6:30 AM
Oklahoma State's Malcolm Rodriguez, one of the country's best linebackers, had to make one last tackle after the game and walked into his locker room.
Cowboys coach Mike Gundy is working out right after a win. He sees Rodriguez, just shy of his junior age, and presents a challenge. Two former wrestlers are looking at each other in a football locker room, but this is Oklahoma, and they are not in a football locker room.
Rodriguez said that he thought he was sore and that he got in a wrestling stance. I picked him up after I got a hold of him.
Gundy thought he had a shot. He wrestled until ninth grade. He said that he had to give up on his goal because of time constraints.
Rodriguez won two state wrestling titles. He said he put him down because Gundy yelled.
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Rodriguez said that he still had it. I could still take him. He wouldn't have a chance.
This would be no surprise to opposing offenses. Brock Martin, who won three consecutive state titles in Oologah, Oklahoma, is one of the stars behind the Cowboys.
The Oklahoma State defense is the best in the country, ranking in the top five in points per game, points per drive, and yards per play, while also leading the country. Rodriguez and Martin were both named to the first team of the Big 12. The Cowboys will play the Bears for the Big 12 title on Saturday at noon on ABC.
Rodriguez and Martin both said their wrestling history is a big reason for their defensive success. It's all about angles and physics. Rodriguez said he would read defenders' hips in wrestling.
He said it comes from the background. It's second nature to get people down. I go for the legs and the hips, not the big tackles.
Martin compared his tackling style to a wrestling move.
Martin said that he and Malcolm were successful wrestlers and that they don't miss a lot of tackles. I take out my knees and dive. You can't run if you don't have legs. We're not going to make any highlight tapes with the way we tackle. It gets the job done.
The numbers support their story.
The only teammates in the Big 12 who have more than 20 tackles at or behind the line of scrimmage are Martin and Rodriguez.
Rodriguez is one of six Big 12 players with at least 100 tackle attempts, but he is the only one with a tackle percentage above 90%. His 21 tackles at or behind the line of scrimmage on designed runs are the most in the Big 12 and are tied for fourth-best in the FBS.
Oklahoma State's much improved defense has been led by Malcolm Rodriguez, who has 106 total tackles, three sacks and three forced turnovers.
Martin has only had one tackle broken on 47 attempts this season and 16 of those have gone for a loss, eighth best among players who have attempted at least 40 tackles.
They've helped Oklahoma State lead the Big 12 with an 84% tackle rate as a defense while also making 96 tackles for loss, second-best in the FBS. The Cowboys have allowed the most runs to go for a loss or no gain in the country.
Martin and Rodriguez are used to being linked. Both began wrestling when they were 5 years old. Growing up 50 miles apart, they crossed paths early on, with Martin reluctantly admitting that Rodriguez might end up with lifelong bragging rights.
Martin said that there was a photo of him next to his teammate on the podium when they were 6 years old. He beat me in the state championship. I outgrew him there. We never wrestled again after that.
Brock Martin is in second place, while Malcolm Rodriguez is in first. This was the last time they wrestled.
The two continued to push each other despite being at different schools. Martin, who wrestled at 220 pounds, said that he and Rodriguez, who wrestled at 195 pounds, would warm each other up for state championship matches.
They were rivals in football. Rodriguez came out on top again.
We played six times in three years. They were in the district. We played him in the state championship my sophomore, junior and senior year, and he beat me every single year.
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Gundy valued the wrestling background.
He said that he got a feel for the type of athletes and people that compete in that sport when he was a wrestler. When we get a chance to wrestle, they move up on our list quickly because I know how tough it is.
The OSU wrestling program was a big part of Rodriguez and Martin's upbringing. Being in the same athletic department and star alongside them is a thrill, but it's paid off for OSU football.
Gundy and John Smith have been friends for 40 years, and their parents knew each other, despite the fact that Smith was considered one of the greatest wrestlers of all time.
Gundy said that he and John used to travel around the country wrestling freestyle in the summer.
Gundy and Smith have farms about a half mile from each other.
Gundy said that they share farm equipment. Martin felt the need to correct the record.
"As Coach Smith has said many times, he is a real farmer," Martin said. undy can keep his llamas and lambs clean. All the kids stuff.
Gundy doesn't mind sharing his football players with Smith.
In January 2020, three years after they last competed on the mat, Rodriguez and Martin began working out with the Cowboys' wrestling team, which has won 34 NCAA titles since its inception in 1915 and has produced an average of 4.8 All-Americans every year in Smith's 30 years.
Martin said that it was not easy for him and Malcolm to stay there. It wasn't easy, but they took it easy on us. The first day we were there, we had to bike five miles for the warm up, then we went into the wrestling room and drilled. There is a huge difference between football and wrestling shape.
Rodriguez agreed.
He said that after a football play, you get a little rest. Wrestler is always on the go. You're exhausting yourself and you're exceeding your limits. Cardio is a lot harder in wrestling. I was in shape for football, but not for wrestling.
Rodriguez was grateful for the experience, but it helped with some closure.
He said that he misses it when he gets to a dual, but he knows his time has passed. I can just watch from here.
Rodriguez and Martin attended the wrestling team's first home dual this season after the Cowboys' win over Oklahoma. The crowd gave them a standing reception.
These guys know a lot about wrestling.
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