Cody Brewer: Chasing competition, mentorship and The Punisher - Ep. 34 - The GO EARN IT Podcast

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to the Go Earn It Podcast, where we bring
you stories each week of people who have battled through adversity,
overcame the obstacles, and earned their dream. You were born
for greatness and our mission is to bring you the
stories that will inspire you to dream big and go
earn it.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
And welcome to the Go Earnit Podcast. This is episode
number thirty four. Man, think about thirty four. I go
right to Walter Payton, but we are talking wrestling with
Cody Brewer, national champion for Oklahoma, four time All American,
couple times Big Twelve champion. I'll for the Sooners and
now he's the head assistant coach for the wild Man
Joe Debukee at Princeton. Cody, I've been looking forward to

(00:49):
this for a long time. This is fantastic. How are you.

Speaker 3 (00:52):
I'm good, I'm good. Thank you for having me on.
I'm honored to be on, so thank you.

Speaker 2 (00:57):
I want to start with this. It's I come straight
on out of the gate because especially against a guy
like you, Cody, you're good on your feet, you score
a lot of points neutral and I got to get
to your legs quick. So first question for you is
in all your time wrestling as a as a wrestler
and as a coach. Who has the best wrestling IQ

(01:18):
that you've ever crossed paths with? Yeah, we're coming. I
mean that was me and getting to the legs. I
told you, I told you with the text you better
be ready for the hand.

Speaker 3 (01:28):
And I got that. I knew you would come with it.
Who bred probably Mike Leitner, my head, my coach at Oklahoma,
probably has the best IQ I've ever been around as
far as number one knowing where I was good and
we built off that when I was at Oklahoma. But
I still tell people it's not my style that I'm

(01:48):
teaching now, it's his. And he was a national champ
at Oklahoma. Coach MANI national champs when I was there,
but his IQ of just knowing me as a person
where I needed to get better. We both fit in
the same system of just I was a high crotch guy.
He was a lefty high crotch guy, which is probably
even better in that way. But unbelievable IQ that he

(02:10):
had knowing the sport, knowing how people are, which is
a big thing. I mean, I think that's knowing your
athletes is huge. And he was probably the best guy
I've ever seen do it. I've been around a lot
of good people. Unbelievable. I'll mention another guy just because
you know. In Big ten, guy Andrew Howe was definitely
high on that list as well. Of his IQ and

(02:30):
how to work with athletes was great and I learned
a lot from him when I was there at Northwestern
with him. So both those two guys are probably the
best I've been around, but there's probably gonna be many
more in the future.

Speaker 2 (02:41):
So I had a note about Michael Leitner. What is
your favorites Michael Leitner's story. If you can peel the
onion back, give me an example of something he did
with you that you'll never forget.

Speaker 3 (02:53):
Yeah, I remember one of the first kind of workouts
and I always looked up to him. He was probably
the reason why I went to Oklahoma. I was I
wanted to learn from a national champ, but just watching
his film, you know, and really educating myself, you know,
I wasn't. I was. I was a young kid when
he was going through and I remember we had a

(03:15):
workout and at the end he kind of grabbed me
and it was like a hand fighting workout. We're hand fighting.
And we actually went like all the way into the
hallway of Oklahoma, like just you know, going back and forth,
back and forth, hand fighting, hand fighting. And after that
workout and he was pushing me around, you know, there
was maybe some punches, some this, it was we were

(03:37):
going and he actually had texted me after that workout
and he was like, listen, anybody that the bloody's my
nose in a workout or wants to come to fight,
I'm behind for the rest of their career. And that
was like early at Oklahoma when I was just a
freshman and I was like, this guy is going to
be my guy. He's he obviously I had to show

(03:57):
him kind of that respect that I was in there
to battle. And once he found out I was, after
that was kind of like no looking back and anything
I ever needed, workout wise, anything I just needed from
him personally, he was there and yeah, that first story
that we had of that kind of that hand fight,
and he was like, man, this guy's gonna be different.
And I knew, you know, and I even I tell

(04:17):
people this because I looked it up actually this year
just to you know, you're recruiting and looking at rankings
and I was ranked fourteenth in my weight class and
there was no there was one national CHAMPI in front
of me, and zero all Americans. So you just never
know high school wise, like that was my senior year ranking.
You never know where you're gonna be and who you're

(04:38):
gonna be around. But man, I was around the right
people like coach Leitner through that time, and that's what
got me, you know, the success that I had in college.

Speaker 2 (04:47):
What's your first memory of starting wrestling.

Speaker 3 (04:53):
I was a young kid. I think I started when
I was five or six. My older brothers had wrestled
and I just remember going into the room and I
could not get enough of like just trying to wrestle
with my high school guys. I was there was you know,
I had like their own kids practice, but I was
grabbing like my brother's friends that were in high school,
and I was like, come on, let's wrestle, you know,

(05:13):
and I'm a young kid, but I was like that
was something that I like always thrived for, Like I
was always trying to grab the bigger, the better guys,
even as a young kid. I was. I loved the
sport that much that I was like, man, I got
a who's this guy? Who? We wait? Are you? You know? Hey,
let's wrestle, Hey, let's wrestle, And I just I ate
it up in that way. They were probably I was

(05:34):
annoying to them, probably, but I remember remember doing that
all the time. I remember one time I went to
one of my brother's college events and I was in
middle school, and I remember being like, I could beat
that twenty five pounder on their team right now, you know,
kind of telling myself that, and I like kind of
grabbed him and wrestle with him a little bit, and
I was like, I'm there. You know, I'm the and

(05:55):
it's a college guy, of course, but I just remember
having that chip on my shoulder kind of away. But
I wanted to be better, and going to those college events,
you know, you learn so much. I was. I'd sing
something on a Saturday, trying it again at a club
practice on Monday. So I ate it up in that way.
I loved it. I played football too, but knew I
was never going to be big enough to play football.

(06:17):
But I love wrestling, probably right from the get go.
It was hard, but I loved it.

Speaker 2 (06:22):
Ye had a phenomenal high school career. Four times state
champion Oak Park there in Kansas City. Did you ever
lose in high school?

Speaker 3 (06:31):
I did every year. Actually, I actually think that's what
defined my career in a way in high school, because
I would our high school really chase competition. I would.
I think I lost in state, you know, once or twice,
and then out of state a couple of times too,
So I definitely, yeah, there was times I got humbled,
for sure. I remember my freshman year the first time

(06:51):
I had I ever had somebody throw legs in on me.
Didn't know what it was like in the Midwest. We
just didn't. It wasn't a thing. And we wrestled in
Ohio and I was like, man, I got to get
better here, and he you know, it's just I grew
within the sport. Yeah. I lost at least once every year,
not many times, but yeah, I remember that made me better,
you know, made me train harder, made me go back

(07:12):
to kind of the drawing board where I was deficient,
and uh, but yeah, I think at least once every
year I was there.

Speaker 2 (07:18):
So what did you lose to? You remember.

Speaker 3 (07:22):
Alan Waters, who I think was he was a two
time All American of Missouri. We wrestled my junior year,
I lost to him. Zane Richards. Me and him went
back and forth. We wrestled twice. I think we went
one and one. He was really good in high school too.
My freshman year, the guy that threw legs was Gus Seiko.
I remember him as Ohio kid, and I remember being

(07:43):
like laughing, yeah, because he's so big, Like we wrestled
at like one hundred and three pounds and then he
got much bigger than me in college. I was like, man,
that guy was a one of three pounder at one time.
So but yeah, that was Those were a couple of
the guys I remember that were all you know, had
good success in high school and then you know some
of them in college as well.

Speaker 2 (08:03):
So when it comes to Gus Seiko plug for Defense Soap,
they do a lot of great stuff for wrestling defense soap.
Yeah soap there at Princeton for sure, Yeah, yeah, no doubt.
How important is it Cody to chase that competition and
forget about the record. I mean, so many people are
tied up into the records. I mean, I gotta tell

(08:24):
you this, and this is a little bit of a rans.
It's great to win state titles. It's awesome. In Wisconsin
where I live, the Cole Center, guy wins a four
state title gets a standing ovation and deservedly so. However,
it's my opinion if I was a high school wrestling coach,
I would basically make a promise to you that I'm

(08:47):
going to do the absolute best I can to get
you beat. I think there's more value there. Your thoughts
on that, Yeah, I think it's like I said, I
did define my career. And I think for high school
kids too, it's like everybody's so good the level, even
from when I'm getting close to ten years well a

(09:08):
little over ten years out.

Speaker 3 (09:09):
Of high school. In some ways, like I I think
the high school wrestling has gotten so much better. It's
it's so hard to be able to compete and go undefeated,
you know, and then maybe stay in your own state
and and do it that way. And you you know,
you mentioned Wisconsin. It's like, you know, you you want
to you know, some of these states, it's like I
have to travel out. I remember one of my guys,

(09:30):
Sam Watona, that I coached at Virginia Tech. He's from Alabama.
The state wasn't great for him, and he, you know,
he didn't have a lot of competition. But man, when
he went out, he was wrestling. He Super thirty two,
he's wrestling his tournaments, He's getting other you know, competition.
It helped him. He took some losses, helped his career.
Now in that way, it's just you. You have to
do it. I think. I think if you you know,

(09:52):
if you're not losing, that's great. You know, winning is awesome,
don't get me wrong, But you know, where are you
actually getting better? Are you peeking for the right things?
You know? That was He's a big thing with our
high school program. I came from a number of four
time state champs in my high school, but they all
probably lost at some point. You know, there was all
you know, during their careers because we went in chase competition,

(10:13):
which I think is is something you have to do,
you know, to grow within the sport and become better,
and it teaches you adversity. You know, at a young
age in high school, you know you're not always gonna
win everything, and the fact that you have adversity early
is good. What's your favorites? State championship memory doesn't necessarily
have to be the state championship final either man. I

(10:40):
think by freshman year, I wrestled a senior in the semis,
wasn't picked to win the match. He was a big, big,
one oh three pounder at the time I ended up.
I think I got a takedown late in the match
and actually turned it into a turk and almost got
a fall off that, and I thought that was pretty
pretty awesome to end it with a takedown at back points,

(11:02):
and yeah, just as it being a freshman and being
in that moment that state semi final probably wasn't pick
to win. The guy was really good. I think he
was a state champ, possibly from the year before, So
that was big to turn that takedown in the near
fall in that match on top and then obviously ended
up winning the finals too, So I think that kind
of catapulted me. But I just remember being happy and

(11:23):
being proud of myself that I stepped to the occasion.
You know, that guy's a senior, he's an experienced guy.
I'm just a freshman and being able to rise to
the occasion of that moment and get a take down
at a big point and then turn it into near
fall as well.

Speaker 2 (11:35):
So when you look at your college career, how did
you deal with pressure, and how did that approach change
as you matured.

Speaker 3 (11:48):
I would say, obviously the right people around me to
calm me down at moments, But to me and I
kind of look at life this way. In a way,
I wasn't supposed to be there college wise, I is
it supposed to I don't think, in my mind do
much in high school. You know, I wasn't supposed to
leave Kansas City. In some ways, I just I was

(12:09):
grateful for the opportunity. I was always so excited to compete,
the work and the time I put in to cut weight,
to compete at the best possible I could. I wasn't
supposed to do any of that, So the fact that
I did, I was just grateful for the moments. You know.
The pressure never really got to me because I was
more excited, you know, I was trying to be grateful

(12:30):
for that moment that I got to put on that
ou single and scrap was more of I was just
grateful for the opportunity. The pressure stuff would never really
got to me in the way, like I said, because
I wasn't My expectations, I think were different from what
people thought and what I thought of myself. Obviously I
thought I could win a national title. I thought I
could be great, but just grateful for the moments that

(12:53):
I had. I mean, I don't or we had big
duels and big matches and semi finals of tournaments and
final and just always took it as an exciting opportunity.
Not so much. Man, that's a lot of pressure. It's
a big moment. It's like we'll go get to somebody's
leg and let's see how they react, you know, in
that way. So I had a different approach to it,
for sure. But you know, pressure comes and goes, you know,

(13:17):
as much as you love it. Once you slap hands,
it's kind of done at that point, and you see
where you're at and you test yourself, you know, in
those moments. So yeah, that's how I kind of dealt
with it, I guess in a long winded answer.

Speaker 2 (13:28):
But what I love about these interviews is everybody's got
a story. I mean, every single person's got a story.
Like looking at you right now, for my vantage point
over your right shoulder looks like a bunch of I'm
assuming probably Princeton teams of the past, is my y. Yes, yes,
everybody that tows that line and puts that single it
on it. Everybody's got a story. I was watching an

(13:50):
interview with you and Mark Bater like four years ago,
I believe it was.

Speaker 3 (13:55):
It was unused.

Speaker 2 (13:56):
Yeah, you are telling Mark, and I was like alling
away by this. The year you win the national title,
you basically left the team. You left the team because
you couldn't make weight. Give us that story again. It's
it's too good not to tell again.

Speaker 3 (14:15):
Yeah. Yeah, So I wish, you know, in some ways
you wish you don't have it, but when it turns
out the results you have, you're like, ah in that way.
But uh, yeah, so I was. It was after Christmas break.

Speaker 2 (14:26):
I had got hurt and this was your your your
junior year correct, Yeah, yeah, my junior year correct, red
shirt junior, Yeah yeah, redcher junior.

Speaker 3 (14:34):
Yep. So I came back, had a good start to
the first part of the year. I had only lost
one match, and some would say I kind of got
caught because it was early in the match, but just
in the crazy thing of I think I got pinned
and I think I went in I want to say
that break that was only loss I had. I was
probably like ten and one roughly or eleven and one.

(14:55):
I think it was around that.

Speaker 2 (14:57):
I think it was.

Speaker 3 (14:58):
Oh no, I know exactly who it was. I remember
that crazy situation we got into it. I was I
got caught and I was like, oh, well he got
me so but good first start of the season regardless,
wrestling really well. Honestly, I want to say a bonus
pointed almost everybody other than that match for the most wrestling,

(15:18):
you know, top of my game. I felt like, went
back home, got hurt, and when I got hurt, I
I just you know, did the thing that all wrestlers
probably do in some ways. But I started eating and
I just was big, and I was like, man, I'm
gonna I'm gonna have a hard time getting back down
to Wait. I couldn't work out at the time that
much because of the injury I had, so I was like, man,

(15:40):
I'm gonna have to do work. And then we went
to Hawaii, which don't ask me why we went to
Hawaii for this trinth There was about five or six
teams that got a part of it. And I realized
I got out there and I probably weighed one hundred
and forty six pounds and had to make thirty three
within two days. Two or three days and the lowest
I got was about one forty one forty one, and

(16:01):
I was like, man, I'm having a hard time and
this is not eating much, working out a couple of times,
trying to do everything I could off that injury. And yeah,
I think I missed probably at least five competitions just
trying to get my weight down, you know. And I
was doing it the not fun way. You know, You're

(16:22):
you're using saanas, You're doing whatever you can to try
to make it. And then we had a duel against
INC State and I got to about a pound over.
I made it all the way down to thirty four
and I kind of just quit. At that point. I
was like, I'm done. This isn't what the sport's about.
I'm not having fun. I'm done. I kind of had

(16:42):
a talk with coach Cody and I was like, I'm
I'm done. I can't do this anymore. It's not fun
for me. I'm not you know, I'm not enjoying it.
And then I probably took it wasn't very long, but
I probably took thirty forty five minutes to myself. I
remember I was in the midd the street in Norman Oklahoma,
kind of crying, just you know, just kind of letting

(17:04):
it out. At that point, the emotions that I had
of like, you know, this is what it's going to
be like if you're done, you know you're gonna walk
away as a two time All American, And you know,
I thought about it more and more and then walked
back in the locker room and I told him we
had a duel on Sunday against West Virginia. I said, coach,
I'm sorry more than anything that I put you kind

(17:24):
of through this, and then I want to make it
if I can make it on Sunday, can I come back?
Because he was kind of once I told him I
was done, he was kind of like, all right, you're done.
You're done. I'm out, you know. And so I walked
back in. I told him, I was like, all right,
I'm sorry, and I want to come back for that
match Sunday. I think I can make it Sunday, give
me one more shot. And he was like, all right,
you know, you make it on Sunday. You're back in.
So that was the last duel of the year. I

(17:48):
made it on Sunday, made sure I made it before
even you know, our warm up started, I was like,
I'm making wait today, this is the day Russell West
Virginia won the match, felt good, and then about a
week and a half later, the big twelves come around.
I avenge that loss against Earle Hall. I think I
bonus pointed. I think it was like twelve four or

(18:08):
eleven four in the finals, a big twelves, My first
time ever went in big twelves. And then a week
and a half later, I was just crazy, but I
was seated thirteenth, and it was crazy because Earle Hall
was sixth. I don't know where they came up with
the logic in the ways of redeeming that loss, and yeah,
I was seen at thirteenth, and then in my mind

(18:31):
it was just got to run through five matches. I'm
the best guy in the bracket, but just got to
get through five. And then I think most of those
matches besides the finals, I think were bonus points in
that way. And that's just kind of how I wrestled.
Everybody that knew me was always like, I'm gonna shoot
as many times as it takes to score points, and

(18:53):
I knew that was always exciting for fans. Just in general.
I was never going to be a guy that stood around.
That was not my career. That's not how I was coached.
And yeah, I read it all five matches and won
a title. And then you know there's the story of
kind of leaving the team and then turned it back
around and ended up winning a title. So for me, honestly,

(19:13):
it supposed to me relate to athletes as coaches, you know,
as a coach. Now I'm like, I get it. I'm
one of the very few that I could say that
I got it in that way. And you never know
when your time is gonna come. And lucky enough that
junior year, I was able to put together, like I said,
five matches at a great moment, and and my family
was all there. It was in Saint Louis, so I'm

(19:35):
from the opposite side of the state, but it was
driving distance. They were all there, and yeah, got to
live through that moment, I guess, and it was crazy.
I yeah, I go back now, I have, you know,
looked at it now. I took me I think a COVID.
I actually finally went back and watched the five matches
again and I was like, wow, that was that was
awesome in that way. So it. Yeah, it just teaches

(19:58):
you a lot about yourself and you know, kind of
that not give up story of like I could have
been done. That title, could have never happened. I could
have been done with the sport. You know, I stuck
through it just a little bit longer, and a good
thing happened. And like I said, not everybody gets that moment,
Not everybody gets that time. So I was definitely grateful
and blessed that I was around the right kind of
people that were willing to give me another shot and

(20:20):
then and then see me through it.

Speaker 2 (20:21):
So fantastic story. Going to talk more about your national title.
I want to rewind a little bits. You're a four
time state champion coming out of high school. What was
the recruiting Like, I had two schools?

Speaker 3 (20:35):
That was it? Oklahoma Missouri? With the two schools I visited, Yeah,
I had some other options. I wanted to be close
to home a little bit. That was a big deal
for my my mom and my family to be able
to watch me wrestle was a big deal to me
just in my experience, and so yeah, I took two
visits that senior year. I told my brother, I was like,

(20:58):
I've seen both places. I'm gonna take a night or
two to think about it. The next day I knew
knew Oklahoma was the place for me. One of my
high school teammates, Zach Bailey, who was a two time
All American, went to Oklahoma, so that was a big
deal seeing him have success there. I was a Missouri kid.
I had seen them have good success as well, but
just there was just something different about Oklahoma when I

(21:20):
showed up there. When I was there Coach Spain's it
was kind of funny. I'd tell the story that Coach
SPADs might be the best recruiter. I know he was
retiring and recruited me to go there, and I knew
he was retiring, so whatever that means in the recruiting
game of like being like, I know he's going to
be done, but he's still getting me here. And yeah,

(21:40):
so he got me there. And then Coach Lightner and
Coach Cody and me all meshed right when I got there.
Tyron Lewis was one of the coaches Oklahoma State guy,
but he was at Oklahoma at the same time that
I was, And yeah, those guys kind of just all
put the arms around me, were like, hey, we didn't
recruit other than coach Lightner didn't recruit you. But we're
here for you, you know. And me and coach Cody
mesh really well in my five years there, which was

(22:03):
which was awesome because you know, you have relationships with coaches,
but for me to have that with the head coach
was a big deal. But yeah, I wasn't I guess
highly recruited in some ways, but I knew where I
wanted to be.

Speaker 2 (22:15):
So and now you're obviously a coach and you've been
at Northwestern Virginia Tech now at Princeton, I mean you've
lived it recruiting, and we talked about it a little
bit earlier. I mean you can look at paper and
look at the credentials and the accolades, and that's one thing.

(22:35):
But we're talking about seventeen eighteen year old kids, maybe
sixteen years old when you start recruiting. What the pools
are like the billion dollar question, like what have you
what have you really learned about recruiting.

Speaker 3 (22:51):
I think at the end of the day, it's these
these parents and kids want to know that you're going
to be there for them, you know, through the ups
and downs. You know, I know the way college athletics
looks now and it's a lot different. It almost seems
very transactional, you know in some ways, Hey, we get
your money here, we do this, transfers a lot of that,
and it's just it's changed the makeup of it. But

(23:11):
I don't think my approach has changed of you know,
I think if you ask kind of any of the
guys I've coached or been around, you know, my job
is to build relationships with them and then and then
have their back, you know, whatever they need. I had
a great coach and coach Leidner to be there for me,
you know, Coach Cody, all the coaches I've had in
a lot of ways have been there for me, and

(23:34):
that taught me. It's like, I just have to build
relationships with these guys and then you know, they just
want somebody in their corner they can trust and believe in,
you know. And it's not there's no secret formula to it.
I wish there was in the recruiting game, but that's
what these parents want to know. You know, I send
my kid to you, you know, whether it's an hour
away or it's you know, ten hours away, twelve hours away,

(23:56):
can you take care of them and have their back
you know when you need to. And I think that's
all it is. You got to be yourself in the
recruiting game. You know. I don't promise kids titles in
that way, but I promise some of the effort, you know,
to get that title will be there. You know, I'll
do whatever you know it takes to get them here
and produce them. That's that's what they want. And that's

(24:18):
part of the game. You know, it's recruiting and then developing,
you know. And and I think I try to make
it as simple as that. You know, there's no there's
other factors. Now, like I said, college athletics is is
definitely in a different spot, but doesn't mean I have
to change my approach of how I look at kids
and then how we we we produce them and get
in you know, the room with them, work out with them,

(24:40):
you know, those kind of things. Is they just they
need to they need to know that you're there for them,
you know, and that way. And I think that's the
biggest thing that I've learned over time is my style
hasn't really changed in that way.

Speaker 2 (24:51):
So recruiting put you on the spot on this one Cody,
give me your most memorable recruit victory and give me
your most memorable recruiting defeat. Because I don't know how
you coaches do it. I couldn't. I mean, you guys
have done this long enough. You just must get to

(25:11):
a place where you can figure it out. But I
my personality thinking about the recruiting process, it would be
like I'd be like up down, up down. I mean,
I wouldn't probably be very good at it. How would
you answer that question? What are a couple of memorable
stories that you have being on both sides of the coin.

Speaker 3 (25:30):
Yeah, I won't throw names in there. Just Oh, come on, Cody,
I can't. I can't. I'll throw Okay, I'll throw a
couple of guys out.

Speaker 2 (25:37):
Okay, So.

Speaker 3 (25:40):
I'll say a grateful moment and kind of a recruiting moment.
But uh, I would say Day one with Sebastian Rivera
was was pretty special. I showed up there, Northwestern had
a little It didn't recruit him, I should say, all
the way, but was gifted him in a way. He
It was so funny the first encounter. I meet him
and his parents and we go out to eat and

(26:00):
there is this big giant plate of food and he's
a he's a small guy and he came out of
high school one thirteen point twenty and uh, watching him
eat that food in about ten seconds, I was let
alone be like, this guy will not stay twenty five forever,
and let alone just impressed in that way of how
fast he could eat, and I was like, man, And
then our first workout together, I just knew he was different.

(26:24):
Like I was like, man, thank you for that gift
of what I got in my first college coaching job.
I get this little guy in a New Jersey that
has a chip on his shoulder, that's got something to prove.
And now it's been unbelievable what he's done. We've actually
kept our relationship now me being in Jersey just rewarding
in that way that guy was. He's like my brother

(26:44):
in a lot of ways. We spent a lot of
time together and to see him just do what he
just did at the Olympics and all that was incredible.
And then the defeats. I should say it's tough because
I remember going to a couple of workouts for a
guy and then being at his house and doing that

(27:06):
whole process and being like we got him. It's it's
a done deal. I know, we got him, and and
then turning around and being like a coach, I'm not coming,
and you're just crushed. You're like, oh, we worked so hard.
We did the home visits, we do the they came
on our campus. There's a couple guys that I thought
for sure that we were Like I remember when I

(27:27):
was in Northwestern. I thought we had like Mason Paris
like in the bag. I was like, Oh, he's coming,
It's it's done. And then he goes to Michigan and
I was like, Oh, that's not good that way. And
you know, just just recruit some of these high level guys,
you know, you never know how it's gonna go. I
remember him because the football. You know, he was a
football player too, and I remember that we me and

(27:49):
him connected a little bit on football. He was just
one of the guy to many guys. But I remember
being around him being like, oh, it's a done deal.
We got him, you know, And then I was like,
we don't got him, so uh, it's definitely uh, definitely different.
I felt that a little bit with uh. With Sonny
Sasso was a gratifying his brother already at Ohio State.

(28:09):
I did a home visit with him, we spent some
time with him. He's a great kid, and I was like, man,
this guy's probably gonna go to Ohio State. His brother's
already there. And then when we got him at Tech,
I was I was so excited. I was like, Oh
my gosh, we did it, you know, because.

Speaker 2 (28:22):
That's about the same thing, Cody. I mean, that's one
of those where I about the same thing. It's probably
gonna go to Ohio State. Yes, that was a great
get for the Hokies for sure.

Speaker 3 (28:31):
Yes. And he's a he's a great kid and was
somebody I really connected with. I only had a year
with him at Tech. Obviously wish wish for more, but
uh man, he was he was. It was like, man,
there's there's there's no way right no, you know, in
our mind, I think we were been telling ourselves that
we had a shot, but it was like just meeting
him and his folks for the first time. Great people
and and like I said, he was he was one

(28:53):
of the big gets that I didn't think we had
a shot at and we ended up getting it. And
I was like, oh, that's awesome, what a what a
great get. In that way. So, but we do on
the recruiting end, you hear know them way more than yes,
so in that way, so you kind of get used
to it. And and honestly, these kids are so good
about it. Nobody you know, I've never I should say,
in my mind, I've never been like wrong did or
anything like that where they're you know, just kind of

(29:14):
blew you off or anything like that. So all the
kids have been good and grateful that you know, you
reach out and you you, like I said, you're not
gonna get all yes is, but you know the couple gratifying.
Once you do get it makes it, It makes it
all worth it. And then the work you put in
it's just like pays off in that way.

Speaker 2 (29:30):
So and this day and age with a transfer portal,
I mean you don't know, I mean, you don't mean
both sides and the coach probably serves you both well
to have an amicable, you know, decision at that point
because you don't I mean, man, chances are you probably
gonna cross paths again?

Speaker 3 (29:47):
I mean, yes, yeah, it Actually it's funny you say that.
So I had a little bit of a situation that way.
Sammy Henson was at Oklahoma. When I first was was
like going to Oklahoma and and it was funny. So
if I would have told him no and not necessarily
burned the bridge, but I would have told him no,
I would have went to Missouri. And Sandy was there

(30:07):
at Missouri the next year, and I was like, oh
my god, you know, how would he have looked at me?
And you hope nothing, but you tell somebody no and
then you choose to go somewhere and then he's there
the next year. It's just kind of how the sport work,
you know sometime, I mean, yeah, you never try to
if you can't in that way. So it was interesting.
So I had a similar situation of that was like,

(30:29):
man kind of glad I went to Oklahoma because then
that way, you just never know how it's gonna work,
you know, on the other side of it, So.

Speaker 2 (30:36):
I had heard something Cody might have been with you
and you and Mark batter again where you were saying
that you wanted to be an NCAA champion and that
you were, you know, watching the NCAA tournament as a
little kid. Do you remember the first tournament you saw,
like you got a like a memory that really stands
out what do you got?

Speaker 3 (30:56):
So I got I got two in that way. The
first one I think I went to. I remember I
had the shirt so it was like Okie State, I
think one tournament. Yeah, Okie State won the tournament. Minnesota
and Iowa were fighting for second third. That was kind
of the the era. I remember going to that one.

(31:20):
In that time, I can't remember. I remember watching two
guys in the finals. I should say this. I were
watching remember Travis Lee from Cornell. I remember watching him
for the first time, and then I remember watching tea
On where which funny that I ended up going to Oklahoma.
Loved tea On. I met him you know now and
have a have a good friendship with him. Pretty pretty

(31:40):
awesome that I ended up going there, but watching him
as a kid, and I remember being like, it was
so crazy. He kind of won in criteria I think
is what they had. They went back, looked at something,
switched it. He did a backflip, you know when he won,
and then they had to come back and wrestle it again,
and then he did another backflip and I was like,
oh my god, what a what a level of athlete

(32:02):
in that way, So I remember watching t On was
my first one, and then obviously, you know, I like
Britt Metcalf that whole experience. But I remember being at
the TV when he lost the Caldwell in that crazy
moment of like cald Well just kind of threw the
kitchen sink at him and it ended up working out
for Caldwell. But I remember sitting like on the couch,

(32:25):
like joking around, like wrestling with my pillow, like, you know,
mimicking everything that those guys were doing. And and I
remember looking to my mom at the time, who was
in the kitchen. I said, I'm going to be in
the finals one day, I'm going to be on that stage.
And obviously it worked out for me. But yeah, I
envisioned that moment ever since I was a kid, you know.

(32:46):
I wanted to be on that stage something to prove,
you know, and in front of all those people. So yeah,
it was it started a young age in that way.

Speaker 2 (32:56):
Who are your favorite college wrestlers growing up? You have
anybody in part that you really liked.

Speaker 3 (33:01):
Yeah, there was a couple of guys that I watched, Uh,
Franklin Gomez was one. I loved watching him. I thought
the fact that he was from Michigan State was kind
of unique. At the time, I didn't really know much
about him, and then I watched his matches, his film.
He was incredible. Like I said, I mentioned te On. Definitely,

(33:22):
Jordan Oliver was around that time. I liked watching him.
It was kind of that was I got like excited
about Oakie State, and then I went to OU and
I was like, all right, well now it's something different,
uh the rivalry aspect, But somebody I always watched from
afar and knew that he was really good. I picked
up a lot of a lot of things from him,
just a lot of those smaller guys that were around that.

(33:42):
You know, I still watch the film now, but that
two thousand and you know, four or five that time,
even when I got in high school and really started
watching more, Andrew Long I remember was a guy that
I actually knew. Andrew my brother started out at You
and I and went two years there in New Dylan
Long his brother. So I was around Andrew a little

(34:04):
bit as a kid, and then watching him in college
was awesome to see how he did on the obviously
on his career. So he was another guy that I
was like, man, he's just tough. He just loves the
wrestle and pretty awesome to watch him as well.

Speaker 2 (34:17):
So you're a four time All American. One little nugget
about you that I discovered in prepping for this is
you outperform your seed all four years. Like, that's pretty rare.
I mean, I'd like to that list. I'll talk to
Jason Bryant and I will let you know at that
list because he'll thank you.

Speaker 3 (34:37):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (34:38):
And here's the great thing about Jason. If I call
him right now, I'd almost bet my right I bet
my right army to answer Yes. He probably would, and
he might even know that a top of his head.
But I'll get that information for you. So your first year,
and I'm going off of memory here. You you get
on the stand, you know what I'm I'm not gonna
go off a memory. You were you think? Were you

(35:01):
a thirteen seed again? No?

Speaker 3 (35:03):
No, I was. I was eight times, eighth, eighth, thirteenth
twice and then fourth and then the four seats.

Speaker 2 (35:11):
So you're in twenty thirteen, you're the eight seed to
finished seventh that first NCA tournament. Like, what what did
you take away? What did you learn? What was something
Cody that yeah, yeah, had to experience it to get it.

Speaker 3 (35:30):
I think it was just the like we talked about
a little bit of pressure in the moment and just
kind of being there, but it was it was like
I remember kind of telling my coaches after my first match.
I think I scored twenty points in my first match.
I ended up taking the guy, but just being like, oh,
I'm here, like this is what I want, like in
that moment, and there's a little bit of pressure, a
little bit of anxiety kind of before you go out there.

(35:52):
But just how real it is, like how it ramps up,
you know. I think I've heard it about football, like
there's a difference in the regular season and the playoffs.
It's a difference in like the regular season of the
season when you're just at a tournament or a duel
and that's a big moment, but it ramps back up
again for the NCAA's like the amount of intensity. You know,
where you're at in your matches, hearing things from other mats,

(36:16):
you know, big upsets, somebody gets pinned something like that.
Being aware of all that stuff. It's it's just different.
It's just it ramps up so much more, and I
think those nerves ramp up, everything ramps up. It's it's
like playoff football. It's it's intense. You know, this is
the tournament, right, this is what we all you know,
trying to peak for all, try to compete at. So

(36:37):
just learning from that first one, the realness of everything.
You know, it was just hey, you know you're you're
in the quarterfinals right now, Like this is a big moment.
The time you know that you have before matches, sitting down,
getting back up, trying to get warmed up, the TV time,
all that's it's a real It makes you feel like
a true professional in that moment because you know, like

(36:58):
the pros deal with all the time outs and this
and that and stuff, and when you're in a college
dressing but you're like there's no time, you know, we're
just gonna go. It definitely changes you in that way.
You learn a lot about the sport just in that
first year at the tournament. And like like I said,
when I wrestled that blood round match coming back after

(37:18):
kind of the quarters, that the intensity in that and
then when you get through that, it's so rewarding. You know.
I remember my first year, my freshman year, I won
that match and I go back to the tunnel and
I was like so excited. Up, I'm gonna be an
All American and then like you got one more and
I was like, oh man. It was kind of that deflating,
like it's just learning how the tournament goes, you know,

(37:40):
where your energy level is, things like that. So it
was definitely a learning experience, just from my first year.

Speaker 2 (37:47):
What's the dialogue between your ears, you know, two three
minutes before a match?

Speaker 3 (37:56):
Uh? For me, it was always I hope he's ready,
you know. I hope he's ready to feel you know,
shots all the time, you know, my best stuff, learn
how to ride turn scoring back points. I was, I
was ready, I was excited. It was more I hope
he's ready. In that way. I was telling myself that
you know, I'm gonna light it up if I can.
You know, I don't. I'm never gonna stop shooting. That's

(38:19):
never my style in that way, and I just hope
he's ready for what's coming, you know. I was. I
had pure confidence that my training, my coaches, everything was
behind me, and I hope they're ready now, you know.
And and I was. I had definitely that chip on
my shoulder, but it was more of just you know,
seeing what I could do in seven minutes, you know,
how much I could score, how much I could overwhelm

(38:39):
somebody in seven That was That was always my goal,
right before I stepped out there.

Speaker 2 (38:43):
Usually when you look at your training, you're drilling what
when you look back at your career, what do you think?
And again, I know this is there's it's never just
one thing. But if you have one thing, what is
something that you did where it's like, the reason I
got to hear is because I did this consistently.

Speaker 3 (39:06):
Yeah, I think it was always picking the trying to
pick the best partners in the room. You know, I
was a thirty three pounder b There'd be days I
went with our fifty sevens. You know, it just I
was giving up size. But I wanted to get exposed
in practice. I wanted you know, I would always do
you know, little things here and there, extra stuff. But
practice to me was to see how to train my skills,

(39:27):
how to become better. You know, in every aspect. I
didn't It wasn't It's always about hard work, that's a given.
But to me, it was how can I test myself
in practice against the best guys If I get exposed.
Where did I get exposed? You know? That was that
was to me what practice was all about. How do
I get better? You know? And then in the occasion,
I'd go with maybe somebody that was around my weight

(39:48):
or a twenty five pound or even but in those moments,
it was all about you know. I remember grabbing gone
by Oursanja American guy. He was training with us, and
I remember talking to him after my career and he
was like, man, that was the one thing that I
always told people, he goes, you would go with anybody
in the room, like there was nobody you wouldn't go

(40:08):
with that was bigger, you know, whoever it was, you
were picking him as a partner. And I think for
me that made it the best. And I was fighting
those guys tooth or nail, like you know, you can
go with somebody and get beat up, maybe by a
big guy, but I was in there to scrap and
fight every chance I got with those bigger opponents. And
that's really I think what set me apart is I

(40:29):
had confidence in that, Hey, I got to wrestle a
guy that's my size as a thirty three pounder, No
big deal, you know, no big deal. I just trained
with one of the best fifty sevens in the country,
a couple of time All American who's wrestled the best
guys in the country, And I trained with him this week.
And whether it was Kendrick Maple or who whoever it
was that was around our croup at Sam Hayswinkle, he
was a twenty five pounder, but he was one of

(40:50):
the best guys in our room, you know. And so
trying to pick those partners every day was a goal
of mine. And you know, if they didn't want to go,
then I was like, all right, tomorrow, then we're going.
You know. I was always planning for the next thing
on uh on how to get better and picking those
bigger guys help me out a lot.

Speaker 2 (41:06):
So where are we at time wise? Cody, how much
time you get?

Speaker 3 (41:10):
You're good man?

Speaker 2 (41:11):
I got okay, this is just this stuff is just okay.
Triggered something in my mind. Yeah, it was the best
teammate you ever had.

Speaker 3 (41:22):
That's a good question. Wow, I've been around a lot
of good dudes. Uh, it's South. I already mentioned him,
but he probably definitely was. He kind of took me
under his uh, took me under his wing for sure
that was Kendrick Maple. Probably he won a title before
I did. Probably the best training partner I could ever have.

(41:45):
He exposed me every day in that way. I don't
think I ever I might have got to take that
every once in a while, but he was. He was
a difference maker. We were we're still to this day
are good friends. Yeah. He was a big difference in
mike career and at the time, training partner wise, friend wise,
he was what I needed, you know. And he was

(42:07):
like I said in the room, that dude could do
some He will look I still say, he will look
exactly the same at twenty two that he's got to
look at sixty two. The guy is an unbelievable shape.
He's a freak athlete and uh yeah, one of my
good friends. And it obviously helped me a lot in
my training. And he was a great teammate. He would
pick guys up, he would help me at times. He

(42:27):
actually so right when he finished he graduated, he stayed
on and coach and helped out that next year and
he that was the year I'd wanted and another guy
that was willing to help me do the extra workouts
put me through extra workouts, do whatever I needed to
to make weight to be there. So between him and
coach Liner, obviously it was it was a double double duty.

(42:48):
You need a village. But uh, but yeah, Kendrick's probably
one of the best, the best teammate I've had for sure.

Speaker 2 (42:54):
When did you realize, Cody that you wanted to be great?
Or maybe or you know what, let me ask you this,
maybe i'll rephrase it. Yeah, when did you understand what
it took to be great?

Speaker 3 (43:11):
Ah, that's a good question. I think probably just watching
other people. I was so enamored with sports as a kid,
and so enamored with like successful athletes. I was just
I wanted that so bad. You know, I think it's
definitely a lost thing of this generation. I hope they
can find it again because I know video games are

(43:32):
big and streaming and everything, but looking at it like
a professional athlete or a high level college athlete having
the success, Man, it was like I wanted that so bad.
It was like, I want to be on ESPN. I
want to I want to be, you know, in the
limelight as much as I can to perform, and you know,
my avenue was wrestling. But I loved, like I said,

(43:53):
the football players, baseball, whatever it was. I was. I
love seeing that professional, you know aspect, and that's what
I wanted, you know. I wanted to, Like I said,
my goal was to be on ESPN, to do more
and you know for wrestling, that's what happened with me.
But it's just something about that professional athlete. I wanted
to be. Wanted to be that so bad. And that

(44:14):
started from, like I said, a young age, and then
when I got older, it just tightened more and more. Hey,
I actually have a real opportunity at this Hey I'm
going to Division one university. I have a real opportunity.
Hey I make it to the NCAA's that's on ESPN.
This is what I wanted, you know. It's just it
was being grateful for those opportunities that I was getting
and then when I got it, take advantage of it
if I could.

Speaker 2 (44:33):
So favorite teams growing up, Oh.

Speaker 3 (44:38):
I was a diet I jumped around a lot. I'm
gonna be honest with you. I was one of those
guys whoever was winning, I was good with in that way.
But the Raiders. The Raiders were my team when I
was a kid A little bit in that way, I
was big into the NFL football. I was a USC
football fan for a little bit. When they had their
time with Reggie Bush and Matt Lionerd and all that,

(45:00):
I was really into that. But man, yeah, I just
looked at at players. I remember Mike Vick was like
when I was a kid, was the man. You know,
he could do it all in that way. So I
was really into the athletes in that way that just
they were audies, but they were on every highlight. They
were on this, they were on that, and I was
I was definitely all about that. I like, the Royals

(45:20):
didn't get good until I was older, so I won't
claim them in that way. They were pretty bad when
I was a kid, as well as the Chiefs. But
now they're doing good, so that's that's good to see.
But uh but yeah, I was just like I said,
I loved all hall pro sports for the most part.

Speaker 2 (45:36):
You have any posters in your bedroom growing up of athletes.

Speaker 3 (45:41):
Yeah, Mike Vick was, like I said, he was up there.
Kobe was one that I put up in high school.
Who's the other one? I had? One? More? Guy? Oh
Usain Bolt was another one. Wasn't a professional athlete, but
thought he was exciting, you know. It was like the
guy was jogging and winning Olympic gold. So those three
were definitely up, you know, on my wall. And then

(46:03):
I had some some wrestling stuff of my brothers that
I could see kind of every day and wanted to
look into that as well, So that was kind of
the goal. But yeah, I had a couple guys up,
and those three were the main three that I had
up at the time.

Speaker 2 (46:17):
I asked this question all the time, so here it
is to you speaking of posters. Yeah, a, when you
think about you posterizing somebody, what's the best if there
was a Cody Brewer poster of you hitting a move
on somebody, what does that look like?

Speaker 3 (46:36):
Yeah, that's I just thought about it just when you
said it. It's probably the twenty nineteen US Open. I
was down in the finals. I hit a throw to
to pen Nico Magalutis in the finals there, and that
was probably a posterizing moment in some ways. I know.
The NCAS in my finals is a big one for me.

(46:56):
When I did win it, I had some big scoring
opportunities where I would get near a fall off those
and I'd probably stay between that match and the US
Open Finals. They're probably the two. I don't know, I've
had some pretty good ones in my day of like
throws and stuff like that, but that that twenty nineteen
US Open finals was was awesome for me. I worked

(47:17):
my you know, career for that kind of in a
way to make that world team. To try to make
that push and to hit that throw to be down
in the match and then hit that big throw to
win was was pretty awesome.

Speaker 2 (47:27):
Whose poster are you on? Anybody ever hit something big
with you, like on me? Yeah, yeah, yep, that's oh yeah,
oh yeah, the best move somebody ever hit on you
where you were.

Speaker 3 (47:42):
Like damn, I uh.

Speaker 2 (47:45):
I wrestled.

Speaker 3 (47:46):
This is kind of funny, but I wrestled my freshman
my redshirt freshman year in the Midlands, and I wrestled
Dan Dennis and the quarters and I at first I
kind of thought I was like joking around. I was like,
surely that's not Dan Dennis from like a couple of
years ago, like the finals from IOWA. Right Like in
my mind, I was like, oh, no way. And then
we stepped on the mat and I was like, yeah,
that's that's him. I can't remember even what he hit

(48:08):
me in, but I think I ended up getting almost
tacked in that way. It might have got tacked. I
don't want to check the records on it now, but
it was not good. And he hit me in something
I had never been hit before. I was like, oh,
just went to my back, all right. So, but that match,
just in general, it was it was definitely a man
versus a boy in that way. I was not ready
for that moment and he was. He was a veteran

(48:29):
of the sport. So I don't remember what he hit
me in, but it was not good. I remember that.

Speaker 2 (48:33):
So want to talk about your title run twenty fourteen
to thirteen seed, which, by the way, anybody that knew
anything about wrestling looked at that bracket and went bam.
I mean like, I don't make too many predictions because
I'm wrong most of the time, but that was what
it was like. Thirteen seed Cody Brewer, Yeah, this guy's

(48:55):
gonna go on a run. I think he had a
fall in the first round, and then you were just like,
I mean, the scoreboard was tired. I mean when you
wrestled in that tournament, the scoreboard took a deep breath
because it was gonna get going to work. That's what
I was. That's that was always my I was talking
about that in broadcasts. I mean, if I trustling, which

(49:16):
I don't, but my line would be that scoreboard better
be exhausted in seven minutes, okay, because that we're gonna
score some points. But yeah, in that in that tournament, like,
was there a time where you're like, I'm gonna win
this damn thing.

Speaker 3 (49:31):
Probably right when I stepped out after that first round,
I was like, I gotta fall, Yeah, to fall that
first round, and I was ready at that point. I
was like, I'm it's gonna be thirteen to one, you know.
That was that was my goal and the seed didn't matter.
But I think everybody the interviewed me talked about it.
They're like, you're thirteenth and you're rolling through these guys,
and I was just like, yeah, but it's you know,

(49:53):
I had a chip on my shoulder, but I knew
I was the best guy all year, and and you know,
I think you have to think that way. I think
what I it didn't matter the seed of what I
was in that moment. I was like, I got to
put five matches together, be my best. It doesn't matter
who it is, I'm gonna try to roll through them.
And and like I you know, kind of mentioned before,
I was like, I hope they're ready, you know, because

(50:14):
it's I'm coming, you know, in that way. And you
know that whole tournament was special in that way just
because of how I did it. You know, I think
I could. I really was. I was always about, you know,
wrestling to put on a performance, but more of to
see how people would watch it, to see how kids
would watch it. And I didn't think I showed a

(50:34):
new way, but I showed away. I was like, I'm
going to rack it up as many times as I can.
I'm gonna try to overwhelm somebody as many times as
I can. And you know that kind of worked out
for me in that way. I don't think that's everybody's style,
of course, and you you learn that coaching now, but man,
I I yeah, I just I took that tournament as
such a not coming out party, because I think I
was doing it for a while. But it was like,

(50:56):
this is my time to showcase it. Whoever's in front
of me, let's go see where they're at. You know,
I know I'm at my best right now. So but yeah,
I wrecked it up a lot in that one, but
that was just my style in general. You know, I
was never on the fence of being like I actually
to be honest with you, and I don't think it's
ever happened, which there's something that i'd probably go back,

(51:17):
but I don't think I've ever wrestled in an overtime
match in my career, starting from when I was seven
to all the way until I finished, never wrestling in
an overtime match. So I either won or I lost,
so whatever that means, You're like the Michael Chandler of
Wrestling Night when he might lose, but somebody's going to sleep. Yeah,

(51:37):
So I uh yeah, whether it was good or bad,
I probably wish I would have forced on some of
my losses some overtimes, but uh, that was just kind
of how I wrestled, you know. That was that was
I was going out to prove a point and try
to score and I never wanted to right around and
and do you know nothing. So that's probably what really
showed in that that NCAA tournament.

Speaker 2 (51:57):
Back in twenty fourteen. Were you able to pick your
music when you ran out to the mat, Yeah, I
was what did you pick.

Speaker 3 (52:08):
A White Snake song? Here I Go Again was was
the one I picked. So I saw it in a
Uh I saw it in a movie called The Fighter.
It was about Mickey Ward. Him and his brother would
sing it to each other. Great, yeah, great movie, and
uh so I saw it on there and I was like,
that's if I make the finals, That's what I'm coming
out to. And they would like sing it back and

(52:29):
forth to each other, and it was kind of funny
even uh before my quarters and Semis, my trainer, was
kind of singing it to me before I'd go out
there because I kind of talked to him about it
a little bit and we were kind of singing it
back and forth to each other. But yeah, that was
the song I came out to.

Speaker 2 (52:44):
What was it like making that job to the to
the results?

Speaker 3 (52:49):
I just I knew the time was now. I was like,
this is it and and I to me and obviously
I had a great opponent who ended up winning a
title later in his career, and was was all. But
I just knew in that moment that I was like,
there's no way I'm losing. This is like, this is
what you've been dreaming about. This is what you got
an opportunity, go run with it and take it. So

(53:11):
but it's a pretty surreal moment. I think I had
a big grint on my face because I was just
excited for the opportunity to compete for a title. A
lot of guys are, you know, obviously pretty serious. I
was definitely serious, but I was more on the line of, man,
I'm ready, I'm ready to win. This is this is
my time. So I was excited. What was it like.

Speaker 2 (53:30):
Standing at top the podium as a national champ? You
remember that.

Speaker 3 (53:34):
I couldn't believe it, you know, Like I said, for me,
I was just grateful to be in that moment. I
was never supposed to do that. Definitely not in that tournament,
being a thirteen seed. Nobody picked me to probably obviously
like yourself, maybe some other people I know maybe did,
but nobody really picked me to win. And I couldn't

(53:55):
believe it. I kind of just standing there. And I
remember even kind of like going back to the locker
room after after I got my bracket and trophy, I
found my brother in the stante and him coming down,
and I just I was just told, I was like
I did it, Like I can't believe that, you know,
you just it's very surreal. You don't you don't know
what to think until it's over. And then you know,

(54:16):
seeing that which I always thought was the coolest thing,
seeing that National Championship picture with all of us you
know that had won that year, and been like, oh
my gosh, I was a part of that year, you know,
I was. I was that guy for that weight class.
Like I said, just just grateful for that.

Speaker 2 (54:31):
I said twenty fourteen before it was twenty fifteen, when
you won American in twenty fourteen as well. Yeah, when
you think back to that match with Corey Clark and
you said it, I mean, in my opinion, you talk
about Mount Rushmore of peer tough guys, Corey Clark might
be on that mountain. I mean that guy, you know,

(54:52):
eating nails and washing him down with gasoline. And that's
what I think about what I mean, I never conceded
a position, just being hardcore tough guy. When you when
you think back to that match, what's top of mind?

Speaker 3 (55:05):
Just yeah, just trying to you know, he was such
a good opponent at slowing people down and controlling ties.
He was a big two on one guy. I just
knew that in those moments that I had to use
my speed, use my athleticism as much as I could.
And when I got to a leg, I just was like,
quick to finish quick defense, you know, get to leg,

(55:27):
finish quick, Get to leg finish quick. And you know,
he had taken some which I was I was grateful for.
He took two shots that I had defensively got off
of and scored, which I was happy with. Everybody always
thought I had no defense. I had a little defense
what account of guys? So that was, uh, that was
where those were big opportunities that I realized if I

(55:48):
had a take down, you know, to get scoring at
the end of periods, getting right outs. Actually, I when
I watched it back, I was like, I had like
a twenty five second restart after a takedown in the
second period, and I wrote it out. I was like,
those are huge moments, you know, I let him go,
give him another point. I don't know I rode that
twenty five seconds out and big adjustments like that, But

(56:10):
you know I was just more yeah, like thinking, how
can I get to his leg as quick as I
can get to a quick finish, you know, And that's
the first two periods. We're definitely that of just you know,
trying to keep him guess in a lot of ways.
I knew, like I said, he was real grippy, tight,
strong guy. If he slowed me down, it was going
to be playing into his his game plan. But yeah,

(56:31):
I just trying to use my speed as much as
I could.

Speaker 2 (56:35):
The National championship, I mean that that speaks for itself.
The next year you come back, You're a three time
All American couple time Big twelve champ, number four seed,
reigning national champ. Back in the semi finals with Nashan
Garrett twenty one second sin slap of the rest of

(56:55):
it is over, dreams are shattered. Describe what that was.

Speaker 3 (57:02):
Like, Uh, disappointing. You know, I expected to be the
two time national champ. You know, in my mind, I
knew mentally I wasn't there in that tournament. I just
I I didn't deal well with the the pressure of
that year of being the returning national champ. You know,

(57:22):
you kind of get everybody's best shot all the time.
You know, I just didn't deal the best with that.
You know. Mentally, I remember being it was kind of
crazy before my first match, and that the ESPN camera
being like kind of right in my face as I'm
warming up, and I was just like, this has never
happened before, you know, It's just it was things that

(57:43):
were new to me again. It felt like my freshman
year a little bit of just I knew the tournament,
but didn't know when you're the top dog and you're
you're going back again, what it's like, you know? And yeah,
I think I I told myself before that's my finals match.
We had wrestled in Vegas in the finals of that

(58:05):
in a really good match. He ended up beating me there,
but it was close. I had thrown him in that
match and put him on his back, and I remember
just thinking, like my knee was bothered me a little bit,
and I was like, listen, just go out and throw him,
you know, all right, off the bat, let's pin in,
let's get off the mat. Like terrible mindset to have
before you go out there. And you know, in my mind,

(58:27):
I should have made it a war, you know. I
should have been like, let's just see where he's at,
let's see where I'm at, let's get to your leg
attacks defend his and went out there tried to end
it quick and then it got ended for me. So
I got humbled in that way. My mindset was not
right for that match. He took advantage that won a title,
you know, right after that. So it was it was disappointing.

(58:48):
It was hard to see that happened, but also probably
one of the most proud moments in my career. I
go back to the hotel after that, I have a
moment to myself kind of set a couples to myself
and said, you know, what are people going to remember
you for? Not the title, It's already gone. You know
it's done. You know, now you got to come take third.

(59:10):
You gotta get the best thing. And I did really
well in the two backside matches I had to get third,
wrestled really well, felt really confident ending my career that way.
I remember talking to the reporter kind of afterwards and
he was just like, what happened, and I was just
like having faith, you know, having faith in myself to
end it right and to do it. And like I said,

(59:31):
it was the most adversity I had dealt with at
that time, and just coming back and taking third is
so important. How are people going to look at me?
You know as as a wrestler, as a as a
character person, whatever it was, they were going to look
at me as I wanted, you know, to obviously be
exciting and then and then to be able to go
out there and kind of, you know, die on your

(59:53):
shield like a man. You know, I want to. I
was gonna lose that match, that's fine, but how do
I finish? You know, and coming back and taking third
with was great me and my family. I represented myself
well and in the program at the time, you know,
that was a big deal. I could have, like I said,
packed it in and been like, you know, maybe I
take six. Who cares, I don't really want to wrestle. Instead,

(01:00:14):
I strapped it back on for two more matches and
took third. So I ended it the way I wanted to,
the best I could.

Speaker 2 (01:00:21):
But yeah, as a broadcaster, one of my favorite sessions
is the Metal Round because it's just so much more
than the wrestling. That's what I think. I watched that round.
It's so much more than the wrestling. What do you remember,
Cody gets take third place, you finish as a four
time All Americ, and you win a national title. I

(01:00:42):
mean one of you know, one of the great wrestlers
to ever wear a sooner single it you gear arm
raised and then you walk back to the corner. I'm
assuming he was probably Coach Cody and Coach Leightner. Was
it those two guys? What's that like? It's all over?
I mean, what what's that like?

Speaker 3 (01:00:59):
It's emotional. It's emotional. I put in, you know, five
years at that place, and I enjoyed it, you know,
and I really took a lot from those coaches, and yeah,
I think I just kind of hugged them both and
they told me they loved me, and I was, you know,
it's just that time was done, you know. And then,
like I said, I kind of had a moment by
myself and with my family, and you know, it was

(01:01:20):
kind of crazy to think I was really done. You know,
I never I think you time goes by fast in
that way, and I think I just kind of had
that moment of piece of you know, you did everything
you could, you know, Like I said, I talk about
a little bit with some of our guys. You know,
I went out there for Wars and I got the
best of most of them, you know, for the most part,

(01:01:42):
and you know, the ones I didn't, I learned a
lot from and like I said, I think more than anything,
I I think afterwards, I was like, you know, thinking
about freestyle right away a little bit, I was like,
how do I get back on the mat? You know,
And then more than anything as how do I help somebody?
You know? After that, and coaching kind of fell into
that boat of this is the next best thing, this

(01:02:03):
is what I'm going to do, you know. Coaching is
I want to help somebody do more than what I did,
you know, And that's kind of been my goal coaching wise,
and trying to get these guys to the next step,
get them to the next level. So that that competing
coaching kind of took over right away. I was already
on to the next thing, you know, probably the next

(01:02:23):
day or two, on how to how to get better
freestyle in any way, and then how to how to
find myself into a coaching program.

Speaker 2 (01:02:32):
When you won that national title, I remember he had
I think it was a tattoo on the right shoulder.
What what what is that tattoo? What does it represent?

Speaker 3 (01:02:42):
So it was a the Punisher school is what it was.
I used to read the comic books as a kid,
and then the date underneath the school is the day
my grandmother passed away, and in the comic books he
would kind of remember his family members, and that was
kind of my way of doing it. Luckily, I've only
lost one. My family's been you know, healthy and blessed

(01:03:03):
in that way. But yeah, that was kind of the
story behind it, and then it just kind of stuck
after that. The school, everybody kind of remembered that in
that way, and then my up top of it is
just my last name. So but yeah, that was that
was the tattoo, but it stuck after that. Then I
saw all the Punisher stuff come out years and years later,
and I was like, man, I should have trademarked something
if I could in that way. But but yeah, it

(01:03:25):
kind of stuck with me in that way, and just
another thing to give me a little bit of confidence.
And remember, you know, family members.

Speaker 2 (01:03:32):
You may or may not have alluded to this earlier.
When you look at your career, what is kind of
a two part question, The most disappointing loss that you
ever had and a match that you learned the most from.

Speaker 3 (01:03:57):
Probably the most disappointing like loss my freshman year, no,
I should say my sophomore year in the big twelve Finals.
It was the only time, and it was really weird
because I never did it and I never did it
again after that. But I listened to music before the finals,
and I got so excited and so fired up that
by like the second period of the finals match, I

(01:04:19):
was like exhausted, like I was emotionally drained, and I
did not wrestle. I think I got beat. I might
have been eight or nine points. I got majored. And
John Morrison from Oklahoma State we wrestled the year before
in a real tight match too. Actually, almost all the
matches we had were close, and we wrestled in the

(01:04:42):
in the Big twelve Finals year before, and it was
a takedown match. I was in on a leg late,
tried to finish, didn't get it done. He won the match,
and I was just more disappointed in myself for getting
so like I was, so I was like, this is
the time I'm gonna beat him, this is it. And
I got myself so overamped that I was I was
kind of emotionally, not even physically, but emotionally drained before

(01:05:05):
I went out there, and man, I was I was
so disappointed. I was like, I've never done that before.
Why did I do that? You know, I was more
of an environment guy, not a music guy in that way.
But I think from that, I guess I could say
that taught me a lot about the environment and where
I was, where I was best, and how I would

(01:05:25):
feel best. But I think just probably the match that
I learned I kind of you know, alluded to the
Dan Dennis you know match. He was a lot older,
a lot more experienced guy. But man, I was like,
I'm not there yet. You know. It was kind of
good for me to get humbled, to be like, this
is a guy that's been in the national finals. You're

(01:05:45):
not close. So I have work to do in that way.
And I took that as a learning experience of I
got beat down a little bit, but you know, how
do I get back into that, into that mindset again
of of you know, this guy made the national finals.
I'm not there yet. How do I get there?

Speaker 2 (01:06:02):
Who's the toughest guy you ever wrestled? A guy that
when you wrestle them, you know you heck, you might
beat him by ten, but you knew this is going
to be not fun.

Speaker 3 (01:06:14):
Me and Chris Dardanes had two matches. Obviously, the NCAA
semi finals. We'd wrestled, but my freshman year we had
wrestled in like the to go for like seventh or
go for third and fifth, and I wrestling then. He
was always super tough and I wrestled him in practice.
We've trained together a little bit at times. He was
always just a just a hard nosed guy, would stay

(01:06:37):
in your face, that big ten style, Minnesota style, and
I always knew every time we wrestled it was gonna
be a scrap. So he's probably the guy that, yeah,
that I I look to, I think about, just a
tough guy, hard nos guy that always do they were
gonna be good matches. But yeah, whether I came out
of the better end or didn't, I always knew it

(01:06:58):
was going to be a good match.

Speaker 2 (01:07:00):
Where do you keep all the awards, the high school
state titles, the big the All American trophies, the big
wall chart, Like where is it?

Speaker 3 (01:07:08):
It's in my basement right now, so it's staying there
for right now. There's pictures up in my family, which
is what I what I want up right now. I
love I love the bracket. I love the four, the
four all uh you know trophies I have for NCAA's.
But for right now, they're in the storage, you know,
so I I don't mind seeing it, but you know

(01:07:29):
you got to humble yourself too, of it's it's not
about me anymore. What I actually want to do, and
I've talked about it for years now, is try to
get the guys that I've coached put up their stuff,
you know, in my house and places that I can
see it because it makes me remember obviously the experiences,
but that those guys did did amazing stuff, you know,

(01:07:49):
the Rivera's, the Latona's, those guys that I think about.
Those are guys that I you know, coach. I hope
to have more at Princeton. Obviously with the relationships here,
you know, I want to put their stuff up, you know,
to have those memories more than my own.

Speaker 2 (01:08:04):
So how would you finish this? I believe how would
you finish that?

Speaker 3 (01:08:16):
That's a tough one. You got some good questions, Shane.
You're got to bring it.

Speaker 2 (01:08:20):
I mean, you guys are because I'm I'm fascinated by
this stuff. I mean, you talked before, and I'm the
same way. I'm fascinated by by pro athletes, wrestlers. The
older I get the older I get, I'm becoming more
fascinated with people that can do things that I could
never do in a million years, like I could I

(01:08:40):
could never I have zero musical talent. Fascinating piano or
the saxophone or sing like that. Stuff blows my mind.
I just I appreciate excellence. So I like asking these questions.
I want to get inside your head a little bit.

Speaker 3 (01:08:57):
Yeah, I would say, I believe if you put yourself
around the right successful people, you will be successful. So
I think that's a that's something I appreciate our guys
all the time, like minded guys. Successful people want to
be around successful people. So it's it breeds itself. And
I think in that way, you know, there's nothing better

(01:09:17):
than putting yourself around the right people over and over
again as much as you can, you know. And that's
like I said, I was blessed in my career to
have that. I'm blessed to work with people like that.
I'm blessed to have been around people in the past
that have helped me, you know, successful people, even like
I don't know having this conversation with you, you're a successful guy,

(01:09:37):
so it's it breeds for me. I learned a lot
from you. Maybe you learn something from me. It's it's
out work. Successful people want to be around successful people,
and I think that really pays off something. I belief.

Speaker 2 (01:09:51):
A couple more for you. Northwestern Virginia Tech now at
Princeton kind of like what we just talked about. Ye're
perfectly trying to take in every experience you have with somebody.
You can take one thing. I'm a big believer in that.
I might there might be ten things about you, Cody,
nine of them I'm not gonna jibe with, but one

(01:10:11):
of them, Like you know what, that one thing. I'm
gonna take that one thing and I'm gonna use it
to propel myself. What did you take from Matt Storniolo
at Northwestern? He gave me a shot more than anything, man,
he gave me a shot. He you know, he didn't
have to give me a job in that way.

Speaker 3 (01:10:30):
And his his level of just understanding with me, I
had like life things happen at time in my time
in Northwestern that he was like, totally, go be with
your family, do what you gotta do. He was an
understanding guy, you know, and that that really made a
good impression on me. For my first job is you know,

(01:10:51):
to realize that we all have lives. You know, we're
all we're invested in the wrestling world, but we have lives.
And uh, and Matt was definitely like that from an
understanding perspective. Tony roby his intensity. His intensity. Man, he
was an intense guy in the best ways, you know,
and he would pick people up. Me and Tony actually

(01:11:11):
had a really good relationship, you know. He was he's
he's considered a friend and I always bounced ideas off
him somebody I could learn from. And uh, but his
intensity to the game and to the sport was was awesome.
I appreciated seeing that and uh, definitely I learned a
lot from that.

Speaker 2 (01:11:27):
Another Sooner that you coached with at Virginia Tech one
of my absolute favorite guys on the planet, Jared Freyer.

Speaker 3 (01:11:35):
Yeah, he his Probably it's kind of crazy because I
was at him with him for a little bit of Oklahoma.
Seeing his approach to competing was a big deal and
then seeing how it transferred into his his coaching he did.
He really kind of had that player coach vibe for me,
and it was kind of like that. We were at
Virginia Tech too, I could see his approach was the

(01:11:57):
same with kind of everything he did, and you can
see it it definitely paid off with with a lot
of guys in the.

Speaker 2 (01:12:04):
Time you've been at Princeton. Anything with Joe Debuke that
that's really resonated.

Speaker 3 (01:12:10):
I was surprised just how how much of a hustler
he is. So he was he was basically doing this
thing on his own last year, and then after that,
you know, I kind of got the call in in
April about the job a little bit after NCAA's and
he had talked to me about it a little bit,
and I was I was thoroughly impressed. Man, he's a hustler.

(01:12:30):
He will do whatever it takes to get the Princeton
Tigers you know, on the map. And you know, he's
He's given me a lot of freedom since I've been here.
I've been able to work and my thoughts are valued.
And and that's the biggest thing that's that's kind of
awesome working with him, is I'm very valued. You know,
my opinion matters, and he's trying to pro you know,
kind of get me to be a head coach one day,

(01:12:52):
you know, and I think that's what head coaches do,
and I really feel that from him, and I'm excited
to learn more from him and then, you know, hopefully
take take those things that I learned and and and
hopefully teach a staff one day. If I'm if I'm
the head coach.

Speaker 2 (01:13:06):
If you had to take a ride from New Jersey
out to San Diego, California, Frost Country trip, it's you
and three people get or alive that you've never met.
Who are you picking?

Speaker 3 (01:13:25):
Oh man, three people? That's unbelievable. I'm gonna go Kobe Bryant,
obviously the heck of an athlete. Want to see. I
would love to pick his brain on his mindset and
everything he went through. Probably George Washington, you know, one
of the best, you know, guys in the in the

(01:13:45):
ways of leading our country. We're not speaking British right
now because of that guy in his army who third one.
I want to make it like a music person in
that way, because I'm interested in music as well, not intensely,
but would love to pick somebody's brain musically. So many

(01:14:11):
country music people I would love to love to hang
out with. Gosh, I don't know, I'm trying to Thank God.
This is a tough one. I like this, let's go,
let's throw it off completely. Let's go Prince. I'll throw

(01:14:36):
him in there. Just a music guy, you know, the
highest of his career, you know, in that way, I'd
probably like to pick his brain and see where he
was at.

Speaker 2 (01:14:43):
What an answer. It's the biggest miss in my life.
I mean, he was number one on my bucket list.
He was number and I didn't see him. I mean,
that's a great answer. That is a I did not
expect you to drop that. But yeah, wow, tell me
something about tell me something about yourself that very few

(01:15:04):
people would know, Like, what's something about Cody Brewer that
most people just don't know?

Speaker 3 (01:15:15):
I would say some people probably know it. But I
am very tight to the inner circle of things. I
I am all about the people around me. In that way,
I I would I feel like I try to become
that friend that if you know, somebody would have pick
on my friend, I'm stepping to the plate, uh in
vouching for that person, so to me. And Joe jokes
about it because he's like, You're an inner circle guy

(01:15:37):
for sure, and I was like I am. I am
about people that you know have helped me in that way,
and I would I would do anything for for just
about anybody. But but yeah, I don't know. I mean,
I'm trying to think of like something unique in that way.
But uh, I'm a little bit of video game guy.
I like video games. So favorite game, Oh, I got

(01:15:57):
a couple. I'm a big Madden guy, which is you know, football,
two K, which is basketball. So I'm into the sports
games for sure, because usually I live through the game.
You know, I'm the seven foot monster in the game,
and in real life I'm not even close to that,
So I enjoy that aspect. I like the game a
little bit. My little one, me and him play play
Mario Kart and some other things, so I'm into that

(01:16:20):
a little bit as well.

Speaker 2 (01:16:23):
In your finals match in twenty fifteen, hard believe, coming
up on ten years, but you scored four or five takedowns.
Great on your feet. But you said it before in
that match, twenty five second restart. I don't remember if
there was a Matt return or not in there, but
I got a little rapid fire. I'm gonna bring this back.
Haven't done this in a while. This is rapid fire.

(01:16:45):
Just Matt returns. You're gonna get up, Cody, and you're
going right back down, all right? And I gotta read
mount handwriting on this. Okay, here we go. You're good Anyboddy?
You know Cody, you're in a straight fight. You get
to pick one guy? Who you picking?

Speaker 3 (01:16:59):
Andrew Howe? For sure, that's an easy one. What's up?

Speaker 2 (01:17:04):
Favorite movie?

Speaker 3 (01:17:07):
God? What is it? Lowless?

Speaker 2 (01:17:11):
Favorite meal?

Speaker 3 (01:17:14):
Any kind of Mexican food? I love it all. They're
all great.

Speaker 2 (01:17:18):
What's number one on your bucket list for a concert
you want to see?

Speaker 3 (01:17:26):
I don't know if he's still going. He's not his
heyday anymore. But Garth Brooks would be awesome. I'm a
big Garth Brooks fan, so that would be awesome. But
I don't think. I don't know if he's doing as
much as he as much as he can now, but
I would love to see it in his heyday.

Speaker 2 (01:17:38):
So if you won the lottery, you won the Mega millions,
what's the first thing you're buying?

Speaker 3 (01:17:53):
Probably whatever my fiance wants. That way, she has full control,
so she probably gets the first purchase. I'll take a
truck or something after that if I can get my
hands on one, but she gets the number one purchase.

Speaker 2 (01:18:04):
So outside of your family. Of course, house is on fire.
You gotta run and you get one thing. What are
you what are you gonna grab?

Speaker 3 (01:18:16):
Oh? Man, that's a good question because you know that
they ideally they want you to say something of the family,
the people.

Speaker 2 (01:18:24):
And that's why, and that's why I always it used
to be that questions what would you grab it? It was
always the family. It's almost like getting on a little
bit of a rant. Here, Yeah, somebody's gonna ask you,
what do you get married? Cody?

Speaker 3 (01:18:37):
I think this summer. We haven't picked the ex actual date,
but okay, probably.

Speaker 2 (01:18:40):
So here's here's the other question. Okay, okay, maybe I'm
a bad person for saying this, but I like to
keep it one hundred okay, Like, what's the best day
of your life?

Speaker 3 (01:18:51):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (01:18:51):
Oh the day I got married. And I'm always myself like,
and again, I shouldn't be saying this up. Maybe maybe
it is, Maybe it is. I'm always kind of like
you're just you know, I would say this. There's got
to be a good shot of those people that's safe
and they don't mean it. They just say it.

Speaker 3 (01:19:10):
Answer for sure, I'll say I'll just throw it out there.
I'll say the NCAA bracket. If you go, I'll grab that.

Speaker 2 (01:19:18):
When you were at Northwestern, you guys dressed like a
million bucks. That that was a great staff as far
as how they dressed. Now you're at Princeton, that's another
really good staff. I mean I think about I mean Northwestern,
NC State, Pat Popolisio and those guys are always looking good.

(01:19:40):
Yeah Fuke, I mean Joe and Princeton Nate Jackson, Joe.
I mean, those guys know how to dress. Where do
you get you know, where do you get most of
your clothes from? Like where do you go shopping?

Speaker 3 (01:19:53):
I think it's actually going under it out, but Express
used to be a big one for me in that way.
But yeah, just kind of where I could find things
online and stuff.

Speaker 2 (01:20:01):
I'll give you one. I'll give you one right now,
even though I the question. I'm gona. I'm gonna give
you real good if there's anything you take and I
can hook you up. Liberty State, Liberty suits wrestling guys, Michigan.
How can Michigan state?

Speaker 3 (01:20:17):
Yeah, yeah, I know you're talking about Ye and.

Speaker 2 (01:20:19):
He's a big wrestling guy, so yep, yeah, they have
to I'll have to do that.

Speaker 3 (01:20:24):
That'll be uh that'll be the focus. I've seen that before,
I've never really taken advantage of it.

Speaker 2 (01:20:29):
Wrestlers wear Jake Herbert does the commercials where he's.

Speaker 3 (01:20:32):
Like the flips.

Speaker 2 (01:20:34):
Yeah, absolutely, absolutely, all right, who is your favorite athletes
right now?

Speaker 3 (01:20:46):
I probably gotta go with Rivera. He just finished, just
finished the Olympic run. He's definitely probably the favorite athlete
right now. I know I'm gonna have some here at
Princeton that are that are gonna be close in the mixed.
I will pick just one, but yeah, Rivera is probably
probably that guy right now.

Speaker 2 (01:21:03):
Tony Buzzer sounds. I finished the period on top. This
was awesome. I mean, thank you so much for the time,
so much great stuff, and I can't wait to get
this out and let the world hear it. But congratulations
on a phenomenal career. Really appreciate the time, and best
of luck to you and the family with this next

(01:21:25):
chapter at Princeton. You'll do a great job.

Speaker 3 (01:21:28):
Thank you, Kah, thanks for having me on and I'm excited.
Let's let's do it again. I'm all about it.

Speaker 2 (01:21:33):
Again, so we'll talk soon. Thanks again, Thank you,

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Cody Brewer: Chasing competition, mentorship and The Punisher - Ep. 34

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Cody Brewer: Chasing competition, mentorship and The Punisher - Ep. 34