As I read the Dispatch and drank my McD's coffee this morning, I was amused at the comments of the father of LB Alex Anzalone who decommitted to Ohio State yesterday. If the recruit had second thoughts about his commitment to the Buckeyes, no problem. If he was not positively sure that O-State was the place for him, then do not commit. Guessing that he got caught up in the excitement generated by the new coaching staff at OSU, he made his decision too soon.
His father's comments. " You do not want your son to go to place where there's a potential issue(like this). You expect the football staff to have some sort of control on how things are handled with recruits when they visit. This is ridiculous." He did say that he did not think Coach Meyer or his staff were aware of Charles Waugh, but he was still upset. "Of course, who wouldn't be? I'm outraged." Is he outraged because Ohio State did not monitor every move of the recruits, or is he embarrassed for his sone and his family?
Charles Waugh is on the Kentucky sex-offender registry and in 2008 pleaded guilty to possession of materials portraying sexual performances by minors. He had his picture taken with Anzalone and two other recruits at the spring game. The photo later appeared online.
I was told that some recruits were eating at BW3's and Waugh was the "trivia guy" and had a picture taken with the recruits. BW3's is not a dive, but a nice place to eat. How does the Ohio State football staff monitor that? Enough said.
I have some personal friends on the Ohio State coaching staff and also some in the football program. The father for opening his mouth is the one at that bothers me. The entire football department cannot control everything that goes on. Not only at Ohio State, but every college program in the country cannot control everything. Some place, sometime, parents are going to have to realize the crazyness of college football fans. Ohio State is no different than many programs. Fans can be outright silly and, often stupid. This Waugh guy has no direct ties with Ohio State University, but just a fan.
If Alex Anzalone really wanted to be a Buckeye, he would still be a Buckeye. Plain and simple. I would have to believe that he has had second thoughts for awhile. I liked his answer to a Dispatch reporter. "Somewhat, but not the main reason." Asked to make it clearer, he said, " I don't wanna say. Sorry." A young man does not have to say anything to a sports reporter.
I work with all of the Big Ten football programs, except Indiana and Purdue (big deal with these two). But I get tired of the negative press for Ohio State, as I would any other college program.
From this blog, walk away with this. Football recruiting can be an ugly business at times. It can get dishonest. Reruiting puts alot of stress on college coaches. Internet media has made it so much more popular with fans. Parents and prospects simply cannot get caught up in the excitement. Whether a parent or a prospect, bashing a program makes no sense to me. Do you really think that the Ohio State football program can control every fan? Do you really think with all of the "crap" the Ohio State football program has gone through lately, that they are letting a fan, like Charles Waugh be around the program?
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