Pat Kraft on Penn State Wrestling HC Cael Sanderson: ‘He’s a Unicorn’

Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft described wrestling coach Cael Sanderson as “a unicorn.”

It’s easy to see why.

Sanderson was already a wrestling legend by the time he entered the coaching world, having gone 159-0 as a wrestler at Iowa State and then becoming an Olympic Gold Medalist in 2004.

He’s added to his legend since becoming a coach. Penn State has won 11 of the past 13 national titles and is expected to make that 12 of 14 in Philadelphia less than a month from this writing.

Sanderson is the man, and his boss knows it.

KRAFT ON CAEL

 

“I’ve been asked that by not just alums but elite football coaches, basketball coaches,” Kraft told reporters late Monday morning. “He is a unicorn, as we would say in our world.”

“It’s Casey (Cunningham), it’s Cody (Sanderson), it’s that entire organization and how they run.”

“That’s real. He recruits amazing young men that understand and are fully committed to being the best. And Cael does it in a way that is so special and unique.”

“You think you come into a wrestling program and it’s like ‘fire and brimstone.’ No. Take care of your person first. Take care of who you are. When people understand that, and love to wrestle and we’re just going to get better and better and better.”

“The culture that he builds in that building, that Casey and Cody, that unit builds, there’s nothing like it. “

“I’m like the worst to have around them. Because I’ll be going to Big Tens at Northwestern and I’ll be nervous. I’m already nervous.”

“But what I learned from them is you do the best you can in everything you do, and at the end of the day, if it happens, it happens and you move on. They are all like that.”

For Kraft, Sanderson has helped him become better.

 

“And I’m not just saying this… just watching them, and to take a deep breath and understand that he keeps the main thing the main thing,” Kraft said. “Man, that’s special. So, I tell our coaches all the time, ‘go talk to him.’ Because you think it’s something different than it really is, and it isn’t. You guys watch him.”

“Let’s just get to the core. Amazing people, great fathers, great leaders and they get that culture to buy in,” Kraft said.

Penn State wrestling is continuing its dynasty despite only having 9.9 scholarships.

Starting next season, teams will be able to have 30 scholarships.

Neither Kraft nor Sanderson envision dishing out all 30 but it seems clear that there will be more.

“No, we’re not going to have 30 scholarships,” Kraft said. “We’re working through the number right now. But Cael will have more scholarships that he can invest in the program.

“Cael will be part of our rev share. Football, men’s and women’s basketball, wrestling obviously and getting into the space of women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, and we’re trying to manage the money.”

Kraft made it clear that if Penn State wrestling wants something, it will have it, saying half-jokingly that Sanderson would get $100 million if he asked for it.

“I always tell Cael ‘Cael, we’re going to do everything we need to do to give you all you need and the resources you need,’” he said. “I don’t envision any… I may be wrong on this, but any program doing 30 scholarships for wrestling. But we’re going to give Cael what he needs, I can tell you that we’ve added scholarships for him in the future.”

Penn State wrestling next competes at the Big Ten Championships, scheduled for March 8-9 in Evanston, Illinois.