Seven Minutes with Luke Pletcher presented by College Wrestler Recruiting

 

Seven Minutes is a series of interviews with top wrestling coaches and athletes. Most of the question-and-answer sessions last roughly seven minutes. Hence the name. Two-time All-American Luke Pletcher of Ohio State has been a scoring machine during his senior season at 141 pounds, scoring bonus points in over 65 percent of his matches. You can listen to the entire interview above or read the transcript below. 

If you could take what you know now and have a conversation with yourself at 15, what advice would you give yourself?

I would tell myself to have fun. Enjoy as much as possible. And I would say that you'll never regret putting in too much work or missing out on things.

Let's go back to recruiting when you were in high school. What do you remember about it? What were your top three schools and why did you pick Ohio State?

What I remember about it was I looked forward to it before it happened. I just wanted to find the right spot and I didn't want to wait too long. My top schools were Ohio State, Virginia Tech, Penn State and Pitt. I chose Ohio State for a couple of reasons. I enjoyed the coaching staff. I meshed well with them. They were nice people. They've done what I was trying to do. They've won national titles here. I wanted to go somewhere where it's actually been proven. The practice partners were great for me and the energy in the room when it came time to practice wasn't negative. They were smiling and joking around before practice. They didn't seem like they hated being in the practice room and that wasn't the case anywhere else. It was just good energy.

If you could take one skill from any other wrestler and add it to your game, what do you think would benefit your wrestling the most?

The thing that just keeps popping in my mind is the Jordan Burroughs double-leg. The reshot double would be a great tool to have.

Let's say wrestling has one governing body and you're the president. What would you want to change?

Headgear needs to be gone. For sure. We've been wearing it in practice lately and that's I think it's doing more harm to my ears than it's helping.

What is the last thing you tell yourself before you set your foot on the line?

I don't really think too much. I don't think about anything. I don't listen to music or anything. Recently, I've been saying, 'It doesn't have to be close.' I just say that a couple of times in my head. If it's a tough kid or I'm getting a little bit stressed about it or getting nervous for some reason, I just say ‘It doesn't have to be close. It doesn't have to be close.’ That's all. That's all I say.

What is the greatest compliment someone could give you?

If someone compliments the way I carry myself or something along those lines. I think those are more meaningful to me than any wrestling compliment for sure.

What is the most interesting thing about you that has nothing to do with wrestling?

I would say I like to be outside. I like to hunt and fish. That’s what I do with my family. I'm from a small town and we’ve always done stuff outside, either hunting or fishing or finding a rope swing or a cliff to jump off of into the water or something like that. That's just how it's been, how we spend our time.

What is your greatest fear?

Probably snakes. I don't like snakes for some reason. I was afraid of toads when I was younger. I was walking outside with my bare feet and I stepped on one and it freaked me out and ever since then, I just have a weird feeling towards them.

If you could go back and wrestle anybody from any era who would you want to compete against?

It might be (Ohio State assistant coach) J Jaggers to be honest with you. The style he wrestles is very weird. I get to feel it a little bit now, but I wish I could feel it when he was training every day and in national champ form. I’d like to see what that felt like.

Who wins that match?

I'd like to say me. I hope so.

What is the best way to motivate Luke Pletcher?

I'm pretty self-motivated. I just really like wrestling. I like everything about it. I think about wrestling and what my parents have done for me. We've traveled all over the country since I was seven years old. I know they want the best for me. You take it for granted whenever you're younger. You still take it for granted a little bit now. They don't miss a dual meet. They're just everywhere. I would really like to win just because they've done a lot for me and I think it'd be awesome to just share that experience.

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