Oklahoma State University Athletics
John Smith and Dave Smith Media Availablility
January 25, 2022 | General, Cowboy Wrestling, Cowboy Cross Country & Track
Video
Oklahoma State wrestling coach John Smith and Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Dave Smith met with members of the media following Monday night's automobile accident involving wrestler AJ Ferrari and cross country athlete Isai Rodriguez.
On the health of the athletes:
Dave Smith: "From what I saw last night at the hospital with Isai he seemed to be in good spirits and feeling pretty good. Thankfully, it didn't seem like anything real serious, and I think he is about to be released. They are running a few tests and had to keep him over night. From everything I've seen he is going to come out of this OK."
John Smith: "For AJ, I went out to the scene and could not get to him, so I didn't get to see him. That's when he was helicoptered to the hospital in Oklahoma City. We went there and due to protocols, I never did get to see him. I waited for his father, who was in with him the whole time and was relaying me the messages. They scanned his body and did everything they could to check him pretty quickly and I think it was at the scene of the crash he was a little bit out of it, obviously. When he got to the hospital and scanned him, they came back and said there were no broken bones, but they kept him overnight for other reasons."
On the scene of the accident:
JS: "There were a lot of police officers and a lot of ambulances that were there with a helicopter coming in. It wasn't a good scene. My first thought was that it was a head-on collision, and I got a call from Coach (Kasey) Dunn who was a little shaken up. I could barely hear him, but he let me know enough that AJ's been in a car wreck on highway 33. I'm not far from 33 at my home, so I jumped in my truck and about eight minutes later I was where the wreck was. I didn't get to see coach Dunn. A lot of staff came, and we just sat there while he was air flighted to Oklahoma City."
On AJ's recovery:
JS: "I didn't see the vehicle until late last night. They're lucky. There was definitely somebody watching over those two and the others that were involved in the wreck. They were definitely lucky to walk away from it with minor injuries. I think AJ's are going to be a little bit longer, but it was a bad feeling not being able to get to him. I'm just glad his dad did get to him. It was a sight you don't want to see again."
On Kasey Dunn helping Ferrari at the scene of the accident:
JS: "I've talked to him a couple of times and he talked with my assistant coach, Zack Esposito, a couple times. I don't know the whole story of how he ended up there. I think obviously he was coming back from Tulsa or maybe going to Tulsa, I don't know. He did his citizen duty to help someone. Of course, he called me following him and someone else pulling AJ out of the car, helping AJ out, and you could hear it in his voice, as anyone would, there was some fright to it. When you have another coach telling you that and you knowing him well, you're just thinking the worst and hoping and praying for the best. He did tell me a big man showed up and helped him figure out how to get (AJ) out and they got him out and then all of a sudden, this guy was gone. I don't know what to think of that, but it's a story we can all be thankful for. I'm sure glad he was there. I don't know how many people would go to a car that was on fire and pull them out, but I'm sure glad coach Dunn was there."
On reason for the accident occurring:
JS: "We weren't too concerned about what happened in the accident, we were concerned with making sure everyone involved was getting taken care of and thank goodness that was happening quickly. It was kind of amazing for me to leave my house about eight minutes from where it happened… The number of people that were there and what was set up and what was being done so quickly was impressive… Doing everything to care for the injured was pretty impressive what was going on and that's more concerning"
On outpouring of support from the community:
JS: "It's nice, especially when you don't know anything… People reaching out to you asking how they can help, it's just a good feeling that you do have that. As competitive as we are, at times not liking each other, especially during competition… It's good to see people reach out to you with whatever we need… It's a wonderful community to be in and I'm glad I've been a part of it for a long time."
DS: "I have been contacted by dozens and dozens of coaches across the country. Unfortunately, some of our coaching colleagues have gone through this very recently and lost some young men to car wrecks in the last couple weeks, so it's been kind of cycling through our sport a little bit. These things seem to come in waves, and I think since it's happened a couple times in the last couple weeks, this felt like another one happening so there was immediate outpouring of people being supportive… It felt like just a week ago I was contacting my coaching colleagues saying, "Hey, our hearts broken for you and your fans and your young men and women and their families," and I got the same thing back. Guys that you compete against and can't stand all year long and something like this happens and you realize how close you are and how similar we are doing the same thing."
On how Dave Smith found out about accident:
DS: "Our athletic trainer called and asked if I had spoken to Isai recently and asked if I had heard about the accident. I don't like getting calls at home at night because it's never good news, so I sat down immediately and asked what happened. She was very cautious with what she was telling me, but the information she had was severe. It was very emotional immediately and it didn't turn out that way, but my mind went to "What's the worst-case scenario based on what she said," and it wasn't good. Trying to get a hold of his parents, trying to find him, so the next hour was tough.
On John Smith's communication with AJ's father:
JS: "I didn't get to see a him a lot. I called his father and told him what happened; told him I was heading there. He didn't hesitate, he said, 'We'll be right there.' Of course, I was on the west side of the accident toward Perkins. Knowing his dad, he went right around that barricade and right to – you know didn't stop, didn't hesitate – he was going to his son. I'm glad I was there to let them know who that was. I didn't get to communicate with him until the end of the evening when he came out of AJ's room and told us where he was at. I only saw him once and talked to him one time."
On the response from the Oklahoma State wrestling team:
JS: "Well for our team, they're in the workout room right now getting ready for practice. Like I said: when we had some good news – we didn't know anything until AJ's father came out said, 'It looks good. There's no broken bones.' When he shared the news, it kind of put everybody to rest that AJ's going to be fine in time. I think you just shift to thinking about your regular day: 'Okay I'm going back to work. I've got practice at three.' The good news from what we first originally thought as I was going to the scene – a lot different. Really low to really high. That's what the experience was."
On conversations John Smith and Dave Smith are having with their teams about being careful in all aspects of life:
JS: "Seatbelts save lives. Both the athletes had their seatbelts on. It was a bad wreck for AJ and for Isai, when you look at the car."
DS: "I think for any coach, or parent, or someone who works with people this age – this is the thing that, for me as a coach, keeps me awake every night. That call at night. I've been through it in my career where I've lost kids to car accidents. It's happened three times. It doesn't get easier, honestly it gets harder. We talk about this all the time: don't take anything for granted. It's that quick. One time looking down at your radio or your phone or whatever – anything – so many ways things can go wrong and in a car is easiest ways to have a major problem. We also have kids that go for runs and run on roads and we tell them, 'Stay on the sidewalk. Don't go on roads.' And a lot of the times they go, 'Yeah coach, whatever.' We've had kids hit walking down the street before. This again, we'll reinforce and say, 'Look: we again got past this, miraculously without losing anybody or having anybody critically hurt.' It's probably a game of inches. A couple inches more the other way in this wreck and it could have been an entirely different story."
On specific student-athletes who stepped up as leaders in support:
DS: "On my team, like I said, we had several try to come into the hospital and try to get there when they found out where he was. I made the mistake of telling people, 'Hey we found him. This is where he is.' Instantly, a bunch of the guys tried to come, and we had to send a message out, "Hey don't come to the hospital. They're getting frustrated with us.' Shea Foster, who's a new kid on our team but has become a leader since the day he got here, he wasn't going to be denied. He came in and stayed with Isai. Isai finally kicked us out at about 2 o' clock and said, 'Hey I've got to get some sleep.' So, we left at 2 a.m. [Shea] was going to spend the night with [Isai]. Isai said, 'No man. You've got to go. I need some sleep."
JS: "For us, it was Daton Fix that made a call to me and said, 'What do you want me to put out? Do you want me to do anything?' I said, 'At this point: nothing until we find out more.' Once we found out, we shared with the team. It kind of put everybody at ease when we knew it wasn't life threatening. It was good news when we heard that."
On AJ and Isai's friendship:
JS: "They're around each other all the time. They spend a lot of time together and I think most of it is from a competitive nature. They're training, not hanging out doing the wrong things and being out at the bars, but working out and lifting, running, whatever it is. They have found a connection through both of them wanting to be the best in their sport. I think that's the connection. It's not something that's fake. It is something that is very real and both of them are pretty close to it."
DS: "I'd say they both love OSU and OSU Athletics as a whole. You have a national champion wrestler of his stature show up at a cross country meet and be there to the very end jumping up and down going crazy and then hugging his buddy at the end, complimenting the women's team for winning and truly being involved in supporting and caring about OSU Athletics. I love AJ Ferrari. That kid is awesome with his spirit and his drive. His greatest strength might at times be his greatest weakness, but it is still his greatest strength. I think Isai Rodriguez is the same way. That passion and joy for life and everything they are doing and everything OSU, those are the things those guys have in common. Most people don't get it. They look at it and think 'that's weird', but those guys see a kindred spirit."
Oklahoma State wrestling coach John Smith and Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Dave Smith met with members of the media following Monday night's automobile accident involving wrestler AJ Ferrari and cross country athlete Isai Rodriguez.
On the health of the athletes:
Dave Smith: "From what I saw last night at the hospital with Isai he seemed to be in good spirits and feeling pretty good. Thankfully, it didn't seem like anything real serious, and I think he is about to be released. They are running a few tests and had to keep him over night. From everything I've seen he is going to come out of this OK."
John Smith: "For AJ, I went out to the scene and could not get to him, so I didn't get to see him. That's when he was helicoptered to the hospital in Oklahoma City. We went there and due to protocols, I never did get to see him. I waited for his father, who was in with him the whole time and was relaying me the messages. They scanned his body and did everything they could to check him pretty quickly and I think it was at the scene of the crash he was a little bit out of it, obviously. When he got to the hospital and scanned him, they came back and said there were no broken bones, but they kept him overnight for other reasons."
On the scene of the accident:
JS: "There were a lot of police officers and a lot of ambulances that were there with a helicopter coming in. It wasn't a good scene. My first thought was that it was a head-on collision, and I got a call from Coach (Kasey) Dunn who was a little shaken up. I could barely hear him, but he let me know enough that AJ's been in a car wreck on highway 33. I'm not far from 33 at my home, so I jumped in my truck and about eight minutes later I was where the wreck was. I didn't get to see coach Dunn. A lot of staff came, and we just sat there while he was air flighted to Oklahoma City."
On AJ's recovery:
JS: "I didn't see the vehicle until late last night. They're lucky. There was definitely somebody watching over those two and the others that were involved in the wreck. They were definitely lucky to walk away from it with minor injuries. I think AJ's are going to be a little bit longer, but it was a bad feeling not being able to get to him. I'm just glad his dad did get to him. It was a sight you don't want to see again."
On Kasey Dunn helping Ferrari at the scene of the accident:
JS: "I've talked to him a couple of times and he talked with my assistant coach, Zack Esposito, a couple times. I don't know the whole story of how he ended up there. I think obviously he was coming back from Tulsa or maybe going to Tulsa, I don't know. He did his citizen duty to help someone. Of course, he called me following him and someone else pulling AJ out of the car, helping AJ out, and you could hear it in his voice, as anyone would, there was some fright to it. When you have another coach telling you that and you knowing him well, you're just thinking the worst and hoping and praying for the best. He did tell me a big man showed up and helped him figure out how to get (AJ) out and they got him out and then all of a sudden, this guy was gone. I don't know what to think of that, but it's a story we can all be thankful for. I'm sure glad he was there. I don't know how many people would go to a car that was on fire and pull them out, but I'm sure glad coach Dunn was there."
On reason for the accident occurring:
JS: "We weren't too concerned about what happened in the accident, we were concerned with making sure everyone involved was getting taken care of and thank goodness that was happening quickly. It was kind of amazing for me to leave my house about eight minutes from where it happened… The number of people that were there and what was set up and what was being done so quickly was impressive… Doing everything to care for the injured was pretty impressive what was going on and that's more concerning"
On outpouring of support from the community:
JS: "It's nice, especially when you don't know anything… People reaching out to you asking how they can help, it's just a good feeling that you do have that. As competitive as we are, at times not liking each other, especially during competition… It's good to see people reach out to you with whatever we need… It's a wonderful community to be in and I'm glad I've been a part of it for a long time."
DS: "I have been contacted by dozens and dozens of coaches across the country. Unfortunately, some of our coaching colleagues have gone through this very recently and lost some young men to car wrecks in the last couple weeks, so it's been kind of cycling through our sport a little bit. These things seem to come in waves, and I think since it's happened a couple times in the last couple weeks, this felt like another one happening so there was immediate outpouring of people being supportive… It felt like just a week ago I was contacting my coaching colleagues saying, "Hey, our hearts broken for you and your fans and your young men and women and their families," and I got the same thing back. Guys that you compete against and can't stand all year long and something like this happens and you realize how close you are and how similar we are doing the same thing."
On how Dave Smith found out about accident:
DS: "Our athletic trainer called and asked if I had spoken to Isai recently and asked if I had heard about the accident. I don't like getting calls at home at night because it's never good news, so I sat down immediately and asked what happened. She was very cautious with what she was telling me, but the information she had was severe. It was very emotional immediately and it didn't turn out that way, but my mind went to "What's the worst-case scenario based on what she said," and it wasn't good. Trying to get a hold of his parents, trying to find him, so the next hour was tough.
On John Smith's communication with AJ's father:
JS: "I didn't get to see a him a lot. I called his father and told him what happened; told him I was heading there. He didn't hesitate, he said, 'We'll be right there.' Of course, I was on the west side of the accident toward Perkins. Knowing his dad, he went right around that barricade and right to – you know didn't stop, didn't hesitate – he was going to his son. I'm glad I was there to let them know who that was. I didn't get to communicate with him until the end of the evening when he came out of AJ's room and told us where he was at. I only saw him once and talked to him one time."
On the response from the Oklahoma State wrestling team:
JS: "Well for our team, they're in the workout room right now getting ready for practice. Like I said: when we had some good news – we didn't know anything until AJ's father came out said, 'It looks good. There's no broken bones.' When he shared the news, it kind of put everybody to rest that AJ's going to be fine in time. I think you just shift to thinking about your regular day: 'Okay I'm going back to work. I've got practice at three.' The good news from what we first originally thought as I was going to the scene – a lot different. Really low to really high. That's what the experience was."
On conversations John Smith and Dave Smith are having with their teams about being careful in all aspects of life:
JS: "Seatbelts save lives. Both the athletes had their seatbelts on. It was a bad wreck for AJ and for Isai, when you look at the car."
DS: "I think for any coach, or parent, or someone who works with people this age – this is the thing that, for me as a coach, keeps me awake every night. That call at night. I've been through it in my career where I've lost kids to car accidents. It's happened three times. It doesn't get easier, honestly it gets harder. We talk about this all the time: don't take anything for granted. It's that quick. One time looking down at your radio or your phone or whatever – anything – so many ways things can go wrong and in a car is easiest ways to have a major problem. We also have kids that go for runs and run on roads and we tell them, 'Stay on the sidewalk. Don't go on roads.' And a lot of the times they go, 'Yeah coach, whatever.' We've had kids hit walking down the street before. This again, we'll reinforce and say, 'Look: we again got past this, miraculously without losing anybody or having anybody critically hurt.' It's probably a game of inches. A couple inches more the other way in this wreck and it could have been an entirely different story."
On specific student-athletes who stepped up as leaders in support:
DS: "On my team, like I said, we had several try to come into the hospital and try to get there when they found out where he was. I made the mistake of telling people, 'Hey we found him. This is where he is.' Instantly, a bunch of the guys tried to come, and we had to send a message out, "Hey don't come to the hospital. They're getting frustrated with us.' Shea Foster, who's a new kid on our team but has become a leader since the day he got here, he wasn't going to be denied. He came in and stayed with Isai. Isai finally kicked us out at about 2 o' clock and said, 'Hey I've got to get some sleep.' So, we left at 2 a.m. [Shea] was going to spend the night with [Isai]. Isai said, 'No man. You've got to go. I need some sleep."
JS: "For us, it was Daton Fix that made a call to me and said, 'What do you want me to put out? Do you want me to do anything?' I said, 'At this point: nothing until we find out more.' Once we found out, we shared with the team. It kind of put everybody at ease when we knew it wasn't life threatening. It was good news when we heard that."
On AJ and Isai's friendship:
JS: "They're around each other all the time. They spend a lot of time together and I think most of it is from a competitive nature. They're training, not hanging out doing the wrong things and being out at the bars, but working out and lifting, running, whatever it is. They have found a connection through both of them wanting to be the best in their sport. I think that's the connection. It's not something that's fake. It is something that is very real and both of them are pretty close to it."
DS: "I'd say they both love OSU and OSU Athletics as a whole. You have a national champion wrestler of his stature show up at a cross country meet and be there to the very end jumping up and down going crazy and then hugging his buddy at the end, complimenting the women's team for winning and truly being involved in supporting and caring about OSU Athletics. I love AJ Ferrari. That kid is awesome with his spirit and his drive. His greatest strength might at times be his greatest weakness, but it is still his greatest strength. I think Isai Rodriguez is the same way. That passion and joy for life and everything they are doing and everything OSU, those are the things those guys have in common. Most people don't get it. They look at it and think 'that's weird', but those guys see a kindred spirit."
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