Building a new attitude on Penn St. mat

Nobody could have seen this hire coming.

The best wrestler in the history of college wrestling was building a dynasty at his alma mater. Then Penn State came calling.

Last April, after a disappointing 17th-place finish in the 2009 NCAA Wrestling Championships, Troy Sunderland resigned after nine years as head coach at Penn State, and a nationwide search for a replacement soon ensued.

Tim Curley, Penn State's athletic director, lured 28-year-old Cael Sanderson away from Iowa State, two weeks after Sunderland's departure.

"Not only was he the best, but he wants the team to be the best," Curley said. "He's got a burning desire and passion for the sports of wrestling and people. He's going to develop real champions, both on the wrestling mat and the classroom as well."

It was a move intended to establish Penn State as a national-title contender every year. From 1983 to 1999, the Nittany Lions finished in the top five 14 times, never ending up lower than 10th. Since then, aside from a third-place finish in 2007, Penn State has failed to crack the top five and never has won the Big Ten title.

Its only national championship came in 1953.

In a state that contains some of the top wrestling talent in the country, Sanderson believes the school - which is known for its football and just recently achieved national recognition in women's volleyball for its incredible record winning streak and national championships - should be more competitive.

"We're a lot less social [than we were last season]," redshirt sophomore Clay Steadman said. "Coach Sanderson said we can excel at three things in college: There's academics, there's wrestling, and then there's a social life. He said we can only excel at two of them."

Sanderson completed the only unblemished collegiate wrestling career in history (159-0), capturing four 184-pound NCAA individual titles. His father, Steve, coached him to a 127-3 record and four state titles at Wasatch High School in Utah. His father instilled a relentless work ethic in his son. His father knew that's what it took to win.

Cael has never been used to losing.

Not at Iowa State, coached by Bobby Douglas, whom Sanderson calls a "technical wizard, the best in the world." Douglas also taught Sanderson to embrace pressure and the publicity of the pursuit of perfection.

Not even at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, when he returned home as the gold medalist in the 184-pound class weight.

As a coach, watching one of his wrestlers lose a match is something he has had difficulty getting used to.

"I just absolutely hate losing, and I love competition," said Sanderson, whose team is 10-5-1, 2-2 in the Big Ten and ranked 13th nationally, losing at No. 1 Iowa last weekend. The home matches have become happenings on campus, with crowds reaching as high as 5,000. "Now it's different. I'm still doing it, but it's through other people. It can be frustrating. That's one thing I've learned as a coach."

"When he competed, he wanted to dominate," said his older brother, Cody, an assistant coach at Penn State. "He didn't want to have a close match. He wanted to beat everybody as bad as he could."

Upon arriving in State College last summer, Sanderson wasted little time changing the culture. He implemented a disciplinary program he called "Friday Night Lights."

If a wrestler arrived later than five minutes early to a team meeting, he was punished, which included scrubbing mats at the team's practice facility and studying in silence on the bleachers.

Coaches conducted in-class checkups in the fall to make sure wrestlers were attending classes.

Sanderson said that bringing in "kids who have outlined goals" to succeed in college makes coaching much easier. This year's freshman class, widely regarded as the No. 1 class in the nation, includes Ohio native David Taylor, Ed Ruth of Harrisburg, and Jake Kemerer of Greensburg, Pa.

But Sanderson believes that this year's team can be successful as well. Cyler Sanderson, Cael's youngest brother, is a senior 157-pound wrestler for the Lions. Cyler transferred to Penn State when his brother made his move.

Cody acknowledges that this season is extra special for Cael and him - they are coaching their brother for one last shot at a national championship.

One last chance to end his season as Cael did - on the first-place podium.

"I can't even imagine how incredible that would be," Cael said. "He wants it real bad, and he's capable of doing it. It would just be unbelievable just for him. That's the thing about family and even guys when you get to know them a little bit. It's good to dream, sitting down and dreaming about something that's real important to you. That's just motivation."