Oklahoma's new coach Lee Roper makes feelings known as he joins David Taylor in Cowboy RTC

By Animesh Pandey

Modified Apr 24, 2025 03:31 GMT

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Oklahoma State Cowboys' new coach Lee Roper shared his thoughts about his experience as the executive director and senior coach. Roper had previously worked with the budding wrestlers from the University of Northern Iowa.

The official X page of Cowboy RTC uploaded a video recently about Roper's experience as the new director. Roper expressed his delight at the opportunity given and is hopeful that the Oklahoma State Cowboys will reclaim their past glory.

In the video, Roper mentioned:

"Initial thoughts coming in here, it's like a, it's so different. I've been coming for 10 years off and on, on the other end of it, getting ready to compete. Now I'm walking in here, thinking about the preparation side. I don't know, it feels like almost a complete journey, a little bit. It's strange, the different kinds of thoughts you have, based on the perspective you have when you come into the room."

When Roper had joined the Cowboy RTC a couple of weeks ago, Taylor congratulated him by sharing the news on his Instagram story. He wrote in the caption:

"Excited to work alongside @roper165"

David Taylor had joined the Oklahoma State Cowboys as the head coach in late 2024 after announcing his retirement from international wrestling.

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David Taylor shares his thoughts about the transformation of the Oklahoma State Cowboys under his tenure

David Taylor in action at the NCAA Wrestling Championships 2025 [Image Source: Getty]

David Taylor has barely completed a year at the Oklahoma State Cowboys as the head coach. Yet, the former Olympic champion has shown promise by not only leading the Cowboys to the Big 12 Championship victory, but also a respectable third place finish at the NCAA Championships 2025, their best performance in the last four years.

In a conversation with the press [via Pistols Firing] after the Championships, Taylor mentioned the change in the mindset of the Oklahoma State Cowboys' camp, saying:

“It's stared the beginning of the year, which is how we're performing in dual meets and then it was how we can separate ourselves and how we can go out and score bonus points. I think it's started to become our DNA of what we're going to go do was a separating factor for us in the conference tournament; it made a difference for us at the national tournament.”

As a collegiate wrestler, David Taylor represented the Penn State Nittany Lions. He had never lost a single edition of the Big Ten Championships as a collegiate wrestler from 2011 to 2014. He also won the NCAA Championships in 2012 and 2014, apart from two silver medals in 2011 and 2013.