Another article on Gillum
mansfieldnewsjournal
Plymouth native joins OSU ranks
Former coach to be assistant recruiting coordinator for Buckeye football
By Jon Spencer
News Journal
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Gillum File
Name: Greg Gillum
Age: 43
Hometown: Plymouth
Education: Received his bachelor's degree from Ohio State and his master's from Dayton
Coaching highlight: On the staff at Galion when the Tigers won a 1985 state championship
Recruiting highlight: The 2001 Akron class was ranked first in the Mid-American Conference by RIVALS.com
Last job: Wooster High School athletics director
Family: Wife, Jody, sons Tyler and Tanner and daughter Myriah
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COLUMBUS -- When Greg Gillum got married, he told his wife Jody because of his other love -- coaching -- she should "plan on moving every four years."
Lately, life has been flying along faster than he could have envisioned.
Gillum, 43, joined the Ohio State football program Monday as assistant recruiting coordinator. The Plymouth native will handle administrative details and assist coordinator/tight ends coach John Peterson, who will continue to recruit on the road with head coach Jim Tressel and the other eight coaches.
It is Gillum's third move in less than two years. Last year, he joined head coach Lee Owens at Ashland University as the recruiting coordinator/wide receivers coach after nine years of handling those dual responsibilities under Owens at the University of Akron.
Gillum was three weeks into his new job as Wooster High School athletics director when Ohio State made its recruiting pitch to him.
"To be part of that (winning) tradition ... I was definitely interested," said Gillum, who received a bachelor's degree in business education from OSU in 1983. "I never dreamed I'd be working at the school and joining Jim's staff."
The job reunites Gillum with Peterson and co-defensive coordinator Luke Fickell. They were also on the staff together under Owens at Akron.
He also becomes the second member of Tressel's football staff with north central Ohio ties. Former Mansfield Senior football coach and high school principal Stan Jefferson is in his second year as the associated director of football operations.
"When you've been in the business as long as Greg has, all of our guys know him," Tressel said. "He has such vast experience in the state of Ohio and has been a part of some great programs under Lee Owens.
"With his knowledge and understanding of the high schools and colleges and NCAA rules, Greg brings a lot to the table."
Gillum has developed close ties with high school coaches around Ohio thanks in large part to the 12 years he spent as a prep coach.
He was part of Owens' staff at Galion when the Tigers went 14-0 and won a state championship in 1985. He also assisted Owens at Lancaster and Massillon before becoming the head coach for three years at Lyndhurst Brush.
Gillum reunited with Owens at Akron in 1997. His recruiting efforts for the Zips did not go unnoticed. Akron's 2001 class was ranked first in the Mid-American Conference by RIVALS.com.
"Greg will have things so organized down there (at Ohio State), he'll help take their recruiting to the next level," Owens said. "He did the job for us at Akron with limited resources. With the resources he'll have at Ohio State, he'll be scary.
"He'll be there on campus and have all the (recruiting) visits set up. Everything will be taken care of because he wants things to run like clockwork. He's always on top of everything."
The computer-savvy Gillum should work perfectly with the equally detail-driven Tressel.
"In reality, recruiting has become such a year-round challenge, we have to make sure we're serving the state well," Tressel said. "Greg will help make sure we do an even better job.
"With so much more data out there, and increased academic competition, you have to make sure you make great selections and do it as efficiently as possible."
Even though Ohio State has already received six verbal commitments for its 2006 recruiting class, Gillum knows he needs to hit the ground running in his new job.
"The biggest difference for me is that now I'm involved in national recruiting," Gillum said. "That's a new facet of the job for me, working with an expanded pool (of talent).
"Jim basically said, here's where we're at in recruiting, and here's where we want to be. I'm here to improve things a little bit, tweak things a little bit. With modernization going into the electronic age, you have to stay on the cutting edge. That's part of the job I thrive on."
Owens has no doubt that recruiting Gillum will turn out to be one of Tressel's biggest coups.
"Greg will hold the coaches' feet to the fire," Owens said. "He'll want recruiting tapes and coaches evaluations done by such-and-such a time. If you don't do your homework, you're not going to get the best kids you offer (scholarships). "He knows what the (coaches) are going through on the road because he's been there. He brings that first-hand experience. He knows how the (recruiting) game is played."
