Marquise OvertonWhile the news is being widely reported by media throughout the state of Oklahoma and nationwide at college football websites, the OU wrestling program has not made any official announcement of its own. When contacted late Friday afternoon, sports information director for Sooner wrestling, Micah Thompson, responded, "I have to receive confirmation from our department before he is officially on the team. I have yet to receive anything ..."
This is not a case of a star in one sport suddenly deciding to dabble in a new, unfamiliar sport. The 6'1", 295-pound Overton was a two-sport star at Jenks High School in Oklahoma. In fact, not long after he signed his National Letter of Intent to play football at Oklahoma in 2015, Overton won the 285-pound Oklahoma Class 6A state wrestling title, scoring a 3-1 decision over Midwest City's Korey Walker in the championship finals to finish his senior season with a 37-1 record.
"Last year, I lost in the semifinals and it was very heartbreaking," Overton told The Oklahoman, the daily newspaper of Oklahoma City, back in March 2015. "I wanted to make sure that I got the state title this year. This was really important to me."
At that time, Overton was already entertaining the idea of continuing his wrestling career as well as play football in Norman.
"I asked (OU football coaches) if I could wrestle and they told me it's my choice," Overton said after winning the 2015 state mat title. "But they also said that I should know football would come first. I've heard from people that (Mark Cody, OU wrestling coach at the time) may want me to come wrestle for him. Right now it's just a maybe."
Overton's grappling and gridiron credentials were impressive, even in high school. He was a four-star football recruit by Rivals.com and was ranked No. 20 in the nation at 285 pounds by InterMat.
After playing in eight games in 2015 as a freshman, Overton participated in just two games as a defensive tackle this past season before suffering what turned out to be a season-ending ankle injury, the NBCSports.com College Football Talk website reported.
Overton certainly isn't the first college athlete to step onto the wrestling mat after stepping off the gridiron at the end of football season. In fact, this was a common phenomenon through decades of college sport, with one of the most outstanding examples being two-sport superstar Curley Culp of Arizona State who won the heavyweight title at the 1967 NCAAs, then embarked on a long and successful NFL career which earned him a Super Bowl ring and a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
More than one media source named the same two Sooners who played football and wrestled: the late Steve "Dr. Death" Williams, a four-time NCAA All-American wrestler and four-year letterman as an offensive lineman who graduated from OU in 1981 ... and Jake Hager, who, while in Norman, left the football field to focus on wrestling, becoming an NCAA All-American heavyweight. Both went on to successful pro wrestling careers (Hager as WWE star Jack Swagger).
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now