Football and Wrestling:
Two Peas in a Pod
“I would have all of my
Offensive Lineman wrestle if I could.”
- John Madden,
Hall of Fame Football Coach
What others say about Wrestling
• “I love wrestlers, they are tough and they
make great football players.” Mike Stoops,
National Championship Football Coach University of Oklahoma.
• “Wrestlers make coaching football easy,
they have balance, coordination, and as a
coaching staff we know they’re tough.” Tom Osborne - College Hall of Fame
Football Coach - University of Nebraska
• “"You take any athlete at the peak of his
conditioning and put him on the wrestling
mat with a wrestler and in two minutes he'll
be gassed. It’s…. great preparation both
mentally and physically."
•
Coach Barry Switzer (3 NCAA
National Championships with Okahoma,
Super Bowl Championship with Dallas,
& NCAA Hall of Fame Inductee)
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The best athlete at both sports while in
college may have been Bob Golic from
Notre Dame he was a Stud football player
being 1st Team All American twice and
leading ND to a National Title. He also place 4th and 3rd
in NCAA wrestling. The fact that he was involved with the
football team until January 1st every year because of
Bowl Games makes his wrestling accomplishments that
much more impressive.
Ray Lewis –
Pro Bowl Linebacker for the
Baltimore Ravens
2x Florida 4A State Wrestling Champion at 189
lbs
Roddy White –
Atlanta Falcons Wide
status as a physical
Receiver Roddy’s
and competitive receiver is
indicated by the two state
wrestling titles he won while
in high school.
2x South Carolina
State Wrestling Champ
About Roddy White
• "Well-respected by coaches and
teammates for his tough, aggressive
nature (comes from his prep wrestling
background)"
- NFL Draft Scout
Stephen Neal –
New England Patriots Offensive Lineman;
3x Super Bowl Champion
• Was
a 4x NCAA
All-American and 2x
National Champion
for Cal State –
Bakersfield
• 1999 World
Champion
About Stephen Neal
"In wrestling, you've got to have self-discipline and selfmotivation. As a lineman, it's the same thing ... me vs.
you. He brought that mentality to the football field.“ – High
School Football Coach
David Pollack –
UGA All-American Defensive
End/Cincinnati Bengals
Georgia
Wrestling State
Runner-up
• Pro Bowl Defensive Tackle Warren Sapp
was a Florida State Champion wrestler in
High School.
Lorenzo Neal –
4x Pro Bowl Fullback for Baltimore Raven
California
State
Wrestling
Champion
NCAA
Division 1
Wrestling
AllAmerican
• Wrestling is his indoor sport of choice. An All-America wrestler in
college, Neal returns to Fresno State during the offseason and stays
in shape by working out with some of the nation’s top collegiate
wrestlers.
• Steve
Wisniewski
• California State
Champion
Davin Joseph–
Pro Bowl Offensive Lineman
*2x
Florida State
Wrestling
Champion
•Tampa Bay
Bucs
• Hall of Fame Running Back from the
Miami Dolphins, Larry Czonka, pounded
opponents on the wrestling mat as well as
the gridiron.
• Carelton Haselrig won SIX national titles
in college (3 in Div II, which back then
qualified the Div II champs to the Div I
tournament and he won the Div I title all 3
years as well). He then went on to be an
all-pro lineman for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Now at age of 43 is in the UFC.
Other Notable NFL players that
Wrestled…
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Ronnie Brown - Dolphins
Tiki Barber -New York Giants
Ronnie Lott - 49ers
Bo Jackson – Raiders
Bruce Smith - Redskins
Archie Griffin - Bengals
Ricky Williams - Dolphins
Eric Rhett - Browns
Tony Siragusa - Ravens
Bruce Smith - Bills
Adam Vinatieri (yes, a kicker) - Indi
The link cannot be ignored…
• Football never made a wrestler a better wrestler,
BUT Wrestling made every football player a better
football player!!!
• Influence of Wrestling in the NFL
• • 10 Hall of Fame Football Players
• 43 Multiple Pro-Bowlers
• 60 Individual State Championships
• 13 NCAA Wrestling Championships
• 3 Heisman Trophy Winners Wrestled
• 14 1st Round Draft Picks Wrestled
• 23 RB’s / 20 LB’s / 2 QB’s / 66 Lineman / 6 DB’s /
1K
Make your mark…
• You have four years of high school to
participate in sports. Once its over, its
over…no do over’s. Make your mark in
high school by being the best you can be
whether that’s in one, two or three sports!