A word about the recent yahoo disclosure. As unsettling as it is, the bumpy ride with Urban that I have been a part of reminds me of this in many ways. There have been many things said of Urban - on here - over the years. Most of it was seemingly damning, and based upon some unknown, or even known source. Some of it had traction, although it was a mystery to me why. The claim that Urban told Jevan Snead that Tebow was being recruited as a fullback.
People believed it, even when there were pictures of Snead and Tim throwing next to each other at Florida's Saturday Night Lights camp - and even though Tim was the most famously discussed QB we ever went after. There was smoke about his violating rules to call a California recruit. That he had his girlfriend given a free scholly as a bribe to come to Florida. Turns out that the girl was a nationally known gymnist that we had been recruiting for years.
At each of these - and others - I said that the main reason that I think the stories were overblown was that Urban was at his core a good guy. Not a saint, and not a clueless idealist, but an honorable man who wanted to see the best for his school and for his program and most of all for his kids - his athletes. My biggest reason NOT to initially believe the slurs was that Urban was not that kind of guy. He was one of the good guys. Well, I have not watched Tress as closely or for as long as ya'll, but I have to tell you that he is
exactly the same type of guy to me. Tress is the real deal in a cynical profession. Tress is the anti-Kiffin....the anti-RichRod. Tress does care more about them growing as men than their 40 times or number of TD receptions. Coach Tressel has shown over the years who he is.
If he failed to see something soon enough, if he was not perfect, that makes him like the rest of us. I think that there are a million ways that coach Tressel may have not been perfect on this one. But there are a million ways to not be perfect that DO NOT involve dishonesty and unethical intent. So I think that you are in good hands in this, in that you have measured the man and you know what you have. And while there may be something in this that shows a lack of perfection, I do not think that there is anything in there that will make you ashamed to have him as your coach. I think this without having to know who said what about anything. I think that about Meyer. I think that about Tressel.
As bad as this seems, just think how you would feel if you had anyone else at the helm when this type of allegation came down. When all is said and done, I do not think that your worst fear will be realized. I think this beause of who Jim Tressel is, and the thousands of opportunties he has had to show that he is someone else, someone who plays it differently. But he never has. So that is why I think you will be OK when the smoke clears.
