“I’m Glad That’s The Last Time I’ll Ever Wrestle You”
May 2nd, 2022
All-Pro right tackle Tristan Wirfs
Joe is always up for sharing a rare look at a prominent Buccaneer.
This gem comes from a guy drafted at No. 25 overall on Thursday night, the consensus best center in college football last season, Tyler Linderbaum out of the University of Iowa.
Not only is Linderbaum a friend and former teammate of Bucs All-Pro right tackle Tristan Wirfs, but Linderbaum knew Wirfs in high school.
Linderbaum explained to the ABC affiliate in Iowa that he used to wrestle in the high school heavyweight division against Wirfs, who was the king of wrestling mountain. Linderbaum consistently lost to Wirfs, he said, until their final high school meeting when Linderbaum took Wirfs out in overtime.
Linked here is a feature on that match. What really struck Joe is how Linderbaum says he weighed 240 pounds, yet Wirfs makes him looks like a little dude on the JV.
Linderbaum said he would expect plenty more losses if he took on Wirfs again, “Hey Tristan, I’m glad that’s the last time I’ll every wrestle you.”
Joe hopes one day, maybe 10 years down the road, that Rob Gronkowski gets Wirfs into professional wrestling. Joe would watch that.
May 2nd, 2022 at 1:45 pm
Sapp was a stud wrestler too. Can’t go wrong with a grappler in the trenches. Sapp and Wirfs may go down as the Buc’s best linemen on either side; although Gruber may take issue with such high praise for a guy with only two years under his belt.
May 2nd, 2022 at 2:10 pm
What a beast!
May 2nd, 2022 at 2:19 pm
So sad seeing no one rooting for the Buc’s Wirf’s in the video. Everyone was clearly rooting for the underdog.
May 2nd, 2022 at 2:21 pm
Davin Joseph was also a great wrestler. In High School, the guys you didn’t mess with were the wrestlers.
May 2nd, 2022 at 2:34 pm
Nice video. Started off in the gymnasium for Benton Community Bobcats, where young Clodhopper went to high school.
Geno. Looks like that match was in Solon. Linderbaum is from Solon. Probably why he had the most cheers.
May 2nd, 2022 at 2:58 pm
Should add: Jumping out of the Pool to the Combine……
May 2nd, 2022 at 3:03 pm
ClodHopper Says:
May 2nd, 2022 at 2:34 pm
Nice video. Started off in the gymnasium for Benton Community Bobcats, where young Clodhopper went to high school.
A good friend of yours and mine grew up in Clinton and went to Northern Iowa and now lives in the Tampa Palms area.
May 2nd, 2022 at 3:18 pm
Geno, I can tell you as a former wrestler everyone roots for the underdog. I can remember the Wisconsin state championships at 189 lbs back in ’10 or ‘ 11, the match was between a kid from Milwaukee who went undefeated and a kid from Wisconsin Rapids who at the time was a powerhouse in Wisconsin high school wrestling. To be fair, the kid from Rapids was in trouble for some unspeakable things, but the entire Kohl Center was chanting “Willis” (the kid from Milwaukee). He won and the entire stadium gave him a standing ovation.
Anyway, back to Wirfs… He won state in Iowa, so this was probably a fluke incident that this happened.
May 2nd, 2022 at 3:32 pm
Geno
Who’s that?
May 2nd, 2022 at 3:37 pm
I thought I saw a video where our new Guard beat Wirfs in a Wrestling Match in College ?
May 2nd, 2022 at 3:54 pm
O or D line… Can’t go wrong with X wrestlers.
They have balance and know leverage
May 2nd, 2022 at 4:23 pm
Man, wresting is a true tough guy sport. Too much of an azz whipping for me. That’s what makes Wirfs special. Still angry the Bucs hurt his ankle more during the playoffs.
May 4th, 2022 at 6:57 pm
Sapp never wrestled!!! Stop perpetuating this lie! He said so himself in a recent interview.