NCAA wrestler says 'faith' is key to Penn State's dominance
NCAA wrestler AJ Ferrari is known for speaking his mind.
The 23-year-old recently expressed his thoughts on Penn State's dominant run in wrestling.
"That is why Penn State is winning. What's the secret sauce?" Ferrari asked a group of reporters. "Faith. Four-time national champion Aaron Brooks… faith, domination. That's why these guys have a decade of domination… all there guys are strong believers."
Ferrari added that Penn State wrestlers do not just talk the talk, they also walk the walk.
"They don't just say it, they live it. You can say what you want about (Penn State wrestling coach) Cael Sanderson, you can say what you want about Cody Sanderson … and I'm not even looking to transfer there, but they've got real authentic faith. And that's what matters."
Ferrari defeated Michigan's Jacob Cardenas in the 197-pound class consolation final at the Division I Men's Wrestling Championship this past Saturday.
He also addressed some of the criticism he had faced, suggesting some people did not appreciate his authenticity.
"And that's what people don't like about me, they don't like the fact that I'm real. They don't like the fact that if I don't like what you're doing I'll call you out on it. Because I'm not the teammate you want, I'm the teammate you need. … Growing up my dad taught us to embrace adversity. He taught us to embrace the terrible times."
President Donald Trump attended the wrestling championships in Philadelphia over the weekend. Moments after becoming the first five-time wrestling champion in NCAA history, Penn State wrestling superstar Carter Starocci made a beeline for Trump. He shook the president's hand and snapped a photo with him.
On Monday, Starocci shared details of his mat-side conversation with Trump.
"When I heard he was coming, I kind of figured I was going to go over there and say a few words to my man because I met him before, so having him in the house is always special," he told Fox News Channel's "Fox & Friends."
Starocci defeated Northern Iowa's Parker Keckeisen, 4-3, to win the 184-pound championship and his fifth NCAA title.
Ferrari appears to have a rivalry with Starocci. The two wrestlers engaged in a heated exchange on social media last September.
Ferrari previously competed with the Oklahoma State wrestling team, but he left the school in 2022 amid a sexual assault investigation. The case was later dismissed.
Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
34 minutes ago
- USA Today
LIV Golf CEO calls PGA Tour 'NASCAR to our (Formula 1),' but still hopes to grow together
LIV Golf CEO calls PGA Tour 'NASCAR to our (Formula 1),' but still hopes to grow together Apparently, there are still a few things money – in this case, nearly a trillion dollars of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund – can't buy. LIV Golf chief executive officer Scott O'Neil made that clear Monday, June 9, at a meeting of the Detroit Economic Club, when he didn't try to hide his upstart tour's ongoing desire to merge with the cachet-rich PGA Tour. Even while leveling some criticism at the PGA Tour – casting it as a traditional-bound tour with a limited audience – O'Neil said LIV still wants to align itself with the world's top tour and its stars. 'We have a growing sport, we have an important sport,' he said in front of about 250 people at St. John's Resort in Plymouth, which will host its first LIV tournament Aug. 22-24. 'The most important people in the world play the sport. 'And so we have this amazing, amazing opportunity. Now, if some of the opportunity leads to some sort of connection and collaboration with the PGA (Tour), let's go do it.' PGA Tour star Rory McIlroy was pessimistic in March, after a four-hour meeting between the two tours in late February, when he said a merger 'doesn't feel like it's any closer.' But O'Neil noted that the PGA Tour is looking for a CEO to work alongside commissioner Jay Monahan, which he said could lead to a fresh start in merger talks. 'What a wonderful opportunity,' he said. 'But I can tell you like, because we're so different, and they're NASCAR to our (Formula 1), like this notion of a merger might not fit your notion of a merger or that the media writes about. But what might happen, you might look to happen, is some opportunities for us to grow the game together.' LIV Golf taking team championship to Michigan Golf fans in Michigan will get a chance to compare the two tours in person and decide for themselves if any kind of merger would make sense. Two months after the PGA Tour's Rocket Classic is played at Detroit Golf Club, LIV's season-ending Team Championship Michigan will come to the Cardinal at St. John's, which marks LIV's debut in the state. 'And so we think Michigan has got an incredible golf market,' he said, while referencing AI modeling that identifies top golf markets. 'It's got stars, it's got love. Any event that's been here has been very well received. 'Our players, some of whom came years to the Rocket Mortgage Classic, have not been permitted to come the last several years, are really excited to get back here.' Golf fans in Michigan will get to prove O'Neil right or wrong. A three-day grounds pass is the cheapest ticket available and costs $122.06. Kids 12 and under get in free with a ticketed adult. Several PGA Tour stars like Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson who made appearances at the Rocket Classic, are scheduled to play in the 54-hole event for LIV (the Roman numeral for 54), when O'Neil said he hopes continues past this year. 'Yeah, we plan on being back here for a long time,' he said. 'We're here for one year. But we're in some discussions in the market.' LIV Golf CEO brings a new voice O'Neil, who replaced Greg Norman in January, has extensive experience managing global sports and entertainment brands. He pitched LIV tournaments as fun, raucous affairs with disc jockeys, live music acts and a shotgun start that ensures constant action. He cast LIV, in its third season, as a startup and a disruptor to the traditional golf-tournament model. But he noted that even in the traditional tournament world, there's a place for the serene and stately Masters as well as the emotion-fueled, roller-coaster Ryder Cup. 'How can you love them both?' O'Neil said. 'Well, they're just different expressions of this wonderful game. And I would just invite you to think about LIV as really a different expression of that same game.' LIV's ultimate goal is not entirely clear. But O'Neil seemed to hint it's all about the potential to reach a much larger global audience. That's why he compared the PGA Tour to NASCAR, which caters mostly to an American audience. 'And the U.S. is the preeminent media market, it's the preeminent sponsor market,' he said. 'But it's got 350 million people, and I'm talking to an audience of 7.8 billion. And so when I think about TV ratings, I really think about the 7.8 billion. And so we're doing quite well.' Not according to Nielsen ratings for U.S. households. reported through the first seven head-to-head Sundays, the PGA Tour averaged 3.1 million viewers on CBS and NBC, while LIV averaged 175,000 viewers on Fox, FS1 and FS2. Of course, it takes time to build an audience and for an upstart to make an impact. Maybe LIV will. Even if money – lots and lots of money – can't buy LIV everything it wants right now, that money certainly buys it a lot of time to keep trying.
USA Today
39 minutes ago
- USA Today
Nets projected to take Michigan C Danny Wolf No. 27 in 2025 NBA Draft
Nets projected to take Michigan C Danny Wolf No. 27 in 2025 NBA Draft A collection of nifty threes from the 6'10.5" barefoot, 251.8-pound Danny Wolf. Few players his size have these types of shots in their arsenal. — Maxwell Baumbach (@BaumBoards) May 30, 2025 The Brooklyn Nets have some important decisions to make ahead of the 2025 NBA Draft that begins on June 25 in which the team will have five picks to use. Brooklyn is focused on more than just the Draft, but when it comes to their future, the Nets will have to do their homework given that the players they take this year could be crucial members of the roster. In his latest mock draft for Bleacher Report, Jonathan Wasserman projected the Nets to take Michigan center Danny Wolf with the 27th overall pick in the Draft, the last of four first-round picks Brooklyn has at its disposal. Wolf, standing at 6-foot-11 and 252 pounds, is one of the more interesting players in this class given his ability to handle the ball and shoot at his size. "Danny Wolf made a strong, final pitch to scouts against Auburn, finishing with 20 points and a number of eye-opening highlights that showcased his creation and shotmaking," Wasserman wrote on Wolf. "Though his three-point numbers might not indicate shooting improvement, he added a pull-up and step-back to his repertoire this year." Wolf, 21, is coming off a junior season with the Wolverines in which he averaged 13.2 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 49.7% from the field and 33.6% from three-point land. Wolf put forth his production for a Michigan team that finished the 2024-25 regular season with a 27-10 record, allowing them to make the NCAA Tournament where they made it all the way to the Sweet 16 before losing to the Auburn Tigers. While it will be interesting to see if Wolf last until the 27th overall pick in a class that seems to taper off around the 12th pick or so, his skill set will be interesting for every team that has a first-round pick outside of the Lottery. "A 7-footer who made 21 dribble jumpers, served as Michigan's lead playmaker and still averaged 9.7 boards and 1.4 blocks is bound to entice a number of teams," Wasserman continued.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Zakai Zeigler lawyers: New Tennessee law prevents NCAA from keeping Vols player off court
Attorneys for former Tennessee basketball player Zakai Zeigler are trying to utilize a new state law curtailing the NCAA's authority to get him an additional year of eligibility. It's the latest twist in Zeigler's federal lawsuit against the NCAA, which challenges the so-called "Four Seasons" rule. The NCAA allows athletes to play four seasons during a five-year period, which can include a redshirt year. Zeigler ran out of NCAA eligibility by playing the past four seasons for UT basketball and not taking a redshirt. He wants to play a fifth season and earn millions of dollars in NIL pay. His attorneys say the NCAA does not have the authority in the state of Tennessee to stop him. The new Tennessee law, Senate Bill 536, allows Tennessee universities and athletes to opt out of NCAA rules if they appear to violate antitrust law. The initial purpose was to shift liability toward the NCAA and conferences and away from the schools in anticipated antitrust lawsuits by athletes unhappy with new player-pay rules in college sports. But broad language in the law – which has not been litigated in any court – strips the NCAA of its power if the association prohibits a Tennessee athlete from earning money. Zeigler's attorneys are seizing on that portion to push for a preliminary injunction that would grant him a fifth year of eligibility. '(The new Tennessee law is) unambiguously clear: Any NCAA action that impacts an athlete's ability to earn NIL compensation or his or her eligibility, like the Four-Seasons Rule, is illegal in Tennessee,' Zeigler's attorneys argued in a brief filed to the Eastern District of Tennessee federal court on June 7. The NCAA countered, accusing Zeigler of exploiting a law that doesn't apply to his case. '(Zeigler's brief) continues his effort to dismantle the NCAA membership's longstanding eligibility rules by any means necessary — this time through a tortured reading of an irrelevant law,' NCAA attorneys wrote in a brief to the court on June 8. 'Common sense dictates that the new Tennessee statute has nothing to do with this case.' The law appeared to be in response to Tennessee v. NCAA, a separate federal lawsuit that challenged the NCAA's rules that prohibited schools from facilitating NIL negotiations with players and recruits. Tennessee and the NCAA reached a settlement in that case in January, the same month that Senate Bill 536 was introduced in the legislature. The new law was signed by Gov. Bill Lee on May 1, and it sparked a fight between UT and power conferences about whether the school had to follow new player-pay rules set forth in the House settlement. However, a provision in the new law said the NCAA shall not 'interfere with, prohibit, restrict, or otherwise adversely affect an intercollegiate athlete's ability to earn compensation … and shall not otherwise impact an intercollegiate athlete's eligibility or full participation in intercollegiate athletic events.' Zeigler has used that language in his fight against the NCAA. Federal Judge Katherine Crytzer could invalidate the state law altogether if she wants. Zeigler has a guaranteed spot on Tennessee's 2025-26 basketball roster if Crytzer allows it. The latest hearing was held in Knoxville on June 6, and both sides are jockeying for a stronger position. Zeigler's attorney, Alex Little, told the judge that Zeigler intends to play for the Vols and was told he had a spot on the team. But Little also said the NCAA wouldn't be able to restrict Zeigler's entrance into the transfer portal, presumably meaning if his injunction request was approved, Zeigler would have the option to play at another school, not just UT. The NCAA argues that its eligibility rules are clear, and Zeigler cannot exceed them. But Zeigler's attorneys say that the law allows UT to determine who plays on its teams, not the NCAA. '(The NCAA) argued that the phrase 'can . . . participate' means that Mr. Zeigler must be eligible to participate under its own eligibility rules,' Zeigler's attorneys argued in a brief. 'But this argument assumes its own premise: that the NCAA — rather than the institution — determines who gets to 'participate in an athletic program (at an institution).'' The NCAA sees a contradiction in UT's apparent support of Zeigler and its acceptance of NCAA eligibility rules. After all, member schools like UT make up the NCAA and adopt its rules. The House settlement, which resolved three federal antitrust lawsuits against the NCAA and four power conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC), could strengthen the NCAA's position in the Zeigler case. The settlement was approved on June 6, just hours after the conclusion of Zeigler's hearing, and reinforced eligibility rules. The House settlement permitted the NCAA and conferences to cap the number of years an athlete is eligible to receive payments at four years plus a redshirt year, providing that all four of those seasons must be played within a consecutive five-year period. The SEC, which includes UT as a member, agreed to that settlement. 'The State's flagship institution (which happens to be the school Plaintiff attended) is a member of an athletic conference that has agreed to a settlement that expressly affirms the NCAA's Four-Seasons Rule,' NCAA attorneys argued in a brief. 'That same institution, the University of Tennessee, obtained valuable legal releases pursuant to that settlement and unsurprisingly has repeatedly endorsed it. 'It is accordingly hard to imagine the Tennessee legislature passing a law so obviously at odds with the University of Tennessee's legal position and interests.' Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at Get the latest news and insight on SEC football by subscribing to the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox. This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Zakai Zeigler lawyers: Tennessee law supersedes NCAA eligibility rule
