“Coaching and competing are two different things,” NLWC head coach Cael Sanderson said. While his statement wasn’t exactly directed at anyone in general, it wouldn’t take a wrestling fan to surmise that the storied coach made a sly dig at his former student David Taylor. Ever since the 2020 Olympic gold medalist headed to Stillwater as the Cowboys’ new head coach, tension between Penn State and OSU has only grown.
The Cowboys finished the 2025 NCAA D1 Championships in third place, while David’s alma mater bagged its fourth consecutive national team title. Naturally, the pressure is weighing down on Taylor’s shoulders to show his worth and replace the NLWC as the country’s top wrestling program. With that in mind, the “Magic Man” is set to join hands with an overseas talent to make his next season even better.
David Taylor’s quest for glory gets a major boost
The official Cowboys Regional Training Center social media handle posted on Instagram on April 8 to share news of its newest addition to the fold. “Congratulations coach Zo on being formally named Developmental Coach of the Cowboy RTC!” reads the sonorous announcement as it reveals that French wrestler Zoheir El Ouarraqe will be collaborating with David Taylor to train the Cowboys.
El Ouarraqe brings a ton of experience to the table. He has made a name for himself in the international wrestling circuit with a gold medal at the 2013 Mediterranean Games and a bronze at the 2018 European Wrestling Championships. The 33-year-old wrestler isn’t new to Stillwater either. What began in 2015 as a training camp under the then-coach John Smith turned into a lasting and fruitful relationship with the Cowboys. In 2019, he helped Daton Fix become the youngest OSU Wrestler since Smith to make the Senior World Team at 57kg—an achievement that brought him the opportunity to closely observe U.S. National Team coaches Bill Zadick and Joe Russell.
“My goal is to have 10 Daton Fixes or 20 of them. We have great wrestlers, a great program and a lot of people love wrestling here. I want to help make Oklahoma State great again,” El Ouarraqe said a few years ago. And that’s exactly the mentality that David Taylor needs to take the fight to Penn State. Naturally, Cowboys fans can look ahead to the new season with excitement and see how David Taylor makes the most of El Ouarraqe’s expertise. However, while the Penn State alum will undoubtedly benefit from the Frenchman’s talents, Taylor will need to make sacrifices on other fronts.
Is OSU undergoing personnel changes?
Former NLWC wrestler and Olympian Thomas Gilman followed David’s footsteps to become part of the OSU’s coaching staff last year. The move, like Taylor’s, made a lot of noise. While that only fueled the fires between the rivalry between two of the country’s most revered wrestling programs, it looks like Gilman could be on his way back to where it all started for him.
The 2020 Olympic bronze medalist is rumored to be going back to Happy Valley to aid Cael Sanderson in his coaching duties. While the speculations are yet to be confirmed, it’s easy to understand why the move could make David Taylor squeamish in his stomach. Maybe it was the possibility of Gilman’s departure that prompted the OSU head coach to give someone like Zoheir, who specializes in the 57kg weight bracket, the formal position of developmental coach. However, it’s not all bleak for the OSU head coach, as his mere presence seems to be attracting talent from all over the country and beyond to Oklahoma.
In February this year, two-time Big Ten champ Joey McKenna arrived at the Cowboy RTC. News of the 3x All-American wrestler’s move to work with Taylor created quite a storm across social media, but ultimately, the hype couldn’t ensure OSU’s dominance at this year’s NCAA Championships. But do you think the future looks brighter for David Taylor & Co. with El Ouarraqe now officially thrown into the mix? How do you think this will push Cael Sanderson to go back to the drawing boards? Tell us your thoughts in a comment!
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