Penn State sophomore David Taylor has scored bonus points in 59 of 66 matches in college. Larry Slater photo.

Penn State sophomore David Taylor was rolling toward his second straight Big Ten title this past weekend when he heard a name called out from the stands.

“People in the crowd were yelling Bubba Jenkins,” he said following his finals win on Sunday. “I think it was pretty funny, but I’m pretty excited to have some fun this year at NCAAs.”

Taylor is expected to have plenty of fun at this year’s NCAA tournament. Taylor is 27-0 and will be heavily favored to win his first national title at 165 pounds at the NCAA Championships, set for March 15-17 in St. Louis.

Taylor’s college resume is nothing short of spectacular for a sophomore. He is 65-1 in his college career and has earned Big Ten Wrestler of the Year honors the past two seasons.

But it is the 2011 NCAA finals loss to Jenkins that drives Taylor.

Jenkins, an NCAA runner-up for Penn State before transferring to Arizona State, locked Taylor in a cradle to record a stunning fall in the 157-pound national finals last March in Philadelphia.

“I’ve been looking forward to NCAAs for a year,” said Taylor, who is from St. Paris, Ohio. “I have been preparing all year to go out and really complete this year the way I should’ve last year. It really hurts inside still from that match. It’s definitely something I think about every day. I want to redeem myself.”

Taylor’s wide-open, attacking style has enabled him to score bonus points an unthinkable 59 times in 66 collegiate matches. He has recorded 19 pins, 23 technical falls and 17 majors in two seasons at Penn State.

The top-ranked Taylor, along with 2011 NCAA champion Quentin Wright and All-Americans Frank Molinaro and Ed Ruth, led the Nittany Lions to their second straight Big Ten tournament title this past weekend. Top-ranked Penn State is favored to repeat as NCAA team champions.

Taylor, Molinaro and Ruth outscored their Big Ten finals opponents by a combined 39-4 margin on Sunday.

“I’ve been watching the national finals since I was a kid, but I don’t remember too many times where you have so many guys looking to score bonus points and dominate the way we do,” Taylor said. “When you have national-caliber teammates trying to win by techs and majors, you want to go out and do better than those guys. It fuels everybody to do better. It is something we have that is really special.”

Taylor, a past U.S. Junior World Team member in freestyle wrestling, is a talented, driven wrestler who has the potential to have a huge impact internationally at the Senior level.

“David shows a lot of potential, and I think he has a bright future for our country,” U.S. National Freestyle Coach Zeke Jones said. “He’s got great speed, scrambles well, and attacks relentlessly. I think once he gets done with college and focuses on freestyle, he’ll make the jump to World class wrestling easily.”

Taylor spent time training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center this past summer in Colorado Springs. One day during the 2011 U.S. World Team Camp, Taylor wrestled back-to-back matches against Olympic gold medalist Cael Sanderson and World silver medalist Jake Herbert.

Taylor didn’t back away from Sanderson or Herbert, firing in on leg attacks and battling for takedowns during a practice session.

“I was real excited to go to that camp,” Taylor said. “I was real excited to be able to train with Cael and be around him. It was great to see your idol and coach working as hard or harder than you are. It was a great opportunity to wrestle some of the best guys in the World.”

Taylor said he hopes to compete in April’s U.S. Olympic Team Trials, set for April 21-22 in Iowa City. He would compete in freestyle at 74 kg/163 lbs.

“That is my plan,” Taylor said. “I’m definitely looking forward to having that opportunity.”

Sanderson, the head coach at Penn State, placed fifth at the 2011 World Championships at 84 kg/185 lbs. He had been away from competition for nearly seven years.

“It was pretty awesome to see Cael compete last year,” Taylor said. “We knew he had the ability to be that competitive. He didn’t accomplish what he wanted to, but fifth in the World is pretty darn good. If he could train full-time, I have no doubt he could be the best in the World.”

Taylor’s dominating college career has been reminiscent of when Sanderson ripped through the college ranks en route to winning four NCAA titles and compiling a 159-0 record for Iowa State from 1998-2002.

“I watch Cael and study him, and see what he does,” Taylor said. “We do some things that are similar. I’ve learned a lot by watching him wrestle. He’s not only a mentor and role model, but he’s helped me in every aspect of wrestling. He’s taught me a lot.”

Taylor initially signed with Iowa State after a standout high school career, but he elected to follow Sanderson when he left Ames to take over the Penn State program in 2009.

“I couldn’t be happier,” Taylor said. “I envisioned wrestling in front of sold-out crowds at dual meets with people yelling and screaming, and we have that here. We have the best fans in the country. Penn State is a great school and I have everything I need here academically. It’s a special place. I’m lucky to be a part of it.”

Sanderson also has built an elite international training situation at Penn State with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club. Among the top wrestlers in that club are 2011 World bronze medalist Jake Varner and 2011 World silver medalist Franklin Gomez.

“It’s pretty awesome to have those top freestyle guys in the room,” Taylor said. “We have World-caliber guys coming in here every day to train. What we have at Penn State is pretty amazing. It’s really competitive. It’s a great situation for us.”

Taylor said an early season dual-meet loss to Minnesota provided a “wake-up call” for the nation’s top-ranked team.

“We responded really well after that,” he said. “We have really high expectations as a team. It was great to see how our team really came together the last day at the Big Ten tournament. Every guy on our team contributed. We are excited to see what we can do at the NCAA tournament.”