Wrestling Sensation Ditches David Taylor’s Cowboys to Join Rival Team Days After De-Committing Top University

David Taylor has worked wonders at Oklahoma State ever since taking over from John Smith this year. Heading into the holiday break after a 34-9, win over Virginia Tech, the Cowboys are in a buoyant mood. With the likes of Wyatt Hendrickson (Heavyweight), Dustin Plott (184 pounds), and Luke Surber (197) among others, the Cowboys have given their fans enough reason to celebrate, but the program has received a setback recently.

Back in October, Jude Correa, the top prospect from the Wyoming Seminary reopened his recruitment after decommiting from the University of Michigan. This was a blow to the program, as apart from being the top prospect in the country in his weight bracket, he had another advantage. He could shift to the heavyweight bracket based on his needs. As such OSU was one of the programs eyeing his commitment.

This month, Correa’s visit to Stillwater raised the chance of him becoming a part of the Cowboys. The top-ranked in the 215-weight bracket could have been a fine candidate for the heavyweight class in the Cowboys. Currently, David Taylor’s team has three heavyweight wrestlers. They are from senior, redshirt senior, and redshirt sophomore classes, so a freshman’s inclusion wouldn’t hurt the balance. 

After landing the victory against Austin Johnson in the Powerade final in 215-category, Correa announced that he would compete for the Cornell Big Red next year. He took to Instagram to confirm the news, posting an image of him in Cornell’s jacket, with the caption, “I always like the color red.”

Last year, Correa sat with Jon Kozak of FloWrestling for a conversation. In that unofficial conversation, he cleared the air regarding his joining any wrestling program. He mentioned that he would make at least 5 official visits before taking the final call on the program. At that time Correa had said that he was looking for a program that feels like “family” and wanted coaches who have high expectations for him and follow through in holding him to that high standard. 

He also joked that the number of Pokestops on the campus would play a big role in his choice. Despite his commitment to Michigan last year, there was always a chance that he would again access his options.

In high school, Correa was seen as one of the best high school wrestlers in the country. He won at Super 32, Walsh Jesuit Ironman, Beast of the East, and Powerade Tournament, and is 2-for-2 winning national prep championships. In 2022, Correa was the only Wyoming Seminary wrestler to go undefeated.

Correa started out small but grew to 6-foot-½-inches and 215 pounds and retained his speed on the mat. He wrestled at 182 as a freshman and 190 as a sophomore and now can easily transition to the heavyweight. This year, Correa competed in a super-match against Nicholas Sahakian, the top-ranked heavyweight in the country, and emerged victorious. Notably, Sahakian is committed to Michigan.

Correa’s college weight class for the Big Red could be 197 lbs or heavyweight and he is certainly a major coup for them. While this would be disappointing for the Oklahoma Cowboys, they are maintaining their golden run. David Taylor’s mentees are showing no signs of stopping. But would Jude Correa’s inclusion have brought a change in the Cowboys’ lineup? 

David Taylor is looking forward, betting on his team’s morale 

The OSU Cowboys overpowered big names in college wrestling in the last few weeks. Against Utah Valley, David Taylor’s Cowboys claimed a 38-6 victory. The celebratory mood continued to the duel against Virginia Tech. Against them, the Stillwater squad put on a show, claiming another win.

In the coming days, the Orange Brigade might see a few more such performances. David Taylor is hopeful about that. Any special reason? 

As per the former Olympic champion, it is self-belief. In a post-match interview with FloWrestling, David said, “Belief, you know, you know, we’re just guys are believing.” But only self-belief may not help to win the matches. Exactly. DT thinks the same. As per him, the wrestlers need something in them to make points in the games. “We talk about what’s your expectation when you walk out there. Do you expect to just win, or do you expect to keep scoring? You know, that’s what we talked about: just keep scoring,” he revealed.

So, he may not be thinking harping too much on missing out on Jude Correa. Instead, the coach is most probably looking forward to implementing his rules to make his mentees confident enough to score in the matches. Isn’t that the best approach? What do you think?