Oklahoma senior Cody Brewer learning from setbacks, motivated to defend NCAA title

Cody Brewer (Oklahoma) works a single leg on Cory Clark (Iowa) in the 2015 NCAA finals. Photo: Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com

After blistering through the 133-pound field at the NCAA Championships one year ago, Cody Brewer was the toast of the wresting world.


We witnessed the Oklahoma junior undertake a remarkable journey from being named a 13-seed at tournament’s beginning to finishing as national champion at tournament’s end.


Not only did Brewer win the NCAA tournament seemingly out of nowhere, he did so in electric and dominating fashion. Four of his five matches in St. Louis were bonus point victories. Needless to say, points were a plenty for the Sooner standout.


Prior to the the NCAA Championships last year, Brewer had earned respectable finishes of seventh and eighth in his two previous trips to the big show. However, few could have predicted the onslaught he would unleash on his was to the title.


Then, as Brewer would discover, things change when one ascends to stardom.


“It’s been a little different,” Brewer said. “Everyone always says the second time is tougher, and I would agree with that. I think you put a lot of pressure on yourself. I have for the second one. I’m just trying to get back to where I’m enjoying it again and its not so much of a win/lose type thing, it’s just me going out and wrestling.”


The ensuing offseason was unlike any Brewer had endured before. The phone calls. The inquiries. The requests. He was, and most assuredly still is, a star in college wrestling.


Handling the responsibilities of being a NCAA champion forced Brewer to grow and expand as both a wrestler and an individual.


“The mentality and maturity has been a little different. I feel like my maturity went up quite a bit. The maturity level went up as far as knowing what I need to do to get back to that spot,” said Brewer.


Reexamining the year that led him to his first NCAA title, Brewer now fully understood the requirements of being a champion.


“In the past I had just gotten on the podium twice, so I did mostly everything right. Little things, extra workouts, your diet, all that kind of stuff really plays a factor. Last year, it all came together as far as I was hitting all that stuff frequently, not just parts of the year. Trying to do the little things right so I feel good year round and come NCAA time it gets revved up again,” said Brewer.


There were discussions in the Sooner camp about Brewer possibly moving up to the 141-pound weight class for his senior season. So much so, Brewer competed at 141 pounds at the NWCA All-Star Classic in early November against Bedlam rival Dean Heil.


Oklahoma State’s Heil was the highest returning All-American at 141 pounds entering the season and is currently the top-ranked wrestler in the NCAA at that weight class. Brewer won a wild 11-10 bout at the prestigious preseason dual meet.


“There was a lot of wrestling and that’s kind of how I wrestle anyways. He’s a really good opponent. I knew it was going to be a hard fought match the whole time. Usually the more points that are scored the better off I am in the matches. That’s what people want to see,” said Brewer.


“More than anything it was good to be a part of it. How many guys get to say they wrestled in the All-Star meet?” he continued.


Ultimately, it was determined the best lineup for Oklahoma would include having Brewer return to 133 pounds.

Brewer moments after winning the NCAA title. Photo: Austin Bernard, OklahomaWrestling.org

Now back at 133 with the target of being the champ, taking everyone’s best shot, Brewer is learning to make his own adjustments and find additional ways to win.


“That’s been the biggest thing for me this year is wrestling people that are going to wrestle me different, know how I wrestle, and that’s what makes it great. People adjust. People are watching film. People are doing those little things to try and wrestle me and I love that. That’s what makes the sport great. Now I have to make adjustments and see what I need to work on,” said Brewer.


What does the impact of being at your best for every match, receiving everyone’s best match, and dealing with the pressure of it all hold? For Brewer, the trick to managing this year is enjoying the process and having fun.


“Everybody wants to beat the champ and they are going to give you 100 percent no matter who you wrestle. It’s just one match at a time from here on out, and trying to enjoy the moment. I’ve got to make the most of it,” said Brewer.


Brewer has endured a couple hiccups already this season as he shoots to defend his NCAA championship.


After cruising to the finals of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, the first major college tournament of the season, Brewer was stopped by three-time NCAA All-American Nahshon Garrett, 14-9.


The match with Garrett is considered by many one of the best matches, if not the best match, of the college season thus far. It was a back and forth affair from the start. Both men hit big moves and put up points, a style of match Brewer self-admittedly loves to be in.


In the end, Brewer was handed his first loss in nearly a year.


“I give it to him, he wrestled well. He was moving just about the whole time and I was kind of staggered for some of it, standing in front of him, and that’s not usually how I wrestle. More than anything I was thinking about it a little too much, what I was going to do and what he was going to do, instead of trying to force my style on him. I think I saw 7-2 on the score and I kind of put the brakes on. I’m usually not that guy,” said Brewer.


One week later it was Bedlam in every sense. The Sooners and the Cowboys met for their first dual of the season, this edition in Norman.


Oklahoma State made the move to pull star recruit Kaid Brock’s redshirt and send him out to face the defending national champion in his first official college match.


Under these circumstances, a true freshman against a NCAA champion who just suffered his first loss of the season, one might expect a quick, decisive outcome. And there was.


Brock pinned Brewer in 42 seconds.


“It’s one of those things. It’s wrestling. I had no idea who it was going to be until I stepped on the mat. I think I was just ready for it to be over quick and it just kind of backfired on me. It’s just another learning experience,” said Brewer.


Riding that high, the Cowboys would go on take nine of ten matches in the dual and ultimately defeat the Sooners 37-3 in their home gym.


And for the NCAA champion who only lost a single match last season, he was staring down back-to-back losses and pivotal moment in his wrestling career.


“It was tough for me to have two in a row like that. I’m not used to losing and you never want it to be a habit where you’re spinning out of control. He’s a good wrestler and I hope to wrestle him again. That’s the only thing I can do at this point. Same with Garrett. You hope to wrestle those guys again to prove something. That builds the fire up a little bit for this year. Now that fire is coming back. I’ve got something to train for,” said Brewer.


The fire is back. The motivation is there. But perhaps more importantly, Brewer knows he isn’t invincible.


Moving forward the goal for Brewer is obvious, win NCAA title number two in three months. Even more so, Brewer wants to go down as one of the best in Oklahoma history while helping the Sooner program return to national prominence.


“It would be awesome to finish my career out that way,” Brewer said. “To do whatever I can to make Oklahoma wrestling better, in the end, that’s the goal. I want to leave here with people saying that guy was a hard worker, he was a great guy and he got after it on the mat. I think more than anything it would be good for the program.”


Up next for Brewer and the Oklahoma squad is a road contest at Wyoming on Saturday followed by a beefed up Big XII schedule and an opportunity to make noise in the post season once more.