowa City, Taylor has his sights on Olympic gold.
How's it been going since NCAAs?
Taylor: I took off the last week off and was back on the mat this week and ready to go. It's been nice to get everything back on track and let my body heal up a little bit.
What was the student reaction on campus?
Taylor: It's been growing. I've been walking around campus a couple of times and people would stop me and say 'congrats' or whatever. Everybody reads the daily newspapers and stuff so I think a lot of people were aware of what happened. We keep gaining more and more fans, so I think it's probably a bigger deal than it was in the past.
David Taylor gets his hand raised after winning the NCAA title (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Taylor: I enjoy what I'm doing and I'm a pretty emotional wrestler, I think there's no reason not to express how we feel when we step onto the mat. Our fans are the greatest in the country and they're really supportive and it makes a difference in some matches.
You were literally making eye contact with fans and nodding your head in recognition. That's a new one for you this season.
Taylor: How ever many people are there and people are yelling and screaming, and suddenly some guy stands up and screams your name, it's motivating. It's awesome. I've been around wrestling for a long time and it doesn't happen very often, but I think people really like the way we wrestle and are really supportive. You're getting ready and you hear your name, there's no reason not to smile at them and recognize that moment. It helps.
Penn State had three dominant NCAA champions. Was there a significant competition for recognition?
Taylor: Frank, Ed, Quentin and I battled all season during matches to see who get more bonus points and pins. I think it helped during the season for us to be really dominant and we were going out trying to outdo each other. Competitiveness among the team definitely helped us.
Did you compete to win the Hodge Award?
Taylor: It's a special thing to battle with your teammates for those kind of awards, but if I could split it three ways I'd split it with those guys.
David Taylor celebrates after getting a pin in the semifinals (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Taylor: We knew bonus points were huge coming into the tournament. Four teams ended with more than 100 points. Bonus points make a difference and we'd been doing it all season, and coming into nationals you want to do that same things. Get a guy in his back and that's huge.
Seemed to make the difference.
Taylor: Absolutely. Me, Ed, Q and Frank's bonus points were equal to another All-American or two. I didn't realize that it could be so huge.
Did Cael talk about scoring bonus points?
Taylor: Not really. We had signs in the room with little things all season, stuff that said 'bonus points,' 'extra effort,' and that motivates us, but it's nothing anyone had to say. If there are 20 seconds left and you're up by seven points, guys were getting takedowns to get the major. That doesn't happen in the NCAA tournament because everyone is worrying about advancing, but guys like Frank and Q were cutting guys to get those majors. I think it says a lot about our team.
Talk a little about the country's most popular backup, Matt Brown.
Taylor: Such a good guy. Matt came in this year after his mission and was literally in better shape than everyone in the preseason. We were like, 'Holy smokes, this guy is going to be an animal.' He came in and kept getting better. Ruth wrestled with him all the time and loved it.
David Taylor has a 70-1 carer record in two seasons (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Taylor: Right now the plan is for me to stay at 165 and Ruth and Q are going up. Then Brown goes 174.
So if you stay at 165 and Cornell's Kyle Dake moves up a weight class ... People are already talking about this like it's the "Match of the Century."
Taylor: When you've got two guys that are pretty good at different weight classes people start talking. The only way to find out is if it actually happens. I'm staying at 165, so we'll see what happens.
You guys are pretty close, right?
Taylor: We grew up wresting each other and had similar growth patterns, so we wrestled each other at Fargo. I went to his house in New York and wrestled with him, and he would stay at our house in Ohio. Grew up pretty good friends.
So ... Match of the Century?
Taylor: I think it would be great for the fans, and great for them to talk about. Who knows what would happen, but it would definitely be good for wrestling and talked about for a really long time.
You two might not be alone at the weight class with Andrew Howe and Tyler Caldwell rumored to be coming back at 165 pounds.
Taylor: I'm all for it. I'm all for competition. It'll make it more fun.
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