How Being Challenged by a Girl Helped Mold Tristan Wirfs Into a Top O-line Prospect

Competition came in many forms for a young Tristan Wirfs, including from an unlikely source that helped lay the groundwork for his toughness that he carried into football.

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If the Giants choose to address the offensive line with the fourth overall pick in this year’s draft, don't be surprised if Iowa tackle Tristan Wirfs gets the nod.

Wirfs was a multi-sport athlete in high school who competed as a baseball player, discus thrower, and Iowa state-champion wrestler.

While Wirfs ultimately chose to play football for the University of Iowa, his high school athletics career at Mount Vernon High School was defined by wrestling just as much as, if not more, than football.

“Wrestling, it’s a pretty big thing in Iowa," he said during his media session at last month's combine. "I think there are two things that you can take away from wrestling that translate to football: body control and awareness.

“It takes a lot to be a wrestler," he added. "I’m not going to let another man beat me. I’m going to do whatever I can to stop it. You’ve got to do the same thing on the offensive line.”

The mentality to win every battle would undoubtedly be welcome in the Giants locker room, especially on a unit that lost its fair share of battles in the pit last year.

It’s a mentality Wirfs developed in part thanks to Libby Ryan, currently a star softball player for Drake, who was Wirfs’ high school classmate at Mount Vernon High School and his childhood wrestling partner.

When Wirfs competed in the Mount Vernon’s kids wrestling program (first through sixth grade), his size and athleticism made matches against other kids his age non-competitive.

“It wasn’t necessarily because of his wrestling prowess, but due to his sheer size, strength and quickness,” Mount Vernon’s kids wrestling coach Dave Ryan told Marc Morehouse of The Gazette.

“I recall he was quick for his size. Things finally got to the point where we couldn’t find him a consistent partner. Kids started shying away from him. I didn’t want him to get discouraged. Kids sports are supposed to be fun.”

Ryan came up with the idea to pair his daughter Libby, also a wrestler in the program at the time, with Wirfs. Libby Ryan proved to be the only other wrestler on the team capable of giving Wirfs a competitive match.

“I was sitting out, and Dad said, ‘Libby, come over here. Tristan needs a partner,’” Libby Ryan told Morehouse. “I was a little angry that I had to work out with him because he was so much bigger. I don’t know if I got him to his back or not, but I beat him. I took him down.”

Despite beating Wirfs as a child, Ryan didn’t continue her wrestling career past childhood, while Wirfs became the star wrestler at Mount Vernon High School.

But Wirfs and Ryan would both lead accomplished athletics careers during high school and into college. The two were even chosen in 2017 as The Gazette’s Male and Female Athletes of the Year, Wirfs for his success in football, wrestling, and track, and Ryan for basketball, softball, track, and volleyball.

It was the first time in the 35-year history of the award that both recipients hailed from the same school in the same year.

“Tristan and I are lucky to have grown up here,” Ryan told The Gazette. “The support we get from our community is amazing, whether it’s athletics, fine arts, whatever. Walking around town, people ask you how the games went the previous night.”

As female coaches continue to spread into the ranks of NFL coaching staffs, Wirfs is a player already seasoned in channeling competitiveness, beyond gender boundaries.