Ohio State Football: University President Fires Shots at Bret Bielema

After Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema questioned Urban Meyer's recruiting tactics last Wednesday, Ohio State president E. Gordon Gee has fired back.

Said Gee, via The Lantern, "We hired the best coach and we went out and got the best kids so get a life."

Bielema's concerns have garnered widespread attention.

Said Bielema on Wednesday, via the Chicago Tribune:

"

There's a few things that happened early on I made people be aware of that I didn't want to see in this league that I had seen take place at other leagues. Other recruiting tactics, other recruiting practices that are illegal. I was very up front and was very poignant to the fact. I actually reached out to Coach Meyer and shared my thoughts and concerns with him and the situation got rectified.

"

There have been rumblings that Meyer violated the "gentleman's agreement" of college football. That is, he "stole" players from another school's recruiting class. Bielema's comments came shortly after offensive tackle recruit Kyle Dodson flipped his commitment from Wisconsin to Ohio State.

First of all, the gentleman's agreement is a bunch of rubbish. It's an excuse coaches use when they've been had by another coach. If a recruit really wants to stay at your school, he will. It's up to you to keep him there.

So, in that sense, I completely agree with Gee here. Meyer didn't do anything illegal, he didn't commit any NCAA violations. He was simply a better recruiter than Bielema this year, despite taking over a troubled program. He deserves more respect than Bielema gave him.

I can understand Bielema's frustration—he just lost a 3-star recruit to another Big Ten school. But the blame falls on him for Dodson's move to Ohio State, not Meyer. Right now, he sounds like whiner and nobody likes a whiner.

Gee can keep firing shots at Bielema for all I care.