Here’s an interesting item that appeared in the news today (scroll down)!
Most schools are relegated to one coaching staff but…for some reason…the Ohio State Buckeyes get to utilize the services of two coaching staffs: The Luke Fickell staff is preparing the Buckeyes to play Florida in the Gator Bowl on January 2, 2012…while the Buckeyes second coaching staff…under the direction of Urban Meyer…travel the country recruiting athletes.
Just a question…how many coaching staffs does a university get to deploy?
The Dantonio administration has yet to make a comment on this situation…and more than likely, Dantonio won’t render a statement because it’s not his style. But let’s be clear…the Dantonio administration has, for all practical purposes, lost zero ‘verbal commits’ during his tenure due to an implicit understanding with each recruit.
Each recruit must ‘Camp’ in East Lansing during the summer and then each recruit must have at least one official visit on campus during the school year. Dantonio then meets with the parents or guardians of each recruit and repeatedly tells said recruit (in so many words): this is a cooperative agreement. We promise you a quarter of a million dollars in education in exchange for your commitment so, don’t come to Michigan State if you are unprepared to matriculate for 5 years…earn a degree…become a member of the community…become a member of the team…and become a responsible citizen. In brief…if you’re uncertain about coming to Michigan State under those conditions…then don’t come to Michigan State!
I’m not suggesting Se’Von Pittman would be anything other than a model recruit but I am curious how Urban Meyer has the luxury of ‘free range’ recruiting…without the pressure of game preparation. How is it that Urban Meyer is able to recruit players while another coach prepares the Buckeyes for a game? And this just in…Urban Meyer just broke the ‘unspoken’ law of Big Ten recruiting…that is…Meyer broke the unwritten agreement to refrain from soliciting the services of recruits who are verbally committed to another Big Ten university. For the record, Meyer has captured agreements from two recruits in the past two days: one each from Penn State and Michigan State respectively.
Here’s a word of caution to Urban Meyer: while you have been recruiting Utah (and the west) and Florida (and the southeast) during the past 10 years, the Dantonio coaching administration has collectively been recruiting Ohio and the Midwest for more than 30 years. In that regard, the Spartans broke down the Ohio/Michigan recruiting border during the Tressel administration and currently have 25 players on a 105 man roster that includes only 4 Seniors (and more are on their way). So, is stealing Spartan players your first order of business? Is that how you intend to commence your Coaching tenure?
To my Ohio State friends…I thought the Buckeyes were trying to resolve the issues of questionable ethics…so much for the integrity of Urban Meyer! If Meyer chooses to play outside the white lines…so be it…regardless, the Spartans will continue to play the game between the White Lines and look forward to offering an official Spartan welcome to Urban Meyer when he visits East Lansing on Saturday afternoon, September 29, 2012 (said with a smile) and a Big Ten Victory in mind!
Big Ten, welcome Urban Meyer.
The newly-appointed Ohio State coach made the first impact move of his tenure in Columbus on Monday, when he lured former Michigan State commit Se’Von Pittman from the Spartans, according to Bill Greene of Scout.com.
Greene tweeted the news of Pittman’s commitment switch.
Pittman, who hails from Canton McKinley High School in Canton, Ohio, is Scout.com’s No. 9 ranked defensive end.
He committed to MSU over the summer but now is Ohio State’s 18th verbal commitment of the 2012 class and the second since Meyer took the helm.
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