John Smith Saying Slow and Cautious the Right Way to Get Back to an NCAA Championship
STILLWATER -- John Smith gets up from his table at Hideaway Pizza on campus corner and has a smile on his face. Now most people leaving Hideaway Pizza have a smile on their face and for good reason. The pizza is the best in the world as far as Oklahoma State folk and the Stillwater locals are concerned. Smith is smiling because he has a wrestling room loaded with talent and his sport has a plan to deal with COVID-19 and come out on the end with a great opportunity to have their premier event, the NCAA Wrestling Championships.
Right now, Smith doesn't even know who his team will wrestle first or exactly which teams will be on the schedule. He does know when it will begin. Wrestling will wait and start after the first of the year in 2021.
"The start of the season (after January) came from the Division I NCAA coaches," Smith explained. "They didn't implement that on us. We decided the best thing we could do is take our time and make sure our student-athletes get to the NCAA Championships. Even though we had a full season and won the Big 12 Championship last season there was definitely something missing. You grow up in this sport, these kids, working to wrestle in the NCAA Championships and you don't get to do that, then that season didn't mean a whole lot. Don't get me wrong, we won the Big 12 and we wrestled well there, the best we had wrestled all season. We were ready to go wrestle at the NCAA Championship but we didn't get that opportunity. We don't want to do that again."
A standout wrestler like Nick Piccininni was robbed of another chance at the NCAA Tournament. Smith doesn't want to have to stand in front of his team again and tell them the season is over before they go to the NCAA Championships.
The Cowboy wrestlers are working. They've been up in the room through the fall semester. They've done training with the United State Marines Corps. Smith has the sport's number one recruiting class from last year that is now the sport's top freshman class.
"It's a good group, still freshmen, and need to learn some things.," Smith told Pokes Report. "With them announcing that everyone gets a year back (eligibility) I'm going to wrestle everyone. You're getting a year back and there's nobody red-shirting. It gives us a lot of options. If you want to be out there on the mat, then earn it. If you win then you're going to be out there. You're going to see true freshmen on the mat out there for us, several, maybe up to five."
There is something new because Smith admits that as talented as they are, they are green and have many lessons to learn but in sizing up his team, he mentions a number of young wrestlers.
It starts at 125-pounds where a trio of freshmen like Trevor Mastrogiovanni from Blair Academy, Jakason Burks from Omaha, Neb., and Alexander Yokubaitis of Lake Charles, La. are three eager freshmen.
Reece Witcraft is a veteran at 133-pounds and could be keeping that spot warm until Olympic hopeful Daton Fix is back from an international suspension for a banned substance that accidentally ended up in his system. He will be back in February.
Proven competitiors Kaid Brock and Kaden Gfeller camn wrestle at 141-pounds and Brock could go up to 149 where injured but talented and determined Boo Lewallen is back.
Wyatt Sheets, Jardod Kadel, and Indiana transfer Joey Sanchez are all at 157-pounds.
Travis Wittlake was impressive last season at 165-pounds and the Oregonian returns.
Christian Bahl is at 174-pounds and freshman Dustin Plott could provide competition there.
Dakota Geer and Anthony Montalvo are at 184-pounds.
Smith said if he is healthy he sees freshman standout A.J. Ferrari, the most celebrated in the wrestling media of the freshman class handling 197-pounds.
The head coach also projected Austin Harris to be the heavyweight.
"We all need those athletes that love what they are doing, love wrestling, and love Oklahoma State," Smith grinned. "I love these young kids."
Smith said the schedule because of COVID-19 testing could relegate wrestling to one day of competition a week. If that is the case, Smith hopes they can wrestle two duals a day. Teams coming to Oklahoma could wrestle Oklahoma State early or late on a Saturday and then wrestle Oklahoma in the other time slot. He suggests that Oklahoma State and Oklahoma travel to similar areas, so they can double up with duals on the road.
I asked him about the prospects of an open tournament, even Oklahoma State hosting to get all of the wrestlers on the roster involved.
"We could do it, but it would be after January," Smith said of a tournament. "Let's have a short, eight-week season in January and February. Wrestle duals then go to our conference championships and then go to the NCAA and we're done in 10-to-12 and a half weeks."
That;s the plan and Smith really likes it.