HELPING THE ENEMY. Ahead of national signing day in 2010, Ohio State had room for one more player in the recruiting class, and they chose Verlon Reed (a name I would certainly forgive you if you don't remember).
Instead, the Buckeyes sent their other choice to Mark Dantonio. And he uh... had a good career.
Reed's competition was a three-star running back with limited hype and only a small handful of scholarship opportunities, a prospect who until the final stretch of his recruitment seemed destined to play in the Mid-American Conference. Ohio State liked him — just not enough to extend an offer. Instead, then-coach Jim Tressel called up then-Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio, a former Ohio State assistant, and shared what his staff knew about the recruit.
The running back, Le'Veon Bell, would sign with the Spartans and run for 3,346 yards with 34 touchdowns across three seasons, and then blossom into one of the best players at his position in the NFL. Reed, meanwhile, would last two seasons with the Buckeyes before transferring.
"I don’t feel any regret for it," said Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell, previously a longtime Ohio State assistant at the time of Bell's recruitment. "Sometimes it’s not always the best fit where you are, or numbers-wise, or whatever. It probably helped the kid get in a lot better place and get some exposure. And you know they’re going with good people.
...
In a number of cases, however, with Bell as one notable example, the link between prospect and program is sparked by relationships between coaches, who tap into friendships and connections to trade names, insight and information on recruits. Coaches unable to make things work with a specific player — whether due to numbers, academics or otherwise — will share that knowledge with peers, with the goal of eventually finding the recruit a landing spot before signing day.
While reading this, I almost audibly said "that's an extremely Jim Tressel thing to do" just before I got to the part that says Urban Meyer did not participate in this process with the Spartans.
And I get it, from both coaches. Tressel wanted to make sure the kid he couldn't take found a good home with a coach he trusted, but Meyer had absolutely no interest in helping a conference opponent.
This is exactly why I love Luke Fickell at Cincinnati – you can funnels you can't take to Fickell with a clean conscious, knowing they're never going to bite you in the ass down the road (unless the Bearcats miraculously make the playoff, in which case, tip the cap).
Entire article:
https://www.elevenwarriors.com/skul...g-for-an-xfl-title-and-dwayne-haskins-flashed
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