In Others' Words: How Gritty is Cody Brewer?

Cody Brewer has put together an exceptional wrestling career at the University of Oklahoma, but he isn't flashy. In fact, gritty is a word that more exemplifies his time as a Sooner. With the 2015 national champion's last home contest being this Sunday in OU's 2 p.m. dual with No. 24 South Dakota State, we asked his teammates and coaches: How gritty is Cody Brewer?

Cody Brewer

Head Coach mark cody

“He's a warrior in every sense of the word.”

ASSoc. head Coach michael lightner

“When his mind is focused on the task at hand, he has one of the greatest competitive spirits of any athlete I have ever seen.”

ASSISTANT Coach andrew howe

“Cody is somebody who shows up every day in the practice room. He's consistent. Consistency wins in this sport, and every day he is here with a purpose. He's here with something in his head to work on to get better with and that's why he is who he is.”

four-time ou all-american sam hazewinkel

“I remember the day that it clicked for me that he was going to be that next-level wrestler. Coach Lightner and I do this thing to make the guys tough. We get together and we're not wrestling so much to get take downs but more to try to break him mentally and physically. I remember one day Lightner was like, “Hey you need to get with Cody today and I want you to be tough with him.” So we went and Cody started fighting back tough and we were wrestling, and I am like, “This is a lot of fun!” We were battling, and so I go home that night and I'm kind of sore and tired, and show I up the next day for practice and Lightner walks over to me and says, “Hey let's do two days in a row with Brewer," and I sighed and Lightner kind of laughed at me and we both had that ah-ha moment knowing that if neither one of us wanted to go hard on Brewer two days in a row, he made it. It was a good day.”

Cody Brewer

redshirt junior Matt reed

“The first time I realized how tough Cody was, was at NCAAs his sophomore year when he took down Jon Morrison (former OSU wrestler) three times in the first period and then pinned him."

redshirt junior clark glass

“Cody is so tough that he can wrestle up a weight class in the NWCA All-Star match and still win."

“One time he beat Matt Reed and Brad Johnson in a wrestle-off for the best bedroom in their house.”

sophomore ryan millhof

“The first time I realized how gritty Cody was… It started early. It was probably my first practice here and it was our first live go. We shook hands, Coach Cody blew the whistle and I got taken down right to my back. For probably four minutes and 55 seconds I stayed on my back until the go was over. It wasn't a fun day of practice.”

Cody Brewer

redshirt junior ross larson

“This dude comes in every day to practice in six layers of clothes and is able to work hard and grind through practices. I haven't had to cut weight for three years so I don't know what that really takes anymore. After a long day of running who knows how many miles to get that extra half pound off and then be able to go out and compete the way he does… It's pretty remarkable.”

redshirt junior brad johnson

“The most admirable trait about Cody is that he has a perpetual belief in himself and in what he does. No matter what happens or what he goes through, he always feels like he could be a national champion. That's something that I strive to do.”

freshman davion jeffries

“I kind of try to feed off him, and a lot of it is just going out there and watching him be relentless. Everything that he does motivates me to do more and more to be more like him.”

freshman christian moody

“Since I'm just a freshman coming in here, I like working out with Brewer. He has such a killer mentality that he's going to be the best no matter who is at his weight or who he's wrestling against. I like watching him and learning from him as much as I can. He's just going to go out there and win no matter what. That's just his mindset and mentality.”

Cody Brewer