Cael Sanderson originally locked up the most sought-after recruit in college wrestling when he was the head coach at Iowa State.
As Sanderson moved to Penn State, so did David Taylor.
Penn State announced Monday that Taylor, the heralded high school wrestler listed as the No. 1 recruit in the country by InterMatWrestle.com, will come to Happy Valley and join the Nittany Lion wrestling team.
"He's what you look for in a recruit," Sanderson said Tuesday. "If you look at the kind of a person he is and the kind of kid he is outside the room, in a classroom, just socially he's a great kid. He's the kind of kid we really want to build the program around."
Taylor had signed a national letter of intent to attend Iowa State, but new Cyclone coach David Jackson released him from the commitment, re-opening Taylor's recruitment from schools across the country.
Though he is listed as a 135-pounder by most wrestling sites, Taylor has found success at weight classes as low as 103 pounds during his high school career and could bump up to higher weights in college. He went 180-2 during his high school career, captured four Ohio state titles, and won Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award, given to the nation's top wrestler. Taylor also had a 4.0 GPA at St. Paris Graham High School in western Ohio.
"It's great," Sanderson said of Taylor's comprehensive resume. "We want to win, but we want to do it with quality student-athletes - kids that represent their state and this area well. Getting the kids who are great wrestlers is important, but also just a good kid is more important to me as a coach."
The Lions, who finished 17th the NCAA last season, now have two top-five national recruits, with Susquehanna's Ed Ruth also joining Taylor as incoming Lion grapplers.
Ruth, the No. 1-ranked 171-pound wrestler in the country, signed with the Penn State in October, but had already caught Sanderson's eye before he became head coach.
"Every time I have watched him I've thought, 'Wow, this kid is getting better and better,' " Sanderson said. "He's a great talent. He can do things that are going to win at all levels of wrestling. He's going to be a lot of fun to work with."
Sanderson, who was named head coach in April after the resignation of Troy Sunderland, is excited about the lineup the Lions could put together in upcoming seasons. He likes the wrestlers already at Penn State, so a national championship run is not out of the question, he said.
"That's what I came here for," Sanderson said. "I think we can do some big things. We've had some great verbals. We're gonna have a great group of kids in here quickly and we have got some outstanding athletes on the team. We've got a lot of tough kids here and now we just need to make sure we're working hard, and have a plan, and take care of business."
