Breaking Up with Bo Pelini isn't Easy
Dominic Walker, a wide receiver from Orlando, switched his pledge from Nebraska to Auburn. Per his side of the story, he thought he'd do the honorable thing and call Bo Pelini to explain his decision over the phone. The conversation went like this:
It was hard for Walker to make that call to Nebraska on Friday, but he knew he had to do it. He said he didn't handle the Vanderbilt situation as well as he could have back when he decommitted from the Commodores in October and he wanted to make sure and do the right thing this time.
Even his mom was afraid for him when he made the call to head coach Bo Pelini and his staff on Friday.
"It was a very tough decision. They were [mad]. They were very mad. But I thought I had to call them like a real man shoould," Walker said. "But yeah, they were mad. Coach Pelini said, 'Best of luck, you're going to need it.' "
Wide receivers coach Rich Fisher also was in on the call.
"Coach Fisher said, 'I can’t believe you,' " Walker said. "It was really awkward."
He had prepared himself for the conversation but nothing really got him ready to face the music. But he did what he felt he had to do.
Yikes.
Comments
The best of luck comment was uncalled for, but judging by the headlines for this story I thought it would be worse. It's not that bad but what does it say about a kid who decommits twice? This might be a blessing in disguise for Nebraska.
I think the "best of luck, your going to need it" comment meant, if we ever face auburn a bowl game, I'm going to send Courtney love in to 'sweep the leg'... ie: take your fucking head off.
"Get him a body bag, Yeah!"
What Bo doesn't realize is that these kind of stories hurt his recruiting long term. Not a coach I would personally want to play for.
Hey! Bo knows intimidation.
"Get him a body bag, Yeah!"
Maybe the WR coach was just repeating part of his halftime speech to the offensive players of 'braska, that he spoke during the Big 10 Champ Game.
I wonder what technique saban uses when he does this call and pulls a committed kids offer.
High school kid shows some maturity while Pelini throws a hissy fit. real nice.
I hope Nebraska and Auburn play and this kid lights em up.
Ha, have you seen the blackshirts? You don't need to hope, it would happen for sure.
When told OSU set school record for 50+ games this year, UFM said "That's good. We're gonna break that next year."
Everyone's quick to trash Pelini for this, yet many other coaches out there, most notably Saban, do worse and continually pull in the stars regardless. I'm not condoning it, but it probably doesn't matter a whole lot.
I agree. but still to hear about it still creates a reaction just like the recent Lane Kiffin thing.
If/when the other coaches do this kind of stuff then we'd do the same thing. i'm sure some people are just waiting to hear about Saban doing something like this or worse. But with Saban, he pulls in the stars because he wins. and he wins because he pulls in the stars. it's a vicious cycle at this point.
I implore you to realize lane kiffin is way more of a C-sucker than bo Pelini.
"Get him a body bag, Yeah!"
Not as bad as people are making it out to be.
"YOLO" = I'm about to do something extremely ignorant/stupid & I need an excuse to do it.
Maybe true, maybe not. One side of the story here fellas.
Also take into consideration that this isn't an October decommitment. This is the 11th hour and Pelini has every right to be upset. He now has to scramble to find a WR that he hasn't been recruiting.
~Because we couldn't go for three~
Wow. Make that two receivers that he hasn't been recruiting. Source?
EDIT: Derp, I thought I read that he was a receiver. Fail. http://journalstar.com/sports/huskers/life-in-the-red/mcwilson-decommits-from-huskers/article_b99082ea-68ab-11e2-a823-001a4bcf887a.html
We've definitely heard much worse, but still it makes Bo Pelini look like an amateur. I think Pelini's one of those guys that runs more on passion than rational thought, to his detriment at times. (Similar to Les Miles, but without the buffer of sitting in some of the best recruiting grounds in the country.)
You hear about these situations and it really makes you realize how good we've had it with Tressel and now Urban.
Tressel's reaction would have been something like: "Well, everything happens for a reason son and if you currently feel in your heart Ohio State is not the place for you then you're probably right. Good luck, and don't hesitate to call if you need anything or just want to talk."
I imagine Urban's would be similar, but more of a balance between passion and rationality, and a lot more calculated towards getting at the precise reasons for the change and seeing if there was any chance of stealing victory from the jaws of defeat.
In no universe I can imagine do I think Urban's reaction would be an angry "Good luck, you're going to need it", like some jilted schoolboy who just got his love note torn up. Urban would probably express why he was genuinely sorry about the decision, go into detail about all the great ways the player could help Ohio State and vice versa, all the while evaluating if it was a lost cause or not. And if it was a lost cause or just not worth the effort, it would be a respectful "Good luck, and let us know if anything changes as soon as possible, so we don't give your spot to someone else".
Have you seen how mad Bo gets on the sideline? I'm suprised he didn't say anything worse
Pellini isn't the answer for Nebraska anyway. His best year was the season with Suh where they almost upset Texas, it's gone downhill since then. His defense is horrible and now he's losing recruits. I don't think he's going to last much longer in Lincoln.