TV Man - www.cfb360.com
Whether you believe he's a legend in the making or a liar, Urban Meyer stokes passions on all sides.
Legend advocates will cite his second-year National Championship and a sophomore Heisman Trophy winner. Liar advocates are lining up against Meyer as stories continue to build, just as bridges linking Meyer to other coaches continue to burn.
Consider these recent stories from other sites and sources on Meyer's recruiting tactics. It's unlikely the following schools have Meyer on their Christmas card list.
LSU: Florida was ready to take all-star corner Patrick Johnson with what they thought was a bogus test score, but he committed to LSU. How did Florida respond? "Florida flagged my scores," Johnson said. "They called the compliance office."
"I'm not upset," Johnson said. "Florida made an issue about the ACT score. They're cowards. They had to go behind my back. But that's OK. We play them this year (on Oct. 11 at Florida)."
FSU (posted on noledigest.com): "While Gator fans will sit and give excuses or spin the details of what is going on, there is no denying that it seems like the UF staff flat-out lies to these kids.
"Here is a quote from Trent Pupello (a player they initially compared to Jeremy Shockey), who is looking to leave the program this year: 'Coach (Steve) Addazio (UF tight ends coach) told me to work on my speed,' Pupello said. 'He didn't say that my speed was slow or anything. He just said that everything (at this level) is faster.
"'I need to work on speed and getting stronger, which is pretty much what we all need to work on. He said that they need me at tight end, that I’ll have an early chance to play and that all of the tight ends will play on the special teams.'"
Michigan site (on the recruitment of Daryl Stonum): The University of Florida stayed on the four star pass-catcher well all the way through. Things crescendoed recently after a conversation with Urban Meyer. According to Stonum, Meyer had a compelling reason why he should become a Gator.
"He told me that he talked to Coach Carr and Coach Soup and that they told him that I would be a much better fit in the Florida offense than I would be in the one at Michigan," Stonum recalled.
Today's Must Reads
"I thought, wow, my coaches are selling me out? I confronted them about it. I asked Coach Carr and Coach Soup about it, and they said they never talked to that guy and that there was no way they ever said anything like that and that they think I should be a Wolverine. I believed them. Right then, I knew just how Florida rolled."
Just Funny: You can't tell the story about Jevan Snead enough (recounted in the book Meat Market). The funniest thing I read in it concerned what Urban Meyer told Jevan Snead. Snead had watched the Outside the Lines special on Tebow, which showed Meyer and OC Dan Mullen in the stands. Problem was, Meyer had told Snead, committed at the time, that he was the only quarterback they were going after.
When Snead asked Meyer about it, Meyer responded, "We are recruiting him for linebacker." I had heard that before, but got a big kick out of reading it in the book straight from Snead.
More LSU from Fox 26 in Houston: "Hempstead's Terrance Toliver, one of the nation's top high school football recruits, says negative recruiting tactics by the University of Florida first had him confused and bewildered. But in an unusual move, two Hempstead High School employees went above and beyond the call of duty to help Toliver make the biggest decision of his life.
"After a vigorous early recruiting rush, it came down to LSU and Florida for Toliver, considered by many the No. 1 high school recruit in Texas and the best wide receiver in the nation. He ended up signing a letter-of-intent with LSU on National Signing Day Wednesday, but not before Florida coaches took several shots at LSU, leaving Toliver unsure what to do next.
"'Every time (Florida recruiters) came, they just said LSU doesn't qualify their players,' Toliver told FOX 26's Mark Berman Wednesday. 'About (how) their academics are not all that. It kind of had me confused.'"
"Eventually a bewildered Toliver asked his football coach Rick Sargent and Hempstead instructional coordinator Tina Johnson to go to Baton Rouge to find out the truth about LSU. The two went last weekend. 'They went and checked (LSU's) academics out and their facilities,' Toliver said. 'They just came back and told me whatever Florida was saying about the academics wasn't true.'"
Notre Dame Blog: When Meyer recruited Justin Trattou he did so by the cover of night. Not that it's illegal, but he told Trattou not to tell anyone he was talking with Florida. Keep in mind that Trattou was committed to Notre Dame at the time.
Amongst other things, Coach Meyer talked to Trattou about how the 3-4 defense was not a good fit for him and his football future (read: NFL, which is garbage—the Cowboys, Patriots, and Chargers all use the 3-4). Former Gators assistant coach Greg Mattison's favorite topics about Notre Dame (with several recruits), despite his previous love for the school, included how the weather sucked and the social life suffered.
Case in point No. 2: Omar Hunter, same deal as before. Omar was snookered into lying to everyone from Notre Dame coaches and players to likely even his parents, especially his father, who wanted him at Notre Dame due to the academics. Hunter said that he was not talking to other schools, when in fact he was—Florida included—while being a Notre Dame commitment.
In the end, Hunter was a fraud himself, but he was not the one who was truly taken for a ride. Coach Mattison recruited Hunter. He had an ax to grind with Notre Dame after leaving South Bend on not so good terms, and he definitely took it to another level with Hunter.
Mattison, you see, had an assistant coaching job lined up with the Baltimore Ravens long before this past National Signing Day came around. So when Hunter switched his commitment to UF after initially deciding to attend Notre Dame, Mattison and Meyer did what came naturally. They lied to Hunter about the entire situation, telling Hunter that Mattison was not leaving Gainesville.
Just by complete and total coincidence, Mattison ended up taking a job with the Ravens right after National Signing Day. Shocking!
And oh yes, Notre Dame assistant coach Bill Lewis, who recently retired as a football coach, told Hunter what was about to happen. Hunter did not listen and signed with the Gators.
Urban continues to build the best talent base not located in Southern California. Success certainly breeds enemies, but so does recruiting.
Urban Legend or Urban Liar? Talk about it on the cfb360 football board.
comments (100) write a comment »
write a new comment
about 1 month ago
LOVED the article! I remember reading all these stories last year around signing day. The entire time Hunter was commited to ND, he had his myspace page with ND all over it, said the right things, but there was alwasy rumors about Florida. He said his teammate was interested, not him. He continued to deny florida. The Trattou story is classic. Liar told him that in a 3-4 he would be playing with his hands on the ground and at Florida he would be upright, having a better chance to get to the QB. When he got to Florida, he has been playing with his hands down.
The Tebow story is another good one. Getting caught on TV. This guy is the prime reason why college football recruiting can be disgusting.
Glad to see other college football fans recognize this guy as "Urban Liar".
about 1 month ago
Recruiting is a dirty business anyways, with silent commitments and a lot of back stage talking. But there are some coaches who still hold steady in their ways. Joe PA and Mack Brown are two prime examples. But Urban Meyer sounds like he is gonna get Florida in a lot of trouble if he doesn't quit his ways.
Good read
from about 1 month ago
if you want to know about honest recruiting and honest dealings with their families, look no further than Mark Richt. Recruiting is a tough business, and kids have to have help sometimes sorting through the lies. Coach Richt and his staff tell kids up front what position he thinks they'll play. Sometimes they don't wanna hear it. Case in point..........UGA recruited Allen Bailey as a defensive end. The kids was 6-4 and 260 out of high school with 4.7 speed, but he was told by Miami that he'd play linebacker. UGA didn't think he was going to be able to keep his weight down, and they told him defensive end all the way. Well don't look now but in the spring of 2008 Bailey was switched to defensive end by the Miami coaches. Do you think Miami was a little disingenuous with Bailey to begin with, knowing that they'd switch him all along once he was committed hook, line and sinker?
about 1 month ago
I think Hunter is a piece of crap just like Urban Liar. They deserve each other
about 1 month ago
this is nothing new to me. but hopefully some people on this site will learn about meyer and the gators.
the patrick johnson thing was just sour grapes. it just means he enrolls in the fall instead of last spring.
classless move. kinda like stomping on the "eye of the tiger" before the LSU-UF game last year.
it's ok though, i kinda like them in the villain role.
from about 1 month ago
FLORIDA GATORS FOOTBALL
A TRADITION . . . SINCE SEPTEMBER 7, 1991
about 1 month ago
I think we will all soon find out about Urbie and his shorts stints at other schools... and it has nothing to do with climbing the ladder.
about 1 month ago
the writer forgot about Urban telling Hunter not to goto Notre Dame because the National TV Contract with NBC was going to be cancelled. Hmmm... Guess Hunter got what he deserved. It will bite them in the end.
about 1 month ago
If you clowns believe this--i have some nice everglades property to sell you--There are 2 sides to a story and to the story--these accounts are false--Jevan Snead knew all along about Tebow and he knew he could not beat him out-Hell he could not beat our Colt MCCoy how could beat out the best QB in college
Terrence Tolliver was closer to LSU geographically and he had some grade issues--We wanted him but mama wanted him closer and LSU is nowhere near as good a school academically-look it up --no lies there--They are a mediocre college at best. In sales it is squash the negative and magnify the positives--At UF the positive out weigh everyones elses positives and we have very few negatives--What? It is too muggy--WAAAAA! Sour grapes--We have almost a 3.0 cumulative GPA since Meyer has been there--over .5 higher than Zook and the highest in Gator history--Jealous--thought so-
from about 1 month ago
I likes me some chicken.
from about 1 month ago
Sorry Gator.
You are incorrect.
The information on Snead was published before Tebow ever set foot on campus.
Typical Gator talk w/r/t Tolliver...
That UF's positives are greater than everyone else's is laughable.
You bragging about a 3.0 at Florida for an athlete is hillarious. Michigan and OSU are also decent academic schools also. Their athletes take watered down classes, as they do at UF. Your 3.0 for athletes will still get you a job at McDonald's. If you're lucky and do a good job, a 3.0 from UF as an athlete, and a couple years experience at Mickey D's or Dominoes might land you a job at Starbucks.
from about 1 month ago
You're a moron and have obviously been out in the sun too long.
about 1 month ago
People are talking, so he must be doing something to ruffle their feathers. People hates SOS, too. I love'em both. Why? Because they win and that is the bottom line.
from about 1 month ago
True, people do hate SOS but I don't think anyone has accused him of dirty recruiting like Meyer. People hate SOS for his "evil genius" persona, not because he cheats.
about 1 month ago
Florida is a bunch of a-holes!!
Urban is a great coach, but he has had some pretty shady activity since he showed up.
As do all College Football recruiting, but some are worse than others.
How many players have been suspended or kicked off of Florida in the last few years?
LSU has had its share, but its not as many as UF.
They consistently are a bunch of babies.
But UT has been just a joke.
They recruit every kind of scum of the earth. From criminals to women beaters to drug dealers on down.
Mac Brown is a decent coach with a huge financial backing.
A push over of a coach.
Geaux Tigers!
about 1 month ago
Where to start:
- As to the LSU thing with P.J. Johnson, that is simply not true. PJ had no basis for the statement and I won't hazard a guess as to where it came from. Any time a score jumps that much its going to get flagged. The University of Florida has no say over whether a score gets flagged or not.
- As for the Pupello thing from the Nole website. So what, the coaches recruited a kid and it didn't work out. The coaches told him to work on his speed because the game is faster on the college level. What's wrong with that. Sour grapes by the kid.
- I don't believe the Michigan thing. Do you really think Meyer would say that to a kid and think it wouldn't get back to the coaches? If you knew the real story you would know the kid never had a UF offer, despite wanting one, and probably made that crap up.
- For the Snead thing. We were always recruiting Tebow, but we only stepped up his recruitment after Snead lied to our coaching staff and was caught visiting Texas while committed to Florida. You shop, we shop. Simple as that. Sorry about your luck Snead, enjoy Ole Miss.
- As for the Terrance Tolliver LSU thing. UF is one of the better academic schools in the SEC while LSU is not. We use that in recruiting. Sorry about that LSU. If you don't like it, become a better school.
- Notre Dame is so bitter its ridiculous. Recruiting has changed so much in the last 10 years and its not your Daddy's game anymore. Commitment means NOTHING and most schools have figured that out. Florida has lost its share of committed recruits over the last couple of years including: Patrick Robinson to FSU, Sidell Corley to LSU and Ramon Buchanon to Miami to name a few. If you can't handle that then go coach high school or Division III.
Uncle Rico, please elaborate. I mean, Bowling Green to Utah - clearly a step up. Utah to Florida - clearly a step up. What coach wouldn't have made these moves? What should he have done, said no to UF and ND and waited for a better position? Let me let you in on a little secret, UF is one of the best gigs out there and you don't say 'no' to them. He proved real quickly that he made the right move.
from about 1 month ago
"Commitment means NOTHING"
Sums up Urban nicely. Thanks Matt. How's your foot taste?
from about 1 month ago
"Commitment means NOTHING"
Sums up Urban. Thanks for that Matt.
How's that foot in your mouth taste?
from about 1 month ago
"- As for the Terrance Tolliver LSU thing. UF is one of the better academic schools in the SEC while LSU is not. We use that in recruiting. Sorry about that LSU. If you don't like it, become a better school."
What you don't understand is that academics for the athletes are different than for the entire university. Athletes are more concerned with what the university is doing to keep them qualified and help them with their studies. LSU is tops in the SEC in this category as evidenced by the incredibly nice academic facility for athletes. These are the things Meyer was talking about, not USNEWS college rankings. And he was lying through his teeth
about 1 month ago
Gator-
Jealous? No, why would I be jealous about your 4-loss season? Gainesville is the ugliest town in the SEC, Starksville included.
about 1 month ago
Where to start:
- As to the LSU thing with P.J. Johnson, that is simply not true. PJ had no basis for the statement and I won't hazard a guess as to where it came from. Any time a score jumps that much its going to get flagged. The University of Florida has no say over whether a score gets flagged or not.
- As for the Pupello thing from the Nole website. So what, the coaches recruited a kid and it didn't work out. The coaches told him to work on his speed because the game is faster on the college level. What's wrong with that. Sour grapes by the kid.
- I don't believe the Michigan thing. Do you really think Meyer would say that to a kid and think it wouldn't get back to the coaches? If you knew the real story you would know the kid never had a UF offer, despite wanting one, and probably made that crap up.
- For the Snead thing. We were always recruiting Tebow, but we only stepped up his recruitment after Snead lied to our coaching staff and was caught visiting Texas while committed to Florida. You shop, we shop. Simple as that. Sorry about your luck Snead, enjoy Ole Miss.
- As for the Terrance Tolliver LSU thing. UF is one of the better academic schools in the SEC while LSU is not. We use that in recruiting. Sorry about that LSU. If you don't like it, become a better school.
- Notre Dame is so bitter its ridiculous. Recruiting has changed so much in the last 10 years and its not your Daddy's game anymore. Commitment means NOTHING and most schools have figured that out. Florida has lost its share of committed recruits over the last couple of years including: Patrick Robinson to FSU, Sidell Corley to LSU and Ramon Buchanon to Miami to name a few. If you can't handle that then go coach high school or Division III.
Uncle Rico, please elaborate. I mean, Bowling Green to Utah - clearly a step up. Utah to Florida - clearly a step up. What coach wouldn't have made these moves? What should he have done, said no to UF and ND and waited for a better position? Let me let you in on a little secret, UF is one of the best gigs out there and you don't say 'no' to them. He proved real quickly that he made the right move.
from about 1 month ago
Bowling Green to Utah is not "Clearly" a step up, as you'd like to put it. The two schools are on par both athletically and academically.
The fact that he's already surpassed his two year mark and stumbling on the recruiting trail speaks volumes. I don't doubt that he made the best move for him. You clearly missed the obvious point. Let me guess, you're a UF grad? That would explain that one.
As Zook's players are now gone and he will have to play with his own, it will be obvious to more that it was not the best move for UF. His former players speak the truth, as do those in the community.
from about 1 month ago
let me guess "uncle rico" you AREN'T a UF grad....so at which school has urban kicked your a$$ ?
Unless you go to bowling green only you think moving to Utah isn't a step up....I guess you believe if bowling green goes undefeated they too will be in the fiesta bowl....
the reason for all the bitching here is b/c he isn't stumbling on the recruiting trail as you claim.....maybe you can say when that has happened but don't let the facts get in the way of your BS....
about 1 month ago
You would be jealous, if you were a Notre Dame fan, b/c 4 losses is only 1/2 way to your total last year.
1. Any SAT/ACT score that jumps by 50% will be flagged by the testing entity. Schools do not have the power to have scores flagged. If they do not believe the score is accurate the remedy is to not allow entrance into the school.
2. Whether or not Meyer said that, the fact is Stonum is a better fit for the Florida offense. I would not be surprised if the outgoing Michigan coaches said it too.
about 1 month ago
Best coach in America. If I was a fan of another university, especially a SEC school, I'd be calling him names as well. Glad to see the author using such credible sources, but what does some geek on the internet writing blogs have to know about integrity? Apparently, not so much. Thanks for the chuckle.
from about 1 month ago
Your arrogance is what I would expect from a UF fan. You can't just respond logically to someone's critique, you have to whine and conceidedly attack the person who made a well thought out comment. Sounds about like your fans attitude and Urban's recruiting tactics go hand in hand...whine, whine, whine.
from about 1 month ago
If he was the best coach in college football why could he only manage 9 wins with Heisman winner. And only 1 double digit winning season in 3 years?
about 1 month ago
..and what makes him the best coach in america again?
from about 1 month ago
Jorts and a Hooters waitress for a wife.
about 1 month ago
Similar stories have been floated around about Nick Saban (while at LSU), Pete Carroll, Lou Holtz (while at Notre Dame), Mack Brown, Butch Davis (while at Miami), Jim Tressel, Bobby Bowden, and others. And it's no different in basketball. Coach K, Billy Donovan, Roy Williams, Jim Calhoun, John Thompson, and other successful recruiters have all been accused of "dirty" tactics. While some still cast a skeptical eye on some of these coaches, others have been cleared by the NCAA of supposed wrongdoing.
Let's just admit 2 things, folks:
(1) Coaches say and do some shady things on the recruiting trail.
(2) Fans embellish stories about whichever coaches/schools do well in the recruiting rankings.
When you put these two truths together, it's easy to see why the "negative recruiter" label is applied mainly to those that do well ... no matter what school they're from. In most cases, the truth lies somewhere between these two extremes. Coaches do things that aren't always perfect and sometimes make promises they can't (or don't) keep, but these instances usually aren't nearly as awful and despicable as rival fans make them out to be.
from about 1 month ago
The difference between those rumors being floated and this case, is that except for Saban, none of the others had documented stories to back them up.
Saban had a couple of known incidences.
With Meyer, it's more and it's worse.
Also,
1) Not all coaches say and do shady things on the recruiting trail. Meyer happens to do more and worse than anything coming down the pike in modern times.
2) cfb360.com is a credible source and did not embellish on the stories above. They very well could have because there is more out there.
The report is very fair with regard to what is/has/happened.
about 1 month ago
Jealousy breeds hate. I love this article. Just goes to show what someone with a lot of success has to face...
Here's to many more "hate" articles about Urban in the future. After all, if you're not talking about him, we're not out in front anymore!
about 1 month ago
these replies by the gator fans are sooo typical. you constantly avoid what the true principle here... negative recruiting tactics. you have no defense for this, am i wrong? what liar does is just plain classless and wrong. can you actually say that he doesn't lie to recruits??? that's the bottom line here that you just cannot defend. why can't you just admit it and move on? it's ok to be a gator fan and a realist as well. just realize your coach lies to recruits, and move on. i admit weis at nd is very arrogant, amongst maybe some other things, but i will always be a huge nd fan. for better of for worse. and i will always look into negative accusations with an open mind. all you gator fans should as well.
about 1 month ago
I loved watching the Urban Cryer go down to Michigan in his bowl game - essentially a home game for Florida - in what was proported to be a blow-out in the Gator's favor. Impressive coaching pin-head!
I loved Auburn's freshman place-kicker nailing it twice in a row because pin-head gave him the gaslight treatment. War Eagle!
about 1 month ago
Well, Matt. The only part of your post that could possibly be confirmed was the statement that Stonum did not have an offer. I looked it up on Rivals and surprise, he did in fact have a Florida offer. I guess it's liar see, liar do.
about 1 month ago
Coach Meyer has no integrity,to lie to 17year olds demonstrates a lack of class.Just last week when
Coach Jim tressel was asked by a recruit,"If I don't commit to Ohio State,where do you think I should
go?"Coach Tressel without hesitation said Notre Dame.It's a fine University like OSU..
about 1 month ago
RAJ- Are you that dumb? Just so you know, in case this Trattou lie comes up again, all four DL play with their hands down. Or are you suggesting Trattou would be a LB at the school winning forgot?
from about 1 month ago
No, he would have been a DE, but a DE in a 3-4 has different responsibilities than a DE in a 4-3, and must be bigger (closer to the size of a 4-3 DT). Also, a 3-4 is designed for the LBs to make the plays most of the time. DE in a 3-4 is a less glamorous position than it is in a 4-3, unless you're Trevor Laws and make over 100 tackles in a season despite being double teamed most plays. Laws is a perfect example, actually. In a 4-3, he would be a tackle. No question. In the 3-4, he played end.
about 1 month ago
Matt - Hunter and Mattison issue was actually worse than reported. Hunter heard reported rumors on Ravens' website the day before Signing Day that Mattison was leaving after Signing Day and was uncertain if he still wanted to go to FL. Meyer called Hunter that night (night before SD) to tell him it wasn't true - Mattison was stayiong as his position coach. Hunter couldn't get Mattison on phone that night, surprisingly. The next afternoon on SD, FL reported Mattison was in fact leaving FL - less than 24 hours later. those are facts from friends of Hunter at Buford that were involved with him in his last minute indecision and concerns.
from about 1 month ago
Robert, I have interviewed Hunter three times for my radio show and to put it lightly...you really don't know what you're talking about.
Keith
about 1 month ago
Poor Joe. He believes everything on Rivals. Joe, the schools do not share information with Rivals. They go by what kids say during interviews. Kids do not always tell the truth, especially about offers. Are you new to recruiting? When you told her you loved her, were you being truthful? everytime?
about 1 month ago
Robert, I have interviewed Hunter multiple times and to put it lightly...you don't know what you're talking about. You might have talked to his friends...I have talked to Omar.
from about 1 month ago
per his close mentor, once his signature was on the dotted line, everything was water under the bridge and he was all gator. everything he has said publicy affirms that. But what happened happened, and what was told to him did too. Just because he is all gator now and doesn't care to air any of it publicly is a tribute to his character and willingness to look only forward and not backward. He is a positive person. But it doesn't mean it didn't happen. There is even more to the story involving several schools and the last minute revelations that he now just flat refuses to talk about as it's water under the bridge.
about 1 month ago
Asking the question answers itself. Urban is a Liar. ND dodged a bullet when he went to Florida, despite the fact that he would have won games. The last thing the Irish needed was a bag of garbage like that as head coach.
about 1 month ago
All this urban bashing is funny to me. Now granted the topics about recruiting but more than recruiting amounts to ones credability. So lets evaluate him on more than just his recruiting. How about his discipline? Granted he doesnt turn his back on a player at the drop of a hat for a disciplinary reason. As no coach should. But if you dont play by Meyers rules, you dont play. I must say that unfortunatly hes had plenty of oppratunities to exercise his punishing side. However if you have a major screw up more than once good chance your out. Hes proven that. Can LSUs head coach Les Miles say the same thing? No, he cant. How many times did Perlioux need to screw up before Les Miles finally did what should been done a long time ago? Way to many. Letting your players do what ever they want is also pretty classless. Perlioux woulda been gon along time ago had Urban been the ball coach at LSU. Thats a fact.
from about 1 month ago
the worse thing perrilloux did was use a fake ID to get into a casino. he had a lot of little things, not the list of fellonies the gators are stacking up.
nice try.
from about 1 month ago
Justin,
Are you really placing FL at the top of the list for wrongdoings? Is LSU free and clear of all this stuff?
"The list of felonies"? Please give us this list of current players with felonies...
Using Perrilloux as an example isn't very convincing to me. The guy was obviously a clown who messed up all the time. Why try to soften what he did to get kicked off the team?
from about 1 month ago
tim,
i don't place them at the top of the list, just near the top.
you said,
"Is LSU free and clear of all this stuff?"
No, but in the SEC, there are 8 teams ahead of LSU in the wrongdoing dept.
http://www.sportsargumentwiki.com/index.php?title=Fulmer_Cup
Fla #13 LSU #35
I'm trying to "soften" what he did, because if he was a backup punter, no one would raise an eyebrow at what he did. i'm not defending the guy, he's a thug and he messed up more than once and i'm glad he's off the team. but other than having a big mouth, perrilloux:
--was at a nightclub during a fight
--used a fake ID to try to get into a casino
--was "a person of interest" in a counterfeiting investigation (nothing ever came from it)
--tardiness and missing practices
his only serious transgression was failing a drug test (allegedly. although the final statement was failure to fulfill his obligations as a student athlete) which got him kicked off the team which would hopefully get anyone kicked off a team.
but i hate hate hate when opposing fans use perrilloux as some kind of poster boy for what's going in the LSU program. it's ignorant.
miles (and saban) have done a terriffic job with discipline within the program and when perrilloux messed up miles suspended him.
UNLIKE
meyer did with tony joiner the week before the LSU game. Joiner played in that game when the charges were "dropped" later.
my original comment was more of a response to brandon who wrote:
"however if you have a major screw up more than once good chance your out."
when referring to meyer.
i was simply stating that none of the things RP has done are considered "major screwups"
he had a lot of little ones that eventually added up to too much.
but a fan of urban meyer calling miles "classless" was a little too much for me to keep silent.
from about 1 month ago
What about the DT, Thomas from 2006. How many times did he pop on the piss test before Urban dismissed him. I think he sat for a couple of creme puffs and mysteriously came back into the good graces of the coach when the LSU and Auburn games rolled around. Urban wouldn't even make the call before the LSU game, basically said it was not his decision. Last I checked the head coach has pretty much the last say on who plays for his team. I'm not defending Miles for how he handled the Perilloux situation, but Meyer only cares about one thing and it's not discipline!
about 1 month ago
Hmmm...a coach exaggerates and makes promises to recruits to influence his decision...yawn. I'm a ND grad and life long fan, but it's nuts to be upset about what an 18 year old kid decides. Every top school will win some and lose some...we lost Hunter but got KLM from A&M. It happens, get over it. Meyer was hired to win games, not to be Miss Manners. Besides, if ND had hired him (as we tried to), we'd be applauding his recruiting success.
from about 1 month ago
This is the most level headed and intelligent response I've read on this site from a Notre Dame fan.
I also noticed that you wrote "ND grad" and not just "ND fan." Big difference. Hopefully you'll stick around.
about 1 month ago
Crier's disclipine. Let's see, he gets a doper reinstated for the LSU game and then kicks him off after the game. Crier rhimes with Liar for a reason.
about 1 month ago
Matt: "Commitment means NOTHING"
You have summed up Urban, and the philosophy he teaches his fine young mercenaries, er..., student athletes. Come to UF, where our coach, our players, our grads, and our fans know, "Commitment means NOTHING!"
about 1 month ago
brandon youre full of it during fla title run urban conveniently suspended his best players for the doormats and reinstated them for lsu-auburn-fsu-uga, urban in essence used those suspensions to rest his best players. as for what message it sent " do what you want we will make sure youre rested for the games nfl scouts watch" urban could give a flyin flip abt his teams or his own charachter.
about 1 month ago
If Urban is a liar, then what is the fat ass Weis? Not a peep about him cheating his way to those Super Bowl rings. ND fans are such jokes.
from about 1 month ago
That's because that story has no legs John. As much as ESPN wanted it to have legs, it died.
from about 1 month ago
Right...its nothing but a know-nothing sports writer driven story...one person says it, they all repeat it, but in the end...nothing. I love how clueless these guys are...this asinine comment is an admission Urban Meyer is a liar. "Oh yeah? What about Weis?" Face it...you have a low-rent, corner-cutting bum for a coach down there.
about 1 month ago
good article with some interesting stories...
it's nearly impossible to tell whether or not these are true, but I wouldn't be surprised because Meyer has been accused of recruiting many players before after they are already committed--something I don't agree with.
about 1 month ago
I've been reading a lot of these articles lately and I am still debating on whether these are people hating on Florida or if there is any truth behind it. I'm beginning to think there is some truth behind it because of the quantity of these stories coming out. As fas as recruiting players after they have given them their verbal, wasn't it Bobby Bowden that said something like that he was glad when a player gave his verbal to another team bc that let bobby know who he had to beat....
from about 1 month ago
One of the reasons you've been reading a lot of these "articles" is because they keep coming from disgruntled Notre Dame fans. In fact, the last section above is a copy-and-paste from a recent rant by a Notre Dame fan on this very website.
I'm responding to you, Ben, because you are at least debating the truth to these kinds of articles. I urge you to do that regarding anything you read in print, ESPECIALLY on the web, and for all subjects (politics, finance, etc.).
Quickly touching on each accusation above:
1) PJ claims UF flagged his transcript. Unfortunately schools don't flag transcripts. That's the job of the NCAA clearinghouse.
2) Trent Pupello couldn't get on the field at UF behind far superior players in Cornelius Ingram and Aaron Hernandez. Now he's upset about it and claims that a coach told him he needed to work on his speed. This was all posted on a Seminole website. After the 500th read, I can't even understand what point it's trying to make.
3) At least one person is lying. It's either Meyer, Carr, or Stonum. These quotes are from Stonum, so obviously Meyer is lying. Hmmm...I wonder how you'd feel if you heard Meyer's side of the story...
4) Who knows the context of this conversation? Who was there? Snead was an early committ to Florida and Tebow was a late one. Snead decommitted BEFORE Tebow signed on and went to Texas. But guess what? He couldn't earn playing time there, either, and is now at Ole Miss. Players who change their mind and repeatedly leave schools due to depth chart issues are not always the most trustworthy of sources.
5) This one doesn't make a lot of sense. It is more difficult to qualify academically at Florida than at LSU. So if Florida coaches were warning Tolliver that he wouldn't qualify at LSU, how in the hell could he have made it into UF? LSU led for this kid from day one. UF probably said anything and everything they could to change his mind, but it didn't work. Name another school who would have handled the situation differently.
6) Not worth commenting on. There are plenty of real articles floating around which answer all of these accusations.
about 1 month ago
Simply remarkable! To the writer/s of this story about UF recruiting. One would have to be living in a vacume or simply foolish to believe that UF is the only school using deceptive tactics to recruit the best players. Wake UP!!! They ALL do it. Bottomline, it's the players who decide what they want to believe and where the choose to go.
from about 1 month ago
Actually, they don't all do it. In fact, no one has done so to the extent that Meyer has in such a short time. Coaches have done more, but it would take them 3 or 4 decades to reach the number of times Meyer has stepped over the line of morality.
I'm not talking about minor indescretions. I'm talking about moral & character wrongdoings.
The guy is perfect for living in the land of mobile homes.
about 1 month ago
Miles tried to help Perriloux and failed. Perriloux was never charged with any legal offense altho he did try to getinto a casino with his brother's ID. He simply didn't show up for classes and didn't show up for team meetings on time.
Miles also had some problems with a more talented player than RP, Ricky Jean-Francois. Ricky was suspended for the Sugar Bowl and all of the 2007 Regular Season. He came back for the post-season and DOMINATED! Was Def MVP of the BCS NC game. Will be a 1st round draft pick if all goes well, some say the #1 overall pick. Miles knew how good the kid was but still suspended him, a move that coudda cost LSU the Sugar Bowl vs ND and the NC.
about 1 month ago
One more comment. It seems that his "lying" is working with the majority of his recruits staying on board. We, like everyone else, have had transfers but they've been limited.
Here's to another top 5 recruiting class this year! It's been three years in a row. Let's make it four!
Go Gators and Go Urban "Liar". Too funny...
about 1 month ago
Uncle Rico,
Bowling Green is in the MAC which is a step down from Utah and the Mountain West. Utah is the biggest university in the state, I can't even tell you what state Bowling Green is in. Trying to argue that is like saying the sky isn't blue.
Furthermore, as far as recruiting and commitments goes, I'll stick by my statement that commitments do not mean a thing anymore. In this day and age of early commitments, most recruits are just committing to assure themselves a spot in the class. A commitment can better be thought of as the school committing to the player and not the other way around.
I see people on here defending LSU, are they aware that LSU has stolen players that were publicly committed to other schools in recent years? What about FSU, UGA, and UM - all of which have done similar things in the past few years. Maybe its a southern thing, but it is the way recruiting works these days. Either accept it, or be willing to accept sub-par recruiting classes.
about 1 month ago
I'm still trying to figure out who all these "ex-players" are who are now all of a sudden coming out and telling the truth of the "real" Urban Meyer, whom ND fans are making out to be the devil. Who are these players? Where have they said negative things about Urban Meyer? And are these the kids who never played and thought they were awesome (i.e. Pupello)?
Urban seems to have very good relationships with his players. He has them over to his house regularly, and once a week at practice is Family Night, where coaches bring their wives and kids. After practice, the players sit with the families and eat dinner together. There are a plethora of videos on Urban's website, and it seems to be a very positive atmosphere.
What are these atrocious moral and ethical wrongdoings that would make Meyer a perfect fit for a mobile home?
about 1 month ago
loved the article. It really is funny how there are so many stories out there. Hmmmm there couldnt be any truth to all those stories? Nah, just sour grapes. I mean you didnt even get to include the eve of signing day/signing day drama with Omar Hunter. The whole situation of Meyer assuring Hunter that the Dline coach wasnt leaving and then sure enough the announcement is made after signing day. CUM is a real turd IMHO but I dont expect to sway the Gator fans
from about 1 month ago
Hunter knew that Mattison was leaving prior to signing day. Here's an excerpt from an article with the link just below:
"And on the day before Signing Day, Hunter got the word that Florida defensive line coach Greg Mattison was leaving for the Baltimore Ravens. Hunter had become close to the personable UF line coach, but he still didn't waver on the decision because Meyer convinced Hunter he would bring in a quality coach. That turned out to be Dan McCarney, who has already formed a bond with Hunter."
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20080503/NEWS/478794850
And yet another cut-and-paste from the same article which seems to refute the "cover of darkness" accusations that many Notre Dame fans have for Meyer:
"An official visit to Notre Dame during the fall simply cemented the decision in Hunter's mind. But there was a lingering feeling that perhaps he had rushed such an important decision. After Buford won the state championship, he sat down with his parents and told them he wanted to open the process up again.
So he did just that the day before the first practices for the Under Armour All-Star game, opening a Pandora's box of frenetic coaches. Miami's Randy Shannon called right away. Auburn, Tennessee, Florida, Southern Cal — they all jumped into the mix."
Guess Meyer wasn't the only coach who wanted the kid.
about 1 month ago
Um, no. Let's set the record state: in Florida high school and college football is a religion where winning is everything (see Dallas Cowboys in Texas). Are the Gators engaging in dirty recruiting...yes. I can admit that. But this is a cutthroat business in this state. You can't deny that FSU and Miami aren't doing similar things. It's just that they aren't winning right now so it's not quite as publicized.
about 1 month ago
Uncle Rico, I'm calling you out, pal!
"Actually, they don't all do it. In fact, no one has done so to the extent that Meyer has in such a short time. Coaches have done more, but it would take them 3 or 4 decades to reach the number of times Meyer has stepped over the line of morality.
I'm not talking about minor indescretions. I'm talking about moral & character wrongdoings.
The guy is perfect for living in the land of mobile homes."
Give me just three actual examples of what you call "moral & character wrongdoings". Since you claim it would take 30-40 years for anyone else to commit the number Meyer allegedly has surely you can come up with just three. Make them good ones...ones that will ascend to the heights of immorality you claim.
Go!
about 1 month ago
It is just a good thing that the Coaches don't need to tell the fans jack or shi% about how to recruit now-a-days. I can only imagine (like the rest of you) what it takes. Free advice, love your team and hate the rest if you like but spinning crap out of place is like the modern media....there is no news so we make some. If he is running a bad program he should be caught this year as it usually takes about 5 years to run it. If he continues then you would be better served thinking he is running a good program. These type of "stories" are the biggest form of flattery. Jealous that Urban isn't at your team.
about 1 month ago
Keith,
Why don't you name the time and place Urban made these moral injustices? Quotes from Noles digest don't do well in the court of common sense. Hunter chose UF over ND because he has a brain. They need DT's, you don't freeze your ass off, there is more than 5 hot chicks, they are in the sec and Urban over Cheeseburger is a given. Gator fans do not have the mannerism's and politeness of say a Nebraska fan. Those are good people. Gator fans are confident and have a reason to be. They keep winning everything, they make lots of money and are on tv constantly. With that being said, it is understandable how this National Inquirer type blog is getting so much hype. It's jealousy and all the whiners out there want a piece. People against Urban should understand one thing, he is a winner. There is a good chance his team will wipe up your's this year and in the future.
Go!
about 1 month ago
TJ,
Read the post again, dude! It's Uncle Rico making these outlandish claims...not me. I am calling out Uncle Rico...he's the Domer Homer...I'm the Gator fan. I put his comments in quotes in my post.
ND fans have no clue why Omar de-committed. Suffice it to say had Cheesburger Charlie and his staff not fallen asleep at the switch with his recruitment and had taken care of the kids they already had he might be going to South Bend instead of Gainesville. All urban and his staff did was stay in touch with Omar...ND did not!
from about 1 month ago
Keith,
What are you talking about? Hunter was the only decommit the Irish had last recruiting season.
They did a great job of keeping all but him, despite going 3-9 (and a majority of their commits came before the season even started). Do you even know what you are talking about?
from about 1 month ago
Michael,
Hunter might have been the only decommit last year, but in 2007 you lost Greg and Chris Little on NSD. One went to UNC and the other to Georgia. Why no scathing articles about Butch Davis and Mark Richt?
Or should the Domers stop worrying about this, seeing as they reaped the rewards of late switches this year when they pulled Trevor Robinson and Jonas Gray away from Nebraska at the last minute?
By the way - Florida loses last minute committments nearly every year, too. It happens all the time. Unfortunately only Notre Dame seems to take it personally.
about 1 month ago
Im am a UGA fan, but I will try to be objective in this post. 1- ND fans have little right to complain about UF's recruiting when They have Lemming doing the dirty work for them. According to recruits at UF, FSU, and UM, Lemming has consistanty attacked the credibility of Fla schools. Lemming was also involved in the de-comittment of TE recruit Allen from UGA last year. 2- Meyer and Saban push the envelope in recruiting. Push long enough and You get the school in trouble. Remember, coaches don't get in trouble for recruiting violations, football programs do. Coaches just go elsewhere and continue to make million dollar salaries while schools are on probation for years. 3- Meyer using Tebow to make a recruiting call on the night He won the heisman was not only classless, it was reckless to the point of being stupid. If I was going to risk My all-everything QB making a recruiting call I would not be in the room with Him,but one of My compliance officers would! There is no way I am risking Him tripping over some little known NCAA rule.
from about 1 month ago
test
about 1 month ago
If anyone here thinks Meyer's tactics are unusual, then they need to take off the rose-colored glasses. Yes, some of them MAY be true, although using a blog as a source is kind of iffy.
But the bottom line is that most coaches use deceptive tactics. It's the way it is. Meyer is doing nothing illegal. His job is to get the best players with out breaking NCAA rules. So far, so good. Convincing players that other schools aren't as good as his is part of the job.
Nice guys finish last.
As far as players making a commitment to Notre Dame and then breaking it to go somewhere else, well, next time to do a better job of keeping your recruits close to the vest. You can blame last minute changes on the coach who lost the recruit. Carroll has lost some recruits at the last minute and understands why.
Maybe Weis should start figuring out what the problem is....they lost two CBs this week. While that is somewhat normal for most schools, it isn't for ND...what is that, like 7 players (taking a guess here) since the beginning of last season that have bailed? (Has Kuntz officially enrolled?) Usually, the only way a player leaves ND is with degree in hand.
Nice article by the way. Even though I don't necessarily think all of these things may have happened, they most likely could have happened, and the writing was superb.
I wouldn't call him a liar...all coaches lie. But he's definitely a legend.
from about 1 month ago
While its not official, word is that Darrin Walls didn't make the grades and has to sit out this semester, but is returning to ND in the spring.
DJ Hord transferred because he wanted to play but was buried deep in the depth charts.
Kuntz is officially back, he re-enrolled and has participated in practice already.
about 1 month ago
* I meant lose a WR and CB, not "they lost two CBs."
about 1 month ago
Oh you haters are so silly.
Jevon Snead knew Tebow was being recruited as a QB, They went to the same QB camps...
PJ was flagged by the NCAA
Stonum lie would be pretty stupid if true, it's funny that some are taking a 17 y/o kids word as gospel and not hearing both sides of the story
Trent Pupello thing... Ok, so what?
Omar knew Mattison was going the night before.
T Toliver lie doesn't even make sense. LSU has lower standards and is an inferior school to UF.
Seriously, is that all you ND guys have? Committed doesn't mean committed anymore, stop your sour grapes, it's getting pretty sad.
about 1 month ago
"FLORIDA GATORS FOOTBALL
A TRADITION . . . SINCE SEPTEMBER 7, 1991"
Actually we we're pretty good in the 60's and 80's. In fact in 1984 one news outlet awarded us the National championship (I don't count it as a NC whatsoever btw). Check out some history before throwing around idiotic statements.
"I looked it up on Rivals and surprise, he did in fact have a Florida offer."
LMAO, the word greenhorn comes to mind when listening to this post.
"Asking the question answers itself. Urban is a Liar. ND dodged a bullet when he went to Florida, despite the fact that he would have won games."
Really? How's the life after dodging that bullet? I mean, it sucks so bad to win a championship. I just wish I could switch places with ND right now... I mean Charlie Cheeseburger is doing such a great thing with Notre Dame and all, I just wish we could have a losing season and watch our QB get punished all game long. I would also love to lose to the service academies, that would be fun. Hell, let's not forget how great a play caller Weis is. Yep, you dodged one big bullet. We here at UF are just a bunch of suckers with a stupid National Championship trophy sitting in our trophy case, we got jobbed for real.
about 1 month ago
Saying "UF is one of the better academic schools in the SEC" is like saying my son is one of the better hitters on his T-ball team. The SEC is many things, but it is not known for academic excellence, especially when we are talking about SEC football players. Sorry all you SEC grads, but I am not buying any arguments here about academic excellence. The people posting to this blog care more about a player's athletic skills than how he develops academically. Why do you guys keep pretending that these schools and coaches care about academics? Look at the pathetic graduation rates of these "student athletes" who have private tutors and ridiculous majors and ask yourself: is big-time college football really helping these folks?
about 1 month ago
I'm a UF student and I'm not claiming to be an expert in any area. But I'm sure there is a story like the ones listed above about every coach in the nation. Who knows for sure what is said, it's all hearsay pretty much all over the internet.
As for the Pupello story, my jaw dropped when I heard a college coach told a player he needs to get faster (by dropped i mean lowered slightly to breath normally).
for all the academic bashing (Not that it really matters to football players):
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/t1natudoc_brief.php
#19: Vandy
#49: UF
#59: UGA
#91t: Bama
#96t: Tenn