OSU FOOTBALL
Mother won’t push blue-chip receiver
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
For a few seconds back when Lesia Mathews accompanied her son, blue-chip receiver Greg Mathews, on a recruiting trip to Michigan in November, Wolverines coach Lloyd Carr must have blanched.
She and Carr were face to face, and though she and her son are from Orlando, Fla., she made no secret of having grown up in Columbus and of being an Ohio State fan.
"I told him, ‘Coach Carr, if you cut me, I would bleed scarlet and gray,’ " she said. "But then I told him, ‘I’m not the one you have to convince. My son is the one who must make this decision.’ "
At that point, Greg Mathews already had committed to sign a national letter of intent with Michigan. But since then, he took visits to Ohio State, because his mother wanted him to see at least one more campus, and to Florida State, because his father is a fan of the Seminoles.
He never publicly reneged on his commitment to Michigan, but he is still considered at least a possibility to sign Wednesday with Ohio State, which has 19 commitments thus far.
Not that his mother is pushing him in that direction, though. She said she reminded him that Michigan has been after him all along.
"He just really wanted to take the time to consider carefully what he wants to do, and he’ll let everyone know at 8 a.m. on signing day," Lesia Mathews said.
That’s why she took over fielding calls while her son also concentrated on his class work and on playing basketball for Edgewater High School.
"With all the calls, it’s gotten insane, really," she said.
But that’s the way it gets about this time for many blue-chip prospects who put off until signing day to make their decisions known.
It’s that way for defensive lineman Corey Peters of Louisville, Ky. His mother, Vanessa Peters, said he’s staying away from the phone while he considers OSU, Auburn, Kentucky, Louisville and Michigan.
On the other hand, linebacker Larry Grant of City College of San Francisco said he expects to make his choice known this evening. Ohio State and Oregon are in the running.
As "insane" as things have become for Greg Mathews, his mother said she was impressed by at least one thing she has learned during the process.
"Ohio State and Michigan programs are very classy," Lesia Mathews said. "They never spoke bad about each other, not once."
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