Before Things Get Worse, OSU Recruits Should Jump Ship Now

Trouble is brewing in Columbus. Ohio State's football program will likely suffer heavy sanctions from the NCAA for the misdeeds of Jim Tressel and Terrelle Pryor, as well as several other Buckeye players, depending on how deep the investigation goes. It's not a good time to be a Buckeye.

Tressel resigned from his position as head coach in May after it had been discovered that he knew his players were ineligible and played them anyway. Quarterback Terrelle Pryor and four other Buckeyes traded team memorabilia for benefits (e.g. tattoos, cash). Pryor was also found to be driving cars he could not afford: a clear sign that he had been taking illegal benefits from Ohio State boosters. The NCAA decided to open up a separate investigation on him. Then, at the behest of his lawyer, Pryor left Ohio State before the NCAA could indict him. It stands to reason that there was enough evidence that would have found him guilty.

Despite some OSU fans finding admiration in Jim Tressel for stepping down (several see Pryor as a selfish villain, however), it is unlikely that the NCAA will offer lighter punishments because the two main perpetrators of the rule infractions are now gone. The NCAA hit USC pretty hard despite the fact that both Pete Carroll and Reggie Bush were not present at the time the violations were discovered—five years after they had been committed. Bush had long since been a professional football player, and Carroll had taken up the head coaching job for the Seattle Seahawks. That didn't stop the NCAA from vacating games that Bush played in, stripping away USC's 2004 National Title, and demanding thirty scholarship reductions.

Those punishments were for only one player at USC. Ohio State's "tattoo-gate" involved five players, along with the head coach (Tressel), who had direct knowledge that they were committing violations. The implication now stands that the NCAA's punishments will be harsher for Ohio State.

Buckeye fans argue that Ohio State's infractions and the investigation that followed is far less detestable than USC's. If analyzed side-by-side, however, this is false. Ohio State's violations and predicament are far worse. Considering the role that Tressel himself played in the scandal, and since he only admitted the violations after he was caught, and since he had clearly lied to the NCAA about his knowledge in order to get his players into the Sugar Bowl, the NCAA might even allege that Ohio State had a lack of institutional control. (Brian Cook at MGoBlog believes this is certain to happen.)

OSU's athletic department had slapped Tressel on the wrist with a two-game suspension and a fine of $250,000. It was later increased to five games to match the players' suspension. While many Ohio State fans and supporters believed that such a punishment was satisfactory, it clearly wasn't. Alumni had publicly stated that Tressel should either step down or be fired. In the end, the pressure mounted, and Tressel resigned.

The wake of this scandal continues to be felt in Ohio State's recruiting. Players who were once heavy Buckeye leans are now deciding to look at other programs. Tom Strobel, a defensive end from Ohio and highly sought after by Ohio State, committed to Michigan. Strobel had reportedly grown up a Buckeye.

SeVon Pittman, a defensive end who had been offered by Ohio State, and who had been considered a "sure thing" for the Buckeyes, committed instead to Michigan State.

Five-star offensive tackle Kyle Kalis, who had previously committed to Ohio State, has since de-committed and is now looking at Michigan. He says that Chris Wormley, a four-star defensive end out of Mentor, Ohio, is also considering the Wolverines. Wormley was previously interested in Ohio State as well. 

Bucknuts, an Ohio State discussion forum, reported that Kalis as well as Ohio running back Brionte Dunn had completely written off Ohio State as a viable option for their college careers. The reason: they understand that, if they were to go to OSU, they might have to endure punishments for crimes which they weren't ever involved.

As bad as it is to be a Buckeye right now, it's an even worse time to become one. There's a very strong chance that the NCAA will hit Ohio State's football program with one, if not several, bowl bans, as well as any number of scholarship reductions. Most players who commit to Ohio State will probably have to pay full tuition and might not ever play in a bowl game. Stripping Ohio State of bowl appearances could also mean ineligibility for the BCS National Championship, even if the Buckeyes go undefeated. Think of it this way: would you apply to a job at a company which you knew would tank in the next year?

There will still be high school prospects, ranked and unranked, who grew up wanting to be Buckeyes and will go to Ohio State even if it means paying tuition for all four years and possibly giving up the chance to play in a bowl. Those are the players that Luke Fickell, OSU's interim head coach, is trying to get right now, as he should.

For the recruits that still need to be sold on Ohio State, however, it's becoming increasingly difficult to sell a dishonorable program. Both Tressel and Pryor jumped ship before hearing the NCAA's ruling. Either they anticipated heavy punishments and were only thinking of themselves, or they knew they were guilty and were going to get punished anyway. In either case, their decision only benefited themselves, not Ohio State, which will still suffer punishments without them, just as USC had to without Bush and Carroll. If Pryor was truly honorable, he would have stayed (as he had promised Tressel and the university he would) and faced the music. Tressel cannot give many excuses for leaving either, but his departure from Ohio State was inevitable.

Because these two people, who were each believed to be the epitome of Buckeye greatness, left the university they claimed to love, there is little reason why a recruit should go to Ohio State when they are going to suffer punishments for crimes they did not commit. Worse, the perpetrators have left them hanging out to dry. While Tressel's being forced out of Ohio State is seen as punishment enough by the Buckeye faithful, he has still not taken full responsibility for his actions. Tressel leaves Ohio State as a multi-millionaire, and though he may love coaching, he is not short-changed except in that he is no longer able to coach at OSU. He can live out the rest of his life comfortably and will be nonetheless revered by Ohio State fans, just as Hayes was. Pryor, meanwhile, has abandoned his troubles at Ohio State for a shot at the pros. It's largely the same story, but it's the future players who will suffer the punishments.

Things are about to get vastly worse for the Buckeyes before they get better. Any recruit having committed to Ohio State should at least consider other options—not necessarily Michigan, or even the Big Ten. Ohio State is a sinking ship. Its program right now is racked with instability.

It has become unstable because of dishonorable people who tried to cheat and win at all costs. Now the Buckeyes are being forced to play fair, but without the two main people who should be forced to do so. Recruits who had nothing to do with Ohio State's infractions should cut their ties and look elsewhere. It's the only way they can know they'll play in a bowl game and reap the rewards of hard work.

Otherwise, you can thank Jim Tressel, Terrelle Pryor, and Ohio State for pissing away your college career.

Putting It All in Perspective

I wanted to do a piece on Michigan's 2011 running backs but, damn it, our cup runneth over!

Bad news continues to spew out of Ohio State. So, here's a little bit of opinion concerning the goings-on at OSU and what it means for Michigan.

For starters, I think that every Michigan fan should ask themselves this question: would you rather win a game because your opponent was disqualified, or would you rather win because you were the better team?

Probably most everybody will say the latter.

Still, this question articulates pretty well the mixed feelings I'm having about our chief rival, Ohio State. As you've probably heard by now, quarterback Terrelle Pryor has left the Buckeyes. He was facing a five-game suspension that would've likely increased because the NCAA had opened an investigation on him separate from that of Jim Tressel. Pryor was landing himself in trouble because of his "affinity" for nice cars, which was a clear sign that he was taking benefits and breaking NCAA rules. Anyone could see that Pryor would suffer severe punishments, and it's very likely he wouldn't play a game in 2011. It's also no surprise, then, that his lawyer recommended Pryor take his exit before the other shoe dropped. Pryor did just that.

So now Pryor's gone. Are Michigan fans happy? Well, yes and no. On one hand, two of OSU's most powerful forces (Tressel and Pryor) are now no longer a threat on the field, and that should make Michigan fans feel less apprehensive about the upcoming game against Ohio State on November 26. On the other hand, there's the knowledge that we will never be able to get revenge on Tressel or Pryor for what they did against Michigan. Sure, there's the chance that those wins will be vacated by the NCAA, but that doesn't erase the feelings of pain and humiliation that we suffered from 2008 to 2010.

On a smaller note, even if Tressel had stayed and suffered punishments, and wins were vacated from Ohio State, it still wouldn't bring back all that Michigan lost: a chance to play Florida in the National Championship, a bid in the Rose Bowl, Big Ten titles, etc.—all because Ohio State and Jim Tressel may have won them unfairly. That's probably the biggest reason why I think Tressel is absolute scum. We'll never get any of those chances back.

Anyway, back to the original point. Part of me wishes Michigan and Brady Hoke could take a shot at Tressel and beat him once, at least to prove that he could, in the way that Tressel got Lloyd Carr back for all those times he dominated Cooper. But hey, maybe it doesn't matter, because Tressel's victories over Carr may not have been legitimate anyway.

Still, as a Michigan fan, I think the most savory victories over Ohio State are when they are at their best. That way, we've proven we are the better team. That's why the 1997 game was so good. David Boston and Charles Woodson were practically equals on the field, but Woodson was slightly better—and it showed. And hey, that's probably why 2006 game was so good too, but like I said, we'll never really know how deep Tressel's corruption went and what effect it had on that game. We may have been the better team and were cheated by the Buckeyes.

That's why it was so fun and exciting to watch Bo and Woody. They were always at their best. It was a war between equals.

I thought Ohio State and Tressel were too stubborn to part ways with one another, and only after Ohio State lost to Michigan in 2011 would animosity build enough in the Buckeye Nation to give Tressel the boot. (Buckeye fans can't stand to lose to Michigan even once.) However, Tressel resigned before the 2011 season, and unless the NCAA completely destroys his legacy at Ohio State, he leaves with a better record than Hayes. Buckeye fans will remember him for that, not for lying, and they'll probably name a building after him, like they did for Hayes.

Yet you have to at least acknowledge that Tressel completely screwed Ohio State for the next five years. Depending on how hard the NCAA comes down on the program, Ohio State could take years to rebuild the program to a respectable level. While Tressel has publicly claimed that Ohio State is no further away from beating Michigan this year, he didn't make it easy for Ohio State by leaving them hung out to dry.

Buckeye fans will argue that Tressel did the right thing by leaving. It was him the NCAA was after, and his staying only meant that the university would suffer. Well, that's only half true. Who's to say that the NCAA won't still bring severe punishments against the football program anyway? Any reasonable person can see that there's a lack of institutional control at Ohio State, and it's not just Tressel looking the other way. However, that's an argument for another time.

Terrelle Pryor's departure doesn't make it any easier on the Buckeyes either. Like Tressel, Pryor made a decision that was largely self-serving. He didn't wait to hear the NCAA's ruling in August, but that's probably because the evidence against him was so overwhelming that he had to run before they brought the hammer down. Pryor leaves the Buckeyes essentially without a quarterback, just as Tressel left them essentially without a head coach.

So much for Sacred Brotherhood, right?

Luke Fickell's filling the HC position, but barring a miracle breakthrough and no sanctions, it's obviously temporary. Ohio State will scramble to get someone to fill Pryor's spot at quarterback, but there's little doubt in people's mind that their offensive game will suffer.

There's another point to consider when it comes to what it means for Michigan. The Game will be between whoever's on the field. I guess that kind of makes sense. Ohio State fans took great joy in the thrashing of Michigan in 2008 (Rodriguez's first year, the Wolverines went 3-9). That, as well as the two years that followed, was clearly a rebuilding time for the Maize and Blue. This year is a rebuilding time too for Brady Hoke, and no one can really say that Michigan is at its best. Now, Ohio State won't be either: they'll be forced to rebuild as well. Maybe it's better that way. Maybe this is the universe's way of balancing everything out.

Ohio State dominated the last several years unfairly and now they're going to get knocked down a peg. Or, a better way to put it is that they're going to be forced to play fair. Are you really the better team when you cheat your way to victory, when you break the rules in getting better players and getting them on the field?

No, you're not. Maybe Ohio State will finally learn that, and then maybe this rivalry will get back to being great without having any baggage.