John SmithSmith's success has translated into the coaching arena. Since taking over as head coach of the Oklahoma State Cowboys in 1991, Smith has amassed over 200 dual meet wins and four national championships. The top-ranked Cowboys will be looking to win their fourth straight NCAA title this season.
From the National Duals in Cedar Falls to the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City, Steve Mocco to brother Pat, RevWrestling.com recently picked the brain of one of America's greatest wrestling icons.
Last season at the NCAA Championships, you had one of the most dominating performances in collegiate wrestling history with five national champions and 153 points. Is it realistic to believe that this year's team could end up being better than last year's team?
Smith: I don't think that you can really determine that at this time of the year. Obviously, that's a great challenge. And I hope it's a challenge that my team will accept. But a lot of things go into a year. It's really important that you're improving during the year. At this time of the season, it's just really tough to say we could or couldn't be better.
For four of your wrestlers, the season began at the NWCA All-Star Classic in November. Three of your national champions, Zack Esposito, Johny Hendricks, and Steve Mocco, lost. Did that serve as a wakeup call to those three wrestlers?
Smith: I don't think so. I think we trained really hard. I think we prepared and did a lot of the right things before the season started. I think it was more of an understanding of our thought process individually -- what it was going to take to have a successful year after becoming a national champion. You're in a different pair of shoes after you've won it. And it's about maintaining excellence.
With the exception of Mocco, all of your returning national champions have suffered regular season defeats. Does that concern you at all?
Smith: Well, you know, if you look at historically my scheduling, I do no favors for my student-athletes to go undefeated. It's a very tough schedule. The last 10 or so years, it's been the toughest schedule in the nation. The schedule is really not set up for an individual to go undefeated. They have to perform each and every week. That makes it much more competitive for anyone on the squad. So, no, it doesn't concern me. There are no surprises up to this point. I believe we're where we need to be right now.
The NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals are set to get underway on Saturday in Cedar Falls, Iowa. What do you try to take away from that event? Are there any questions you want answered about your team?
Smith: I don't think there are any questions. I don't need to challenge my team. I believe that they challenge themselves in every way. I hope that they have a passion about winning. I hope that they don't take it for granted … or that they don't look at this like it's not an important event. I think that you can disrespect winning in a way that it can eventually affect your performance. Even though we have won just about everything the last three years, we have to have the passion and drive to do it again, and it starts at the National Duals.
Who do you see as the biggest threat to challenge Oklahoma State for the National Duals title? Do you look at one team in particular?
Smith: No, I don't. You really can't. I think we have seen this year is shaping up to be a very competitive dual meet environment. If you look at the last couple of years, we've had to wrestle extremely well to win. It came down to heavyweight in a couple of dual meets at the National Duals last year. I don't think there's going to be any difference. I think it's going to be a lot of the same. It's shaping up to be a very competitive dual meet season.
You defeated Iowa, 18-14, on Saturday night. How would you characterize your team's performance in the dual?
Smith: It's a good win. I think people forget that's an event away from home. That's an event in their home arena. Two very historical programs. They take a lot of pride in wrestling in their building. If you look at the winning percentage in their building, or in ours, you see that's probably some of the highest in any sport. It's important when you go to a place like that and win. I wouldn't grade us an A, but I do believe that you cannot underestimate that it's tougher to go into places like that.
Steve Mocco (photo by Johnnie Johnson)Smith: Well, I really don't have much comment on it. It didn't seem to bother him. I don't think he had his best effort, but I'm sure he's glad that it's behind him now.
Mocco was obviously a dominating force coming out of high school. He has had a great collegiate career. He is a two-time NCAA champion who has a chance to join a very elite club of college big men who have won three titles. But there are still the critics out there who say that Mocco hasn't improved all that much since high school. In your estimation, how much has he developed as a wrestler from when he first arrived at Oklahoma State to now?
Smith: Well, I think since we've had Steve, he looks at wrestling differently. I do believe that he's enjoying his team and his teammates. In some way, he's become a leader, which I don't think he had spent a lot of time doing before. More importantly than him developing in wrestling, which I do believe he has, I've seen him become much more rounded as a person. In the end, I do believe that it's going to make a big difference in his wrestling.
You have had some solid performances this season. You dominated Lehigh, beat Oklahoma, beat Iowa, and won the Reno Tournament of Champions. In your opinion, what has been your team's best performance so far this season?
Smith: I don't think we've had that yet. And I'm not sure that I've given them time to have that. I'm still looking for it as a team. But I do not believe at this point that I can really pinpoint a match that looked any different than the rest. I'm still looking for that as we move into the month of January.
With the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City this year, does that add to the pressure of winning your fourth consecutive NCAA title?
Smith: I think if wrestling at home adds to the pressure, we have problems. It's going to be a sea of orange in Oklahoma City. There are going to be a lot of Cowboys fans behind us. There's no disadvantage to that.
Coleman Scott and Nathan Morgan wrestled as true freshmen last season. Is there still a possibility that one or both of those wrestlers could use a redshirt season at some point?
Smith: I think so. I think we'll see that in the future. I don't know when. Those two made some sacrifices in stepping out for us last year. And then obviously coming back and going again for us. They've kept the team in focus and have bypassed a redshirt year to keep that team in focus.
Nathan Morgan (photo by Johnnie Johnson)Smith: Well, I don't know. I think there needs to be some things that he needs to really concentrate on as far as tactical areas of wrestling. But it's been nice to see those improvements. He's been with us a year and a half. That's it. He's at a very tough weight class. I think that as he grows into his tactical frame of mind, he's going to be where we want him to be.
Freshman Brandon Mason has shown flashes of potentially being a great wrestler. He's obviously very tough on top. However, he has struggled at times this season -- like on Saturday night against Mark Perry. How would you characterize his season so far?
Smith: You know, it's been good. You look at his record, he has a nice record. He has to do a lot to keep his weight at 174 right now. He's probably a little bit small for the weight. But we think he's going to be real comfortable in it as we approach the second semester and not worry about it. That's the benefit of being a little bit light at the weight. But he's working hard. He's working hard to make some changes. He's had some great matches. He's beaten some good people. He has to earn his confidence, and he's had some matches that he's done that in. I would say that he's wrestling more confidently now than he has all season long. It didn't show a lot at Iowa. He really struggled getting off the mat. I believe that of the 14 points that Perry scored, 11 of them were on the mat, one point for riding time, and the two-point takedown. Those are the things that he needs to work on if he wants to be competitive with those top three.
Is Chris Pendleton still in the wrestling room on a daily basis? What has he meant to Mason's development?
Smith: Yeah, Chris is here training to make a world and Olympic team. He's in and out because of his freestyle. I think Brandon looks at him. He wants to do more than what Chris did as a freshman. Chris didn't place and had a very average year. I think, at this time, he's a little bit ahead of where Chris was as a true freshman.
Jake Rosholt (photo by Johnnie Johnson)Smith: I hope so. I believe that he does. When he came to Oklahoma State, it was something that he was really interested in. I do believe that he still is. The unfortunate part of collegiate wrestling is that it's a long season, such a long grind. He's had a lot of success, obviously. There needs to be some down time. The way we have our tournaments set up for freestyle, it doesn't give our kids much time to take that down time. He hasn't participated recently, but I hope that he will continue after this year.
Your brother, Pat, has been a part of your coaching staff for a number of years. Does he have any aspirations of becoming a Division I head coach?
Smith: You know, I don't know. I think he's really happy here in Stillwater. He's happy with the role he plays in this program. He's very important. I hope he doesn't while I'm coaching. I hope to have him as long as I'm coaching. If he ever does decide, I would be a proud brother to see him take a head job someday.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now