It's not going to happen with Smith as tbe head coach

Posted on: March 10, 2025 at 17:33:43 CT

He gave us a lot of great years, but the college landscape has changed and he refused to change along with it.

Guys keep getting hurt in practice because of the way he runs them. I've heard this directly from more than one athlete whose been in the room and/or is still in the room.

You might ask if they are so unhappy why don't they just transfer. Answer is wrestling isn't like revenue sports and it's not even much like other non rev sports. There is only so many spots, there isn't a lot of NIL to go around, it's just difficult to move between programs as a wrestler unless you are the elite of the elite.

So most stay just for the scholarship they get. They will wrestle if they are healthy, and go to class regardless if they aren't.

Either way, if Mizzou wants to get back to being somewhat relevant nationally in wrestling they are gonna need a splash hire who understands today's dynamic of collegiate wrestling. Okie State nailed it, Mizzou won't spend the money on it.

Edited by tigerman81 at 17:36:50 on 03/10/25