Cleveland PD
What it feels like to be a recruit on the fence
Friday, November 18, 2005 Thaddeus Gibson
Special to The Plain Dealer
I'm still considering Ohio State, Michigan, Tennessee and maybe Penn State. I have my framed offers from Ohio State and Michigan on the wall in my room.
I'm actually taking my official visit to Michigan for this game. My plane leaves tonight at 7. They said this was a big weekend for them, for all the fans, and they said it's a great time to be there, just to see how much people love their football, and it's a big game for them in the Big House.
This will be my first official visit. I have one set up with Tennessee on Dec. 3. I don't have my visit to Ohio State scheduled but it will be in December.
I was in attendance at the Michigan game last year at Ohio State. I went with my coaches. It's a real big game -- you can't hear yourself think, it's so loud. I wasn't really rooting for any team. This year, I don't know -- I just want to see both teams scrap it out. Both of them are great teams. It doesn't get any bigger than that.
Michigan has great tradition and football-wise it's a great program. And my uncle likes Michigan a lot. He told me a lot of good things about Michigan. I went to Michigan on an unofficial visit, and they have a great coaching staff. Coach [Lloyd] Carr is a great coach and a great person, and he sat down and talked to me a little bit.
One of my teachers, she's a big Michigan fan, and she'll be at the game with all her friends who went to school at Michigan. She said she's going to send them e- mails with pictures of me so they know what I look like and they can tell me to stay here and not go to Ohio State.
Ohio State, as an Ohio boy, I've got to love it. Coach [Jim] Tressel came in a few times to see me in school and check on me. And my former teammate Brandon Smith plays tight end for Ohio State now. I played with him when I was a sophomore and he was a senior, and I talk to him a lot and he tells me a lot of stuff. And it's right in my backyard, so you can't beat that.
It's great having such good programs after me. It's hard as well, too. But either way, you're going to end up at a good school, playing good football. It's crazy. But most definitely, it's a blessing.
It's a big decision, a real big decision. My coaches actually wanted me to commit before the season started. I still ask them about where I should go. And I go to my mom, and she says it's all on me. Wherever I go, she and my brother are going to relocate there. So I ask people what they think about this program or that program, but it's really on me.
Whoever wins Saturday, it wouldn't probably affect my decision that much, because I know they are both good football teams and I know they'll both give it their all. I probably won't look at one program more than the other, but I'll probably give a clap for the team who wins.
They're both good programs, win or lose.
-- Thaddeus Gibson is a senior at Euclid High School. The Internet recruiting service rivals.com ranks him as the nation's eighth-best outside linebacker in the Class of 2006.
What it feels like to be a recruit on the fence
Friday, November 18, 2005 Thaddeus Gibson
Special to The Plain Dealer
I'm still considering Ohio State, Michigan, Tennessee and maybe Penn State. I have my framed offers from Ohio State and Michigan on the wall in my room.
I'm actually taking my official visit to Michigan for this game. My plane leaves tonight at 7. They said this was a big weekend for them, for all the fans, and they said it's a great time to be there, just to see how much people love their football, and it's a big game for them in the Big House.
This will be my first official visit. I have one set up with Tennessee on Dec. 3. I don't have my visit to Ohio State scheduled but it will be in December.
I was in attendance at the Michigan game last year at Ohio State. I went with my coaches. It's a real big game -- you can't hear yourself think, it's so loud. I wasn't really rooting for any team. This year, I don't know -- I just want to see both teams scrap it out. Both of them are great teams. It doesn't get any bigger than that.
Michigan has great tradition and football-wise it's a great program. And my uncle likes Michigan a lot. He told me a lot of good things about Michigan. I went to Michigan on an unofficial visit, and they have a great coaching staff. Coach [Lloyd] Carr is a great coach and a great person, and he sat down and talked to me a little bit.
One of my teachers, she's a big Michigan fan, and she'll be at the game with all her friends who went to school at Michigan. She said she's going to send them e- mails with pictures of me so they know what I look like and they can tell me to stay here and not go to Ohio State.
Ohio State, as an Ohio boy, I've got to love it. Coach [Jim] Tressel came in a few times to see me in school and check on me. And my former teammate Brandon Smith plays tight end for Ohio State now. I played with him when I was a sophomore and he was a senior, and I talk to him a lot and he tells me a lot of stuff. And it's right in my backyard, so you can't beat that.
It's great having such good programs after me. It's hard as well, too. But either way, you're going to end up at a good school, playing good football. It's crazy. But most definitely, it's a blessing.
It's a big decision, a real big decision. My coaches actually wanted me to commit before the season started. I still ask them about where I should go. And I go to my mom, and she says it's all on me. Wherever I go, she and my brother are going to relocate there. So I ask people what they think about this program or that program, but it's really on me.
Whoever wins Saturday, it wouldn't probably affect my decision that much, because I know they are both good football teams and I know they'll both give it their all. I probably won't look at one program more than the other, but I'll probably give a clap for the team who wins.
They're both good programs, win or lose.
-- Thaddeus Gibson is a senior at Euclid High School. The Internet recruiting service rivals.com ranks him as the nation's eighth-best outside linebacker in the Class of 2006.
Last edited by a moderator:
Upvote
0
