Ohio State's Eddie George recalls Penn State recruiting story
Ahead of Saturday's noon ET game against Penn State, former Ohio State running back Eddie George (1992-95) reflected on his recruitment to the Buckeyes — a decision that nearly tilted in favor of the Nittany Lions.
George went with Ohio State out of Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy in the Buckeyes' 1992 recruiting class, but he admittedly wanted to play for Penn State as a Philadelphia native.
The Lions' former staff then, from head coach Joe Paterno (1966-2011) to longtime assistant Tom Bradley (1979-2011), had other ideas.
"Growing up in the Philadelphia area, you want to play for Big Blue — you want to play for Penn State," George told ESPN. "I was a big Penn State fan. I was getting recruited and I went to a game. They played Notre Dame, beat Notre Dame and after the game, I go into the locker room and Joe Paterno comes in the room and he kind of looks at me. I look at him and I'm like, 'Oh, God. There's Joe Paterno.' Walks to the side, pulls his assistants aside and he whispers something in his ear.
"Tom Bradley comes back over and says, 'Hey, you know, we want to talk to you next week about coming up for a visit and so forth.' And I was like, 'Oh, my God. The moment has come. I want to be a Penn State Nittany Lion.' And he says to me, 'Yeah, we're going to bring you in for a visit and we want you to get with the linebacker coach.'
"'Wait, wait. No, no. I play running back. I'm a running back.' And my heart's just sinking and dropping. I was like, 'Oh, God. I'm not going to play for Penn State. I know I can't. I have to play running back.'"
The deal-breaker ultimately led George out of Pennsylvania and into Ohio, where he starred for the Buckeyes and former head coach John Cooper (1988-2000).
In addition to the 1995 Heisman Trophy as Ohio State's sixth recipient — George racked up awards throughout his senior year as he won the Doak Walker, Maxwell, Walter Camp Player of the Year honor and Big Ten MVP.
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