Martin, Rodriguez join wrestling team

STILLWATER — From the time they arrived at Oklahoma State together in the summer of 2017, Malcolm Rodriguez and Brock Martin had always k i c k e d a r o u nd t h e i d e a o f j oi ni ng t he Cowboy wrest l i ng t e a m duri ng f ootbal l offseasons.

Rodriguez, a l i nebacker, and Martin, a defensive end, won five high school wrestling state championships between them before their college football careers began, but t he suggestion that they'd join one of the nation's elite wrestling programs was just a couple of kids being silly. Wasn't it?

“I ' ve l earned f r om t hose two that if it comes out of their mouths, you better take it as probably going to happen,” Shanna Rodriguez, Malcolm's mother, told The Oklahoman. “It was just a matter of when.”

“When” f i nally arrived a l i t t l e more t han t wo weeks a g o . When Rodri g u e z a nd Martin r e t ur ned t o s c hool from the holiday break, they j o i n e d t h e OSU wr e s t l i n g team.

Of c o u r s e , i t wa s n ' t a s simple as j ust walking i nto the Cowboy wrestling room and slipping on a singlet.

T h e y n e e d e d p e r m i s - si on f r om coaches on both sides. And they had to organize workout schedules with s t r e ngth c oach Rob Glass, who is overseeing winter conditioning for all the football players this time of year.

“The coaches gave them the go-ahead, but said ,` You've still have to report to Coach Glass at 6:30 every morning and do all your strength training,'” said Robert Martin, Brock's father .“( The football coaches) said they weren't worried about the conditioning, because Lord knows they' re gonna be conditioned enough when they get in wrestling.”

Brock was a three-time Oklahoma state champion at Oo log ah, and Malcolm won two titles at Wagoner.

Both have spoken highly of the wrestling lessons that carried over to football, like using leverage and bringing an opponent to the ground.

They each won their last state title in February 2017, and haven't been back on a wrestling mat in any kind of serious way since then.

So it has taken some time to get reacclimated.

“They have to pace themselves a little bit,” OSU wrestling coach John Smith said. “These guys were state champions, so they have an idea about wrestling. They know what to expect. And their skill level is good.”

Still, after a couple of weeks working out at home on t heir own during the holiday break, jumping in tow restling midseason posed a challenge.

“The first couple weeks were really rough on Malcolm,” Shanna said. “He said, `I didn't know I was that out of shape.' It's a different beast. It always has been.

“There's no ki nd of conditioning like wrestling conditioning.”

Malcolm weighs 210 pounds, putting him in no-man' s-land for college wrestling, which has weight classes at 197 and heavyweight.

Brock weighs 245, which is in the range of a typical weight for a college heavyweight.

At the very l east, he can provide some good competition for his new teammates, Austin Harris and Cornelius Putnam, who are OSU's current heavyweights. “The coaches gave them the go- ahead, but said, `You've still have to report to Coach Glass at 6:30 every morning and do all your strength training.' (The football coaches) said they weren't worried about the conditioning, because Lord knows they're gonna be conditioned enough when they get in wrestling.”

Robert Martin, Brock's father

“They're happy they're in there ,” Smith said. “They really seem to be enjoying it. But they're helping our guys at some of those upper weights. We appreciate Coach (Mike) Gundy letting them come over.”

“They' re playing a really important role for us.”

Brock's parents were surprised to hear of the decision when they found out a couple of weeks ago, because Brock hadn't mentioned the idea while he was home over t he break.

“Never said a word,” Robert Martin said. “They had to report back on a Saturday or Sunday, then Monday rolls around and they went in the wrestling room.

“We love the fact that he can take full advantage of his college career and do what he wants to do. He always loved wrestling, but football was his first love. He wrestled because he wanted to be a better football player, and vice versa.”

Could either athlete eventually make it into the wrestling lineup?

“We'll see,” Smith said with a smile. “They're playing a really important role for us right now. Their conditioning level is not there at this point in time. If we see some real advancement, conditioning gets to the right level, you never know.”

Malcolm started every game at linebacker last season, and Martin started seven.

Both will be key factors next fall.

For now, they're keeping in shape and enjoying themselves.

“They're taking it day by day,” Shanna said, “and having some fun being around a sport they love.”