Casey Cunningham emerged from Penn State’s weight room in a worn gray sweatshirt and dark blue sweatpants as wrestlers filed past him on their way into practice.

The longtime assistant coach locked eyes with each one for a split second, and just as a well-trained soldier might return a salute, they all offered a crisp, respectful nod toward the man Cael Sanderson calls “the heavyweight tamer.”

Perhaps deep down, many of them know they’re lucky to have him. Sanderson sure feels that way.

“I know every year people are calling,” Sanderson said of other programs attempting to lure Cunningham away from Penn State. “Clay Steadman, who’s our general manager, I’ve heard him say we have the three best head coaches in the country, and I think I would not argue that.”

When Sanderson took over at Penn State in 2009, he brought his brother Cody Sanderson and Cunningham with him. They’ve made the most of their time together, figuring out the perfect working formula early on and sticking with it for the last 16 years. Cody, who had built what is now Utah Valley University’s program from scratch, closely mentors 125- to 157-pounders, while Cunningham is in charge of the upperweights.

“I feel like Cael has given us ownership of the program,” Cunningham said. “And I feel like he allows me to do with those guys what I think they need. He trusts me enough, that ‘Hey, if that’s what you think they need, do it.’ I feel, almost like I am a head coach.”

Sanderson, meanwhile, is “the x-factor” Cunningham said. He’s able to read a room, gauge an athlete and direct his right and left-hand men accordingly.

“He just has a way about that. He can sense it. He’s the difference maker, and I’m just happy to be a part of it,” Cunningham said.

In their 16 seasons together, the Sandersons and Cunningham have led the Nittany Lions to 12 NCAA team titles, coached 40 individual national champions and more than 100 All-Americans.

What makes Cunningham’s coaching so insightful? Ask Rocco Welsh, who’s been with the program for just a few months after transferring from Ohio State.

Notably, Welsh felt like his development had hit a wall in Columbus. Cunningham has helped him break it down.

“It’s been awesome since the beginning,” Welsh said. “Some coaches will try to change you. He doesn’t really do that. He sees what I do good and then he adds stuff that I need to add. He’s been so helpful.”

Over time, Sanderson has given Cody and Cunningham more to work with. In the last few years, the Nittany Lions have added Olympic gold medalist Jake Varner and former Nittany Lions star Nick Lee to the staff. They’ve also helped develop other Penn State alums like David Taylor, who has moved forward in his own coaching career.

“I think there’s a lot of things that go into that,” Cunningham said. “But I think you want to go to work every day with people that you enjoy, that you trust, that you know have your back and you know you can disagree with and there’s no hard feelings. At the end of the day, I consider those guys family.”

Sanderson has worked hard to keep the family together.

Programs around the country — upstarts and those with pages of All-Americans in their record books — have inquired about his assistants. Each time Sanderson’s contract has neared its expiration date — as it did in 2012, 2017 and most recently 2022 — he’s lobbied for more resources for his staff.

Cunningham said he’s never been that motivated by money. Neither is Sanderson nor the handfuls of resident athletes in the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club who batter their bodies for glory in a sport that’s never paid exorbitantly.  

“He is the last to think about himself when it comes to pay or anything else, so you just feel important,” Cunningham said. “For me, it’s never been about chasing being a head coach. I’ve always listened to anyone that’s talked to me and up to this point it just hasn’t seemed right. It’s just about being where I’m supposed to be with who I’m supposed to be doing it.”

50 Is The New 40

Cunningham will be 50 in April, but age hasn’t slowed down the man Penn State legends like Taylor, Quentin Wright, Ed Ruth and Matt Brown openly acknowledged shying away from in order to keep their then-young egos intact.

And although humility has always been a part of Cunningham’s friendly, soft-spoken demeanor, he still looks forward to getting on the mat even as he approaches the end of his fourth decade.

“I try to get on the mat as much as I can,” Cunningham said. “If somebody’s asking me to go, I’m trying to wrestle. Most days I’m on the mat drilling or rolling around or getting thrown down. I’m a lot better at getting thrown down than I am at throwing other people down, but I feel like I can still give guys a feel.”

It’s the most fun part of his job.

Most of Penn State’s starters watch very little film all season. They don’t necessarily need to study an opponent because their coaches have already done it. Cody Sanderson and Cunningham, who work out with the rest of the staff twice a day, have telegraphed their moves and can replicate most of the looks any of their guys might see in any given match.

“I’m not going to stop because if I do, then I’ll probably lose it, but I’m planning on doing this for a while,” Cunningham said. “My favorite part of it is being able to get out on the mat with guys and help them grow that way. I’m not trying to pretend I can go out there and kick everybody’s butt anymore, but I feel like I can still fall down and get up with them.”

Family Affair 

Due to his commitments to Penn State, Cunningham hadn’t spent much time coaching up his own sons over the years.

Now, he’s getting that chance as Hayden and Asher Cunningham are both on Penn State’s roster — Hayden in his second year as a 141-pounder and Asher at 184.

Both of them attended nearby State College High where Asher won a pair of PIAA titles and developed in the local M2 training facility that was founded and operated by Taylor until he took the Oklahoma State job.

While Hayden has battled injuries that have kept him off the mat for stretches, Asher won the 184-pound title at the Southern Scuffle in January. He posted a pair of pins and two majors.

While they share a last name with their vaunted coach, the Cunninghams are just two wrestlers on the team to their dad, who expects them to earn their way like everyone else.

“It’s been really fun, they’ve been listening and growing,” Cunningham said. “There’s a lot of growth to do in this room because you’re going to come in here and take some lumps and either you’re going to continue to get beat up or you’re going to make changes, so it’s been fun to watch.”

Re-Seeds Necessary?

Although the Nittany Lions have six top-seeded wrestlers heading into the Big Ten Championships, Sanderson floated the idea of possibly reseeding some weight classes the old-fashioned way after WrestleStat’s Tournament Seeder Program delivered some questionable numbers on Monday.

Notably, Illinois’ defending unbeaten NCAA champion Lucas Byrd, a seventh-year senior, is the #2 seed behind Penn State true freshman Marcus Blaze, who’s also undefeated thus far. At 174, Nebraska’s Christopher Minto is the top seed with Penn State’s Levi Haines the #2 despite Haines beating Minto 8-6 in the teams’ dual meet.

“I don’t know if it’s too late to re-seed it as coaches, maybe we should,” Sanderson said. “Stuff just doesn’t make sense.”

In its first year as the tournament pre-seeding program, WrestleStat applied a points system based on head-to-head records, common opponents, coaches' rankings and a custom, unofficial RPI meant to replicate the RPI algorithm used by the NCAA.

Coaches can contest seeds up until the start of the tournament if seeded wrestlers are within 15 points of each other. Sanderson said before the team’s practice on Monday he had not seen the point breakdowns. The Big Ten did not release the point totals in its initial seedings release on Monday.

“There has to be a human element in all things,” Sanderson said. “Especially in a sport like wrestling.”