Why Penn State Wrestling Coach Cael Sanderson Spoke With the Nittany Lions Football Team

Sanderson, who has led Penn State wrestling to 11 NCAA team titles, brought his message to the No. 3 Nittany Lions football team.

Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson watches a match during the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships. / Brett Rojo-Imagn Images

Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson begins his quest for a 12th national championship in November. Penn State football coach James Franklin is looking for his first. So why not solicit advice from the best?

During Penn State's bye week, Franklin invited Sanderson back to the Lasch Football Building to speak to his unbeaten and third-ranked Nittany Lions football team. Consider it a refresher course in consistent messaging, Franklin said.

"His message is really very consistent with the messages that we give our guys all the time," Franklin said Monday at his weekly press conference. "It's just a different voice delivering that, which is powerful. So it's not the same message that we're delivering from the same people. It's a similar message. I think a lot of it is about being present, being appreciative, and then the other one is controlling the things that you can control and not inhaling or reading or listening to outside voices
or words was really the message."

Franklin, a major wrestling fan, has been a fixture at Penn State wrestling matches for years. He has invited Sanderson to speak with his team before about the power of process and did so again this past summer. With the Nittany Lions off to a 6-0 start and on a bye week, Franklin had Sanderson back to address the players once more.

Midseason Motivation 🗣️🐐@PennStateFball x @CaelSanderson pic.twitter.com/giHnDnxtEP

— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) October 20, 2024

"We do it every year," Franklin said. "He's come and spoke almost every year. We'll have different people from the campus and from the university come and speak during training camp and then sometimes during the bye week. Obviously Cael has done a phenomenal job and is universally
respected, not only across campus and in the community, but I know on our team specifically and in our locker room."

Sanderson's 2024-25 Penn State wrestling team, InterMat Wrestling's top-ranked preseason team, could be his best yet in 16 years. The Nittany Lions bring back three NCAA champs, two other finalists and a total of six All-Americans. NCAA champions Carter Starocci, Greg Kerkvliet and Levi Haines return, and Starocci seeks to become the first five-time national champ in Division I wrestling history.

"He came this summer, and I thought his message really resonated with our guys, so we brought him back to kind of double down on it.," Franklin said. "It was good, but typically we have coaches, ADs, administrators, all these people come during the summer, and Cael was one of those guys this summer and did a nice job, like I mentioned, and I wanted to bring him back during the bye week and double down on it."

The Nittany Lions have won three straight NCAA wrestling titles and 11 under Sanderson since 2010. Last season, Penn State set NCAA tournament records for scoring and margin of victory, became the first college wrestling program with two four-time national champions and put eight All-Americans on the podium.

Penn State opens its 2024-25 wrestling schedule Nov. 17 against Drexel at Rec Hall. Franklin's Penn State football team visits Wisconsin on Saturday night. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC's Big Ten Saturday Night.

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Penn State on SI is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on X (or Twitter) @MarkWogenrich.