I still feel bad for Penn State football and how the acts and inactions of some people directly within the football program itself has caused so much damage...(here comes the infamous line) that being said I have know idea how players/parents like Alex A (and especially his intelligent dad, Dr. A) could feel comfortable having/keeping Penn St.on their short list while dumping Ohio St. The initial reaction of dumping Ohio St. because 1 of 80,000 FANS turned out to be a sex offender is all kinds of crazy. When the Penn St. thing went down I remember thinking, they better rip out those locker rooms or at least the showers, because no player will ever feel comfortable going in there again knowing what heinous crime was committed right where they stand. Somehow the doctor and Alex are ok with Penn St. and didn't feel like their failures to protect a child , on campus, in the football facilities from a football staff retiree with full access, measures up to Ohio State's failure to properly vet all of it's fans (the largest fan base in all of college football).
Stupid knee jerk reactions like this as well as all the knew jerk reactions from some of our own fans (many on this site) panicking and saying "we might get penalties for this", makes the world a dumber place. Unless, The Ohio State University or any university, knowingly invites sex offenders to games or encourages them to visit the team, what the hell can these chicken littles be talking about? If college football starts vetting anyone who tries to attend a game, can you imagine all the empty seats at an SEC game like Alabama vs Georgia? In one word, Deliverance.
really don't see the big picture ,think alex a from redding was not right for ohio state to begin with. period
"Give me Liberty, or Give me Death!"
Urban Meyer is recruiting Alex Anzalone "harder than ever"
Alex: What's your feeling on Alex Anzalone -- do you feel he'll come back to OSU or is it a lost cause?
Alex, another question, which might be a bit unfair to ask you: Anzalone seems like a great prospect; obviously Urbz really wanted him, given the early offer and (previous) commitment; that said, any chance Urbz might have a little extra incentive to try to bring Anzalone back into the fold for reasons other than pure talent recruitment? You know, for "PR" and/or organizational morale reasons and so forth?
I want the kid but only if he wants us just as bad. Look we all know hes a great talent but it just seems like he doesnt want to come here for whatever reason. Having Penn State on your short list after what they claim to be the reason he decommitted just doesnt sit right with me. Im all for getting the kid but if hes sold on going somewhere else then it just wasnt meant to be....
@RAZRBACK16: I'm honestly not sure....I wanted to let the dust settle and then talk to him....I think the hardest thing re: Anzalone back to OSU will be swallowing the pride to get over the criticism he will receive for de-committing in the first place...the situation was just handled poorly by the family and they will need to get over that
@RUN_FIDO_RUN: I don't think so at all...Urban Meyer is here for one reason and that is to win championships...if he wants Anzalone back it's because he feels he is a player of the caliber needed to win championships and a personality fit into what he's trying to accomplish
Being a betting man I'd set the line at -225 he comes back. The kid likes Urban, Bosa seems to be his boy, furthermore Urban will calm Sal down, for someone as well educated as Sal is I'm surprised he reacted like a little girl.
mark may wins douchebag of the year... again
I really think by now that the twitter creepster wasn't the only reason for this decommit. It was a part of it, sure, and there was an overreaction to it on the family's part. The situation was just crazy and strange and I'm sure Alex and his dad both felt 'wronged' in some way. But, it sure seems to me like his dad wasn't cool with his commitment to OSU in the first place and this B-Dubs trivia guy has been used as the reason for Alex to decommit. I would not in the least bit be surprised if he ends up at Florida, daddy's alma mater or Penn State, his in-state school. I read that Alex's 'visit' to Florida was just to see his family down there, but if he visited the school as well, and that visit was planned prior to his decommit from OSU, I say there is more to all this.
I think the bottom line is that Sal isn't done shopping his son around just yet. Are we sure he's not friends with Cecil Newton?
@RJenkins26 - Yeah - that's not it.
It was a knee-jerk reaction to having a photo taken with a convicted sex offender. It's something that shakes people up - and they decided to take some time to re-evaluate.
Shopping his son around? He's already got offers from Alabama, OSU, USC, ND, Florida, and Oklahoma. How much shopping around do you think he needs to do?
Rjenkins that's not cool....the Anzalone's don't need to shop around Alex and they aren't...that's just flat out wrong to make the allegation
If the staff is recruiting AA harder then ever after all that has happened, it should tell you all you need to know about the kid. I hope he is a Buckeye in the end.
At this point I don't even know if UFM even wants him back. The phone time with the Anzalones could have been only for damage control. If it was, it worked with Sal's "clarification". I'm thinking that UFM is looking at the situation now like "good if he recommits and so-what if he doesn't".
"It's just another case of there you are". ~ Doc (1918-2012)
Wow...did rivals really just agree on something? Haha...I know it happens sometimes. But you're both right...obviously someone hasn't paid attention to the kind of player urban has been targeting. Those kind of issues just aren't there with them. The safety of your child is a legitimate concern for any parent. I'm sure any of us with kids can understand that.
For Meyer to be recruiting him "harder than ever" it sure does look like UFM wants him back.
I think Alex Anzalone should be welcomed with open arms. Anyone of us, including myself, would have taken a step back from that situation. We can even point to our own reactions to the story as how easy it is to overreact about something like this. I couldn't imagine how I would feel if I was in their place at the time. But as Alex@11W said above, let the dust settle, step back and re-evaluate the situation.
I truly think that what is best for both OSU and Alex Anzalone is to recommit to the buckeyes. He will be welcomed back as part of the family and find that he will be taken care of here. Incidents like last weekend are rare and shouldn't happen. I understand the initial thought of "get me away from this as far as possible" comes out but now everyone can move on (especially now Waugh will be back in prison) and get back to the real reason he committed to OSU in the first place. A very talented kid who can do great things for a successful program.
We want him back and I see no reason why he wouldn't want to come back! This is the best place for him!
I'll be the first to say I over-reacted to this story. I initially thought I was completely done following recruiting but after reading more about the story and evaluating how my own first reactions would have been if my child had been in the same situation, I get where the initial "knee jerk" reaction came from. I have to agree Alex would be welcomed back with open arms and obviously Urban really wants him in the fold. He seemed to LOVE tOSU and I hope he finds his way back. If not, good luck to him in whatever he decides.
What initially put me off was not Alex, it was his Dad and his accusatory comments toward OSU. Now that Dr. Anzalone has had time to chill, it seems that the situation is not as dire as it once was.
"Attack the Strong, Trample the Weak, Hurdle the Dead!"
-Former OSU S&C Coach Lichter
Bottom line is Alex Anzalone will go to the school he believes is right for him. It is his father's job to help him make that decision. It is Urban Meyer's job to convince father and son that OSU is the right decision. He is good at his job, and does not need the help of a bunch of twidiots.
Well I only hope Urban doesn't lose sight of the other recruits, by placing too much energy into this one ... We have much bigger needs then linebacker, and there are many other very talented LB's still to be had in this class such as J.Smith for example ... We've probably lost J.Mcneil to Alabama because we went all in on Heuerman who in my opionion wasn't on the same level as Baugh or Mcneil ... We have 2 OT's in E.Pocic, and D.Johnson, and a big-time C/G prospect in K.Rodgers along w/all the WR's we need to be focusing in on .... If he comes back great if he doesn't I'd take any of the above listed players over him in a heart beat ....
Remember also that he may still have Joe Bosa in his ear
There is plenty of time to recruit all of those players and remember, its not just Urban who is doing the recruiting. Fickell, Herman and Co. can still keep in contact with everyone while Urban spends time with the Anzalones. This is a group effort.
Said it many times before, I much rather have a kid who wants to be at OSU than one who needs to be coaxed into coming here. All of these kids are very talented. I am sure Urban can take any of them and turn them into great OSU players. Character is what matters most. Anzalone has the desire and character this team wants. I would take that any day no matter how crowded a position may be!
@Squirrel Master
"I much rather have a kid who wants to be at OSU than one who needs to be coaxed into coming here" Your words ... What do you think recruiting is ... and if Alex didn't need to be coaxed into coming here then Urban wouldn't have to be re-recruiting him all over again ... You do know Joey Bosa was in that picture as well ... Did you see his parents all in the news, and him over reacting or decomitting ... Did you see what he had to say about the whole Waugh incident ... Now thats character ....
All recruits are "coaxed into coming here"...?
So you'd take lesser talented recruits that are chomping at the bit to come here than the big talents?
If he comes to Ohio State he will just be a bench warmer. We can get much quicker LB's than him, not to worry this is Ohio State.
I'm not sure we watched the same film...he's pretty fast for a linebacker. There's a reason his offer list is better than almost all the OLB's in the country.
@WadeMccoy
Whoa there fella! The one thing this kid ain't lacking is speed ... That was a bit of a crude statement ...
@wade I hope that comment was sarcasm or else you might just have become the bench warmer for the 11W boards.
“The teams that don’t respect their coaches and don’t trust their coaches are the teams that go .500"
~Zach Boren
If we are talking about 2 four star athletes, then I would want the kid who has the desire to be a buckeye, not the kid who is looking for the best path to the NFL. There are some players that you come to them and say "You want to be a buckeye" and they have dreams of playing for them and then there are players who you talk to, give them the hard press recruiting and they say "well I think I am going to take this opportunity to visit as many schools as I can and look around, see what I think". If we are talking about the elite recruits, which pretty much most of these and the ones you listed are, then hands down I want the kid who thinks OSU is the place for him because he WANTS to be a buckeye.
would you much rather have a 5 star who is looking for somewhere to be for 3 years until he gets to the NFL? If he doesn't get on the field right away, he will consider transferring to a place that will?
or would you want a kid who may be a 3 star, wants to play for OSU no matter what and is open to being taught how to play and will still end up in the NFL?
Because I just described Jordan Whiting (5 star) and James Laurinaitis (3 star).
@Squirrel Master
If we are talking about similarly rated kids I'm taking the kid that wants to be a Buckeye all day long ... No doubt ... but I have absolutely no problem with a kid taking all of his officials before deciding where he'll spend the next 4 or 5 years of his life ... For 1 its free, and it may very well be the only chance in his life he gets to visit some of those places ... Do I love the C.Burrows, and J.Marshalls of the world that commit quickly w/o looking anywhere else HELL YEA, but I don't mind if a kid wants to continue looking around to enjoy the whole recruiting ride either ... Just wish if this is what A.Anzalone, and Lewis Neal, and who ever else wanted to do ... Then don't give your word, and commit, then back out of it ...
Take a few minutes and look at his offer list.
Well I am probably not saying exactly what I mean. I have nothing against a kid looking around either. They have all the right to do so. I just don't agree when someone says I much rather have a player who is looking around than the player that has committed. If a player decommits because he can't make up his mind, then I would agree that he isn't all buckeye and we should consider other players. Anzalone's situation is complicated and I am sure his decommitting was hasty but not because he had second thoughts about playing for OSU. To say OSU shouldn't devote all the effort to reassure him that this will not effect him going further and that OSU should concentrate on other players who are playing the recruiting game, I don't agree with that. Anzalone, I truly believe, followed his heart and wants to play for OSU. He just got caught up in a stupid situation. I think Urban should devote as much as he can to bring him back in. and then if he feels Anzalone will recommitt or not, then move on to Pocic, Johnson and whoever.
Lewis Neal I won't argue. Sounds to me he wasn't all in anyways. That I think OSU should move on from!
I don't see him ending up at Penn State or here in my opinion. Seems his dad wanted him to go to Florida all along and found his excuse to force his kid out of the place he fell in love with and wanted to play his college ball at which was OSU. Now I'm sure his dad is putting on the full court press for his alma mater. If he ends up anywhere else it may be a compromise between the two at Notre Dame with his buddy Heuerman. I would be shocked if stating Ohio State is under consideration still is anything more than a PR move for the initial remarks made about the University. They are protecting their kid from negative reactions and press which is a smart move and the route they should have went from the beginning of the decommitment.
If urban wants to put extra effort into his recruitment of alex anzalone, that's his decision to make. He obviously likes this kid, and is willing to put in the effort. Anzalone felt that ohio state was the place for him up until last week. It wasn't a heat of the moment decision to commit. Let the dust settle on the situation, and trust in the fact urban isn't going to go the extra mile for any reason other than he wants what's best for alex and this program. Gotta remember, urban is the one who has been in contact with alex and his parents. If the door was completely closed him coming to columbus would he be putting in the extra effort?