What is Oklahoma State paying new wrestling coach David Taylor? Contract details released.​

Scott Wright
The Oklahoman

STILLWATER — Oklahoma State’s David Taylor is set to be the first college wrestling coach to earn $1 million per year.

The six-year contract will pay Taylor $7.45 million in all, opening with a $1 million annual base salary in his first year, plus $30,000 raises each year, according to the contract obtained by The Oklahoman.

The contract details, initially reported by Pistols Firing, also call for a one-time payment of $1 million.

The contract includes bonuses, such as $125,000 for winning an NCAA championship and $10,000 for each individual champion, while also allowing Taylor to choose for his performance incentives to be reallocated to the bonus fund for his assistants.

Taylor agreed to become Oklahoma State’s head coach in May, a few weeks after the legendary John Smith announced his retirement after 33 years.



Smith, who made $500,000 in his final season as coach, led OSU to five national championships and 490 dual victories.

Taylor, like Smith was in 1992, is a first-year coach fresh off a competitive career in which he was viewed as the greatest American wrestler of his era.

He was a four-time finalist and two-time winner at the NCAA Championships during his career at Penn State, then went on to win three gold medals at the World Championships and gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

He concluded his competitive career in April when he did not make the Olympic team at the 2024 U.S. team trials.

The hire shook the college wrestling world, considering Taylor’s status in the sport.

And the contract is a sign of not only Weiberg’s belief in Taylor, but also the magnitude of luring such a prominent wrestler into his first coaching job.

“I felt a huge sense of responsibility with this decision,” OSU athletic director Chad Weiberg said in May when Taylor was announced as head coach. “This job has not been open in over three decades and only eight times in its history. So I knew we needed to go through the process about doing the due diligence it deserved.


“We just had to make sure we did everything we could to find the next great leader, so we began the process that led us here.”

How Reed DeQuasie's move to Oklahoma State football conjured memories of Midwest City lore​

Scott Wright
The Oklahoman

STILLWATER — A few notable family names immediately conjure memories of the Midwest City High School football dynasty of the 1980s and early 1990s.

Gundy is one of the most recognized.

DeQuasie is also on that list.

And more than three decades after the two families last shared a team, they’ve paired up again.

Reed DeQuasie, a walk-on safety, joined Mike Gundy’s Oklahoma State football team over the summer. The son of Richard DeQuasie, Reed is a former Carl Albert standout who had walked on and redshirted last year at OU, where uncles Greg and Brent had played after their Bomber careers.

Buck is the oldest of the four DeQuasie brothers who helped carry the Midwest City torch through its most dominant era. Greg played quarterback for the Bombers in 1986, the one-year gap between Mike Gundy and younger brother Cale, who each quarterbacked a state championship team.

Brent came shortly after Greg, and Richard — or Richie, as Mike Gundy still calls him — was the youngest of the group, graduating in 1992.




Reed, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound safety, played on both sides of the ball at Carl Albert, quarterbacking them to the Class 5A title in his senior season of 2022. He had multiple Division II scholarship offers, as well as preferred walk-on opportunities at OU, OSU and Iowa State.

“I’m really excited about having him,” Mike Gundy said at Big 12 Media Days. “I think he’s a really good fit at our place. If he’ll stay patient and allow himself to develop, and get into our system, I think he’ll play for us.”

Reed is the second former Sooner walk-on to join the Cowboys this offseason, and both have family connections to OU. Gavin Freeman, the son of former OU tight end Jason Freeman, arrived at OSU in June.

While the DeQuasie brothers were known for their wrestling and baseball talents in addition to football at Midwest City, Reed was a basketball and track athlete at Carl Albert — the Bombers’ archrival, of course.

But crossing Bomber/Titan battle lines has become more common over the last several years.

“A bunch of those guys I grew up with, we were diehard Bombers,” Gundy said. “All their kids went to Carl Albert. My sister, all her girls went to Carl Albert. Now some of ‘em are even going to Choctaw.”

That’s where Reed began his career, attending Choctaw for his first two years of high school. He got to Carl Albert as a junior and spent two seasons as the starting quarterback. He played a bit of defense, but is still developing on that side of the ball.

He had 28 tackles and an interception over five games as a senior.

“What I tell guys like him is to stay patient and stay in the system,” Gundy said. “Grow a little bit at a time. And I think that he can do that.”

Teams are always looking for the next great head coach from the next great OC…..I think Zac is in a perfect situation to make the Falcons go!

A good to great QB when not hurt.
A very strong offensive line
A lot of talent at WR and RB.

I can see Zac utilizing the rb’s in the passing game a lot. I know his Rams philosophy is way different than what the Falcons have been doing, but if he and Cousins can gel….i think the sky is the limit in that division. What is Zac, 36?

Head Coach by 40?

Will be fun to watch. He has put in his time, but risen quickly. I’m betting on him to succeed!

MSNBC has led off each of its shows / “news” broadcasts by airing the new Kamala Harris campaign ad. MSNBC giving their girl free advertising. Understand, their not broadcasting the paid ad, their showing it as the lead story of the news broadcast.

I guess I shouldn’t worry about it. The people they’re targeting that watch that channel are already voting for Harris anyway. It’s not like people on the fence are watching that trash.

… immigration, law enforcement, health care, and a lot more.

kamala

War crimes? No way!


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Karine Jean-Pierre, aka the spin-master, was crying about her pay today when talking about Biden’s reasons for stepping aside.

“It’s an emotional moment for us. You do these jobs and they don’t pay all that well.”

Her pay? $180,000 a year.

Didn’t hear it all, but talked about how lifting has changed. More explosive lifting. Team lifts Mon,Tue, Thur, fri. Best group we have? He mentioned the OL just because we have so much depth and those guys have worked themselves into good players.

The one who stands out as the leader on defense/offense?

Glass: On Defense it’s Nick Martin. Will not be outworked. Weighing 225-228 right now. The leader of the D. Mentioned Daniel’s, and Oliver as well.

Offense he didn’t hesitate at all. Well he did start off with Alan is a good leader on that side of the ball, but in workouts it’s Presley. Like Martin he comes to work and leads with that attitude.

And jump on his good pal Otard and tell him “if you don’t endorse Kackles, you ain’t black” ?

Most college students today would protest this song.

I stopped by there for the first time a couple weeks ago, it’s a nice place. Do we have any SCC members in the Corral?

Joe Biden agrees to step aside in ‘24 Election. In exchange his own party agrees not to use the 25th Amendment to remove him from office and allows him to finish out his term of office.

How dare they negotiate a peace settlement in our wars! Who do they think they are? Don’t they know *we’re* the big dog not to be interfered with? If we want to sponsor a genocide then they need to step back, shut up and let us have our fun!




And don’t forget we’re participating in genocide in the name of free markets.

carry on

When they start burning Old Glory, that’s when I say f.uck ‘em. Let God sort ‘em out.

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@The Duke junior is playing with @Tiger junior today in a practice round at the US Jr Amateur. Lots of security for Tiger junior, not so much for @The Duke junior.