Luke Surber Looking for One More Dual Win at Iowa, Taylor Close to the Vest with Stories

STILLWATER – Just when it looked like first-year Oklahoma State wrestling head coach David Taylor was about to loosen up a little in front of the camera and cell phones recording his media sessions, the multiple NCAA champion, World Champion, and Olympic Gold Medalist is back being tight to the singlet when it comes to his team and the sport of wrestling. Some of Taylor’s comments on duals, matches, and match-ups would make former Dallas Cowboys head coach Tom Landry smile. Taylor flat-out doesn’t give up much. 

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Taylor talking to the media on Feb. 20.

"It's an exciting match," Taylor said. "You got two motivated programs, and you got two great teams to go wrestle. But really, in our preparation, it's about just getting our guys ready to go. It's just another match. We gotta get ready to go wrestle another match this weekend, we’ve got 10 seven minute matches, maybe less, maybe more and we’ve got to be ready for those."

Taylor wrestled at Penn State and he knows Iowa wrestling and what being on the mat at Carver-Hawkeye Arena feels like. He was asked if his wrestlers have asked him about it. He was asked if his wrestlers ask him about any of his wrestling exploits. 

"I think we have guys on our team that really love wrestling," Taylor said. "So I think you talk about just different things, and we talk about our experiences as competitors, and maybe what we thought, how we prepared, how we made mistakes, but they're pretty general terms.

Not exactly great copy.

"The reality is we got a match this weekend,” Taylor added. “It's part of our schedule. Just gotta go out, and you're ready to wrestle."

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Amine admits it is hard to get stories out of Taylor.

Oklahoma State 165 pound wrestler Cameron Amine transferred to Oklahoma State from Michigan, so he’s wrestled at Iowa, right? No, he was coming back from an elbow injury and just weeks shy of being back and missed his one opportunity to wrestle on the black and gold mat in Iowa City. He said he’s asked his head coach for some old wrestling “war stories” but he has done it privately on the bus, during travels, and said he’s heard some good ones. 

Oklahoma State senior and Tuttle, Okla. native Luke Surber is looking for a good story in Iowa City. One, it’s Surber’s final dual as a Cowboy. He has been a good one, but this season has been his healthiest and his best. Surber is 19-1 and will be staring at No. 1 Stephen Buchanan on Sunday night. It won’t be the first time, Buchanan is a transfer, the former Oklahoma Sooner is wrestling his one and only season at Iowa. He’s 2-0 vs. Surber when he was wearing crimson and cream. The most recent meeting last March in the Big 12 Tournament was close, a 6-2 decision in Buchanan’s favor. The first loss was an injury forfeit in February of 2021. 

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Luke Surber talking Iowa dual this week.

“I do a lot of things that a lot of wrestlers don’t do, so he has to prepare for me. I wrestled him last year, but I don’t think either of us were very healthy,” Surber said. “I think it will be a lot different match-up than last year.”

Surber wants this memory vs. Buchanan and with his team at Iowa to be something special.

“It would be pretty cool. Duals are fun and everything and I really enjoy duals,” he said. “We’ve had some good duals and I’m excited.”

Part of that enthusiasm is for the postseason, which starts in Tulsa on March 8-9 at the Big 12 Chamionships and then March 20-22 in Philadelphia, Pa. at the NCAA Championships. Surber isn’t really looking past the postseason to his final season, but like his father long-time head coach at Tuttle, Surber plans on giving back.

“Yeah, I’m going to do something with coaching. That is what I am trying to figure out,” Surber said of his future, which includes one more semester at Oklahoma State. I’m going to coach somewhere, I just have to figure out if it will be on the high school level or little league.” 

Right now, he’s just looking to figure out how to beat Buchanan and how to finish as high on the podium as possible in Tulsa and Philly.

Not to be lost in this match-up is that while Oklahoma State vs. Iowa is considered the most celebrated rivalry in college wrestling between the two top programs in the sport. Asked about that, you could tell David Taylor kind of bristled.

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Brands gets into it with John Smith at GIA.

“That’s for you guys to decide,” Taylor responded meaning the media. Up in Iowa City, Hawkeyes head coach Tom Brands likely bristled some as he was asked about Taylor moving from Penn State, a school that has dominated Iowa for the past decade plus, to Oklahoma State to rejuvenate the Cowboys program. 

Neither navy blue or bright orange is in Brands’ color wheel.

“The tradition is set,” Brands said. “When you have new faces or new blood and they have invested, there is always that (tradition). John Smith packed a pretty good punch. They are 13-0, people take notice. He is trying to continue a good thing and build on it, put his own little twist.”

Then Brands with perhaps his most real quote.

“I have a lot of problems here, so I am not going to think too much on his program,” said the often volatile Iowa wrestling coach.

Taylor is more the strong, silent type, but Brands does give better quotes most of the time.