Michigan Football Commit Logan Tuley-Tillman Sparks Ohio State Rivalry

This time, it was a kid acting out a darndest thing(instead of saying one) that has people up in fumes.

First reported by Yahoo! Sports writer Graham Watson, Michigan commit Logan Tuley-Tillman burned a letter from Michigan rival Ohio State before opening the envelope, an act that has caused his family to receive death threats.

While death threats may be a bit extreme, is there reason for the Buckeye fans to get upset at this act of defamation? Should they take arms against Tuley-Tillman and make his four years playing against Ohio State a living hell?

To answer the first question, yes, Buckeye fans do have reason to be quite upset that Tuley-Tillman burnt a letter from their university (which was likely a recruitment letter), thus pledging his allegiance to the Big Blue.

Any time your university, especially one that is trying to re-tool after much controversy, loses out on a big name player there is reason to feel down. Any time your university loses out on a big name player to your rival school, he now becomes your biggest enemy. Setting ablaze a document from your school only creates further envy and hatred, something that is, in this case, quite justified.

The answer to the second question is also a yes, and why not? Why can't a college fan base and the players of Ohio State not use this as motivation to kick his butt every single year that he plays in the biggest rivalry game in the nation? What is wrong about them using this as fuel to prove to Tuley-Tillman that he chose the wrong school?

Sure, death threats are too much (and in no way do I ever advocate them, no matter what the circumstance), but if people want to use this against him during his career as a Wolverine, more power to them.

This is exactly what we love and what we hate about college football; something as small as an inflated, egotistical 17-year-old's decision can spark a fiery passion throughout thousands of passionate fans.

We love this kind of story because it shows us how passionate and tightly woven college communities are. In a nation that finds itself divided along lines through so many things, college football sometimes help us unite (although it could be argued that it segregates us from other schools as well) with those who we would normally have no affiliation with. It creates a community of generally diverse individuals that would not be united without a college identity.

We hate this kind of story because it shows just how ruthless and impulsive people can be while also showing us just how big of a pedestal high-school athletes are standing on these days. As was mentioned earlier in this article, death threats are far too much for an act that an immature high-schooler committed. I mean, c'mon Buckeye fans, simmer down just a tad.

But it is not just Buckeye fans that are guilty of this act. Just go to any Sports blog on the internet and you will find those fans who will defend their team's honor to the death; those brave few that will throw out all reason and facts just to get in a, "Ducks suck!" or a "Huck the Fuskies!" shot at their rival fanbase.

While comical at times, these acts of impulsiveness show just how childish we can still be, and I am not coming from the standpoint of never being guilty of one of these acts. I too have succumbed to the luring of opposing fanbases only to realize just how immature my comments were just a few minutes later. It is something that we are all guilty of, and something that needs to be toned down.

A more prevalent problem, though, may be how inflated and high we are making high-school athletes feel these days. Not only in Tuley-Tillman's case do we see these standout youngsters performing acts as if they are the ones who run the business.

Sure, you can dominate the high school level competition and are fairly big for your age, but please, prove something to me at a higher level and then earn my respect. All the power to you for being recruited by a big program, I surely could not have done that, but show that you are deserving of this on the college football field before you start to perform acts as if you were the second-coming of Jake Long.

These kids are still in high school for crying out loud. Besides the competition at their own level, we have no way to compare these guys to any college athlete until they actually step up against one at the next level. All of this recruiting publicity and the attention these kids are getting is not good for the kids or the way that we want kids to think it is proper to act.

Though I am still fairly young myself, inflating already egotistical high-school attitudes will do nothing but create an even more cynical and self-obsessed nation than we already are.

Once you are able to show that you have the talent to become a household name at the college level, then you will earn my respect and be able to act at least a little bit more special. Until then, however, you are still just a high school student who could, for all we know, become a big bust and amount to nothing at the college level.

Don't let things go to your head, kids; realize that while talented, you have so much more to prove before you become solidified in history and lore. Use this talent that you have as motivation to exceed expectations, not to create smoke-and-mirror expectations that you cannot live up to.