What do Oklahoma high school wrestling coaches say about John Smith's retirement from OSU?

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What do Oklahoma high school wrestling coaches say about John Smith's retirement from OSU?​

Nick Sardis
The Oklahoman


John Smith announced he was retiring as Oklahoma State’s wrestling coach on Thursday.

Considered one of the best wrestlers of all time, he had tremendous success for the Cowboys as both an athlete and coach.

Smith, 58, won five NCAA titles during his 33-year coaching career at Oklahoma State, and he’s had a huge impact on the state wrestling scene.

Here is what five Oklahoma high school wrestling coaches said about Smith and his retirement.

Ethan Kyle, Stillwater​

Kyle has a close relationship with Smith.

Kyle wrestled under Smith at Oklahoma State from 2003-07 and even coached his son, current OSU freshman Sam Smith, when Sam was in high school.

“John Smith is a legend,” Kyle said. “More than anything, it just kind of dawned on me like, “Gosh, there’s gonna be some incredible tribute videos.’ Just such a legend. I’m just failing to come up with necessary words really.”

Kyle still remembers when he was getting recruited by Smith as a high schooler in Missouri.

The young Kyle was starstruck when Smith arrived on a home visit during Kyle's senior year.

“I grew up completely idolizing him, watching him," Kyle said. “And when he came by the house that day and then left, my parents and my family and my brother and sister were just almost giggly. Just like, ‘Holy you know what.’ We spent some time around him but just knowing the impact that he had. He’s just a larger than life figure.”

Archie Randall, Putnam West​

Randall is the wrestling coach and athletic director at Putnam West.

One of the most successful high school coaches in state history, he led El Reno to 11 state titles in 13 seasons before taking over at Oklahoma City University in 2006.

Randall said Smith has always been willing to lend a hand.

“He supports all Oklahoma wrestling,” said Randall, who is in his second year as Putnam West’s coach. “When they started that job at Oklahoma City University, he called me up and he helped me raise the money for the mats.

"He mentored me for the first year. Because when you went from high school to college, people (say), ‘That’s pretty easy.’ No, it’s not. It’s a whole different kind of game. And he didn’t just do that for me. He does that for any coach. If you’re coaching, you want help. He’ll help you.”

Smith helped Randall back then and hasn't stopped since.

“We were up there two years ago when Putnam West wrestled Stillwater,” Randall said. “John came down just to talk to our kids and talk to me and tell the kids that, ‘Hey, it’s all right. It’s your first year. You guys will get better. Stick with it.’ He gave them the pep talk and stuff like that. He doesn’t have to do that kind of stuff, but he does. He’s all about Oklahoma wrestling. He always has been.”

Andy Schneider, Edmond North​

Schneider led Edmond North to the Class 6A state tournament and dual state tournament championships this past season.

The Huskies had the most dominant year in state history, shattering several records.

“He was one of the guys that came and congratulated us on our team success,” Schneider said. “That means a lot coming from him.”

Schneider’s son Layton is a senior who will continue his career at Air Force, and they were in Colorado while visiting the school when they heard the news about Smith.

“I think it’s something that everyone has been talking about for several years,” Schneider said. “Like, how much longer is Coach Smith going to coach? Who is going to take over for him? I guess I wouldn’t say it’s something that’s totally out of the blue. It was going to happen. The timing of it, I didn’t know when it was going to happen obviously. But I think everyone foresaw that it was sooner rather than later.”

Bobby Williams, Tuttle​

Tuttle has two Oklahoma State commits in juniors Beau Hickman and Ethan Teague.

Former Tuttle standouts Dustin Plott and Luke Surber have been key members of the Cowboys’ lineup in recent years, and the Tigers are starting to develop an Oklahoma State pipeline of sorts.

“All interactions with him have been nothing but great,” Williams said of Smith. “He’s an outstanding man, outstanding character and it’s all been positive from my aspect.”

Williams starred at Tuttle before wrestling at the University of Central Oklahoma.

Smith was one of Williams’ first wrestling idols, much like many young Oklahoma wrestlers.

“He’s done so much for the wrestling world,” Williams said. “As soon as you find out who he is, you find out that this is the guy. This is somebody that you want to watch technique videos from or you want to get up to Oklahoma State and learn from. He’s seen as one of the highest-esteemed people in all of wrestling.”

Benny Coleman, Choctaw​

Coleman is Choctaw’s longtime coach and has been around the Oklahoma wrestling scene essentially his whole life.

He grew up in Choctaw, while the Smith family was in Del City.

“I’ve kind of been around him since little league stuff going on and I’ve sent some kids down to OSU to wrestle, so I’ve been around him quite a bit,” Coleman said.


Coleman was somewhat surprised about the news, but he’s confident Smith will remain an ambassador of the sport.

“He’ll be missed in coaching, but he’ll still be around though,” Coleman said. “I don’t see him leaving OSU wrestling. He’ll have something to do with it, I’m sure."