• 11 months ago
Tom Brands Interview
Transcript
00:00 I'll send the relay out to that.
00:02 Nellie?
00:03 Open up for questions for Coach.
00:04 Well, Tom, I guess we'll just start
00:11 with the news from the beginning of this week
00:13 and the DCI investigation revelations there,
00:16 there being potential misconduct with the investigation.
00:20 I guess, your initial thoughts on what happened there?
00:22 I don't really have initial thoughts.
00:24 It probably-- the way that it's described
00:28 and whatever, basic liberties were infringed upon.
00:31 Shouldn't happen in this country.
00:33 It shouldn't happen in the state of Iowa.
00:35 You want a big story now.
00:39 Where was the urgency to find out the truth
00:42 when this thing went down and it didn't make sense?
00:45 That's what I would say to everybody in this room.
00:47 Where was the urgency?
00:48 Now it comes out.
00:50 Now you want reaction.
00:52 And I'll just be a real patient guy,
00:54 and we'll see what comes of it.
00:55 I know one thing.
00:57 We got a lot of guys upstairs that
00:59 are ready to go because of what happened.
01:01 And we got guys that were impacted
01:04 and are still being impacted by that that are still
01:06 ready to go because of the way that we've talked to them.
01:10 You never know what will happen.
01:12 Be ready.
01:13 Cassiope, be ready.
01:15 Nelson Brands, be ready.
01:18 Kobe Seabrook, be ready.
01:24 So does that imply that there's still options for them to--
01:27 That's about all I got to say.
01:29 Where were these questions in this--
01:32 now it's out there, and you want reaction.
01:36 That's my reaction.
01:38 Where was this urgency to go after it
01:42 when it was a little bit of work?
01:44 Because it would have been work.
01:46 Sure, it would have been work, but these are on court filings.
01:49 That's different than--
01:50 You got my reaction.
01:51 I'm not being rude here.
01:52 I'm being very, very fair.
01:54 I've answered the question, and I'm patient.
01:57 We're going to see where this goes.
01:59 And all along, we have said, all along, we have said,
02:04 stay ready, guys.
02:06 You never know.
02:08 Even the appeals that went against us,
02:10 we had two or three sets of different sets of appeals.
02:14 There's no way that we're going to win the appeal because
02:17 of the precedents that were set with the other appeal.
02:19 Stay ready.
02:21 You never know.
02:23 You'll work hard on it.
02:24 You'll work hard on it every day.
02:26 Gable philosophy-- work hard on what's important in your life
02:30 and work hard on it every day.
02:32 And that's what we have done in this thing.
02:34 And we're still working.
02:35 And we're still working.
02:37 And there's a guy--
02:38 [AUDIO OUT]
02:42 Do you think some of your athletes,
02:45 some of the athletes here, some of the athletes in Aims
02:47 should file lawsuits?
02:49 You got my reaction.
02:50 Bosley, help me out here.
02:51 We've got to move on.
02:52 We are wrestling at Illinois, and we
02:54 are wrestling at Northwestern.
02:57 Then we go to Michigan, and then we got Penn State,
02:59 and then Wisconsin, and then we go to Oklahoma State.
03:03 With Schriever's dominating performance,
03:05 has he solidified his spot at 133?
03:08 We had a plan.
03:10 He is doing his job.
03:11 We love it.
03:12 You're going to hear from him.
03:14 And he's going to have the next two matches.
03:17 And we love what's happening.
03:19 We love it.
03:20 And we got to keep a good thing going there.
03:23 Aiden Riggins is a guy that's wrestled,
03:25 since he's been here, four different weights.
03:28 And now we're seeing him at 184.
03:29 He was a guy in high school, highly recruited,
03:31 highly sought after.
03:32 What's it like having a guy like that be selfless and just
03:35 go wherever he's asked to go in the lineup?
03:39 First of all, he's done a good job of building himself
03:43 to what our needs are.
03:46 So that's number one.
03:47 Number two, he has two opportunities this weekend.
03:50 Illinois first.
03:51 That's first and foremost.
03:53 And that's where our focus has to be.
03:57 I think, if I was speaking for him,
04:00 that he feels good that his focus is making him better
04:07 in some of the areas that he needs to focus in.
04:10 But at the same time, we're not about moral victories.
04:12 Just because we're making progress
04:14 doesn't mean that we're getting our hand raised automatically.
04:19 And it's time to--
04:20 let's put a W in the column.
04:22 And I know that's what he's about.
04:24 But I also know that when things aren't going your way,
04:27 you still got to be focused, have a good attitude.
04:29 And he's done that.
04:30 He has done that.
04:31 He has maintained his direction and focus.
04:34 One of the things you say a lot of times is about Ben Keeter,
04:37 Gabe Arnold, is like, life is under the hood.
04:39 What do you like about under the hood there with Aiden Riggins
04:42 and what he brings to the table?
04:44 This.
04:45 Right here, he smiles.
04:46 He smiles.
04:48 And he doesn't like the results that are happening now.
04:52 But he is focused on what's ahead
04:54 and where he needs to work to get better.
04:57 And he's done a great job of that.
05:00 I could talk about that all day long.
05:03 You've had guys in the past that have done things similarly.
05:06 Mitch Bowman kind of comes to mind.
05:09 Is that something that you seek out in competitors?
05:12 Or is it a product of their competitiveness?
05:16 I mean, I think that coaches sometimes
05:20 get a lot of credit for good qualities of their team.
05:23 And I think we just got some really good guys that
05:27 exhibit that.
05:28 Are his biggest gains going to be getting stronger?
05:36 Or is it more technique for him to start getting those W's
05:39 that you mentioned?
05:40 You're talking Riggins?
05:41 Riggins, yeah.
05:41 Well, he's here now.
05:42 So he'll answer those questions.
05:44 But I will say that his resiliency
05:48 in the department of the areas that he
05:52 knows that he needs to work on, that focus is there.
05:57 The results aren't there.
05:59 But the focus is there to continue to get better
06:01 and work on the things that he needs
06:04 to work on to get better.
06:06 Doesn't mean that he's OK with the results.
06:08 Doesn't mean that we're OK with the results.
06:11 But he is controlling what he can control.
06:14 And there is an upbeat characteristic to his process,
06:20 even though the results aren't there.
06:22 And that's as good as you can be when
06:24 things aren't going your way.
06:27 And like I said, I mean, you watch him
06:29 when he comes off the mat.
06:31 You're not happy, right?
06:32 But he's listening.
06:35 He's processing.
06:36 He's asking.
06:37 He's responding in the practice room.
06:40 And we have an opportunity Friday night.
06:42 We have an opportunity Sunday.
06:44 And that's where we go from here.
06:46 And this is not like, what are we going to do with Riggins?
06:51 This is, hey, this guy is willing to put the work in.
06:54 He's focused.
06:56 And he's going through some things right now.
06:59 And we're with him.
07:01 We're with him.
07:04 At 174 Illinois, Edmund Ruth's a pretty talented guy.
07:08 I mean, Patrick Kennedy's been working his way back
07:10 since that little minor knee surgery
07:12 and kind of just getting more acquainted.
07:13 I mean, what are you looking for out of him in that match
07:16 as he goes forward?
07:17 Just keep doing what Patrick Kennedy does best
07:19 and have a blast out there.
07:21 Be relaxed.
07:23 And be the best Patrick Kennedy you can be.
07:26 Be a hammer when it's time to be a hammer.
07:28 And relax and let it happen.
07:34 Thanks, Coach.
07:35 Thanks.
07:37 - Good.
07:37 (clattering)
07:40 [BLANK_AUDIO]