"I am excited," head coach John Smith said. "I am looking forward to working with these guys. A lot of people who have been involved in the program are getting the opportunity to start for the first time, and that is exciting. It is probably a very important preseason, as important as any we have ever had."
OSU will have six new faces in the lineup in 2006-07 as former NCAA champions Zack Esposito, Jake Rosholt and Steve Mocco all graduated after last season. NCAA qualifiers Kevin Ward and Rusty Blackmon also graduated from last year's team.
The Cowboys do return two-time NCAA champion Johny Hendricks at 165 pounds. All-Americans Coleman Scott and Nathan Morgan are both moving up a weight class to 133 and 141, respectively.
"Each season brings a different look, and this season is quite different," Smith said. "We know that as a team, we have to get much better. We must start immediately building a championship attitude.
Associate head coach Mark Branch said the next couple of months will be critical for the Cowboys.
"These first two months are very important because we are lacking the experience that we had the last couple of years. This first month is going to be real important in establishing a lot of skill that this team is going to need. We have a lot of young kids without varsity experience so this is the most important month of the season."
Smith brought in 11 freshmen to help the Cowboys keep their momentum going after winning their fourth consecutive NCAA championship in March.
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