It’s not exactly a state secret that some (most?) college football coaches use “questionable” tactics as they make their way along the recruiting trail.
The latest example of recruiting chicanery at its lowest involves a solid Florida commitment and Gators head coach Urban Meyer.
Before Meyer announced late last month that he would be coaching the Gators during spring practice, certain unnamed recruiters were using the uncertainty swirling around Meyer’s indefinite “leave of absence” in an attempt to flip Georgia high school running back Mack Brown.
Speaking to the Orlando Sentinel, Brown said he was told all kinds of tales regarding Meyer during the recruiting process. Coaches told him that Meyer was only sticking around UF until after signing day, at which point he would step down as the Gators’ coach.
As if that wasn’t enough, at least one coach decided to do a full-blown James Frey impersonation on the recruit. According to Brown, he was told that Meyer was on his way to the NFL. And not just any NFL job, either.
“They would say, he’s tricking ya’ll -- he’s going to the NFL to coach the Dallas Cowboys,” Brown said. “I was like ‘What?’ There’s no way.”
Brown did not specify which coach was responsible the truth-bending, but, as noted by the Sentinel, Florida State and Tennessee -- presumably while a certain coach was still stationed in Knoxville -- have been in hot pursuit in recent months.
Even with all of the recruiting feces being flung in his general direction, though, Brown remains committed to UF and will sign his Letter of Intent to the school on Wednesday.