West Virginia RB Jason Gwaltney (official thread)

[BuckNutty]

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Gwaltney says USC, WVU and Ohio State are all neck and neck.

He says the tradition at USC is "off the hook", he likes the coaches, loves the weather but distance from home is the only negative and he says that is a factor.

He likes the fact West Virginia was the first school to recruit him. He likes their coaches and they have told him he can be a big player for them right away, which is important for him.

Coaches Tressel and Bollman just had an in home with Jason and he says they are really genuine and he likes them. He said the Buckeye Nation is "definitely something", the games are wild and it's something he would like to be a part of.

Gwaltney will announce his decision on February 2nd on ESPN.

[tundra1]

Originally Posted by BuckNutty

Gwaltney will announce his decision on February 2nd on ESPN.

Great. I can hear the interview now.

Q#1: Jason, what schools were you deciding between at the end?
Q#2: Where have you decided to attend college?
Q#3: Was your decision (no matter where it is, mind you) affected by the seemingly out-of-control activities at The Ohio State University? This question will take at least 10 minutes to ask, and will include a full description of these alleged activities, plus video highlights of Troy Smith and MoC playing, a picture of Troy Smith's booster friend, along with Irizarry, Guilford, and maybe by then Albert Dukes getting arraigned, etc.
Q#4: So, your decision really was affected by the story which ESPN The Magazine broke? (More video)

I may have to pass watching on ESPN and just rely on the forums to tell me where he decided to attend school...

[KramericaIntern]

I just don't think Jason will be a Buckeye unless something happens with Maurice Wells, sending him to Ga Tech. Even then, I'm just not convinced. He's had 2 leaders, neither of which was OSU, and both of which are in his final 3. Believe it or not, I think he's another one that's going to end up "Petey" bound.

[scooter1369]

And he'll end up "Petey" benched.

[Holy Buckeye!]

This is still the recruit that I feel we need the most and truly feel his hard nosed running style is just the balance we need with all our speed at wideout. The though of him and Mo Wells in the backfield gives me a woody. If you can picture this setup; our wideouts and these two backs, very similar to USC's White and Bush/Jarrett and Co. That would just smack a bunch of Big Ten Teams next year. Muhuhahahahaha!!!!!!!

HB.

[gost8]

I agree that Wells and Gwaltney coming to tOSU would make the team as good or better than USC was this year. I think it would be a another tOSU USC Rose Bowl. (If I am not mistaken, that is where 06 NC game is...?)

[MililaniBuckeye]

Originally Posted by gost8

I...Rose Bowl. (If I am not mistaken, that is where 06 NC game is...?)

The '05 title game (next year's) is there.

[methomps]

http://www.newsday.com/sports/highsc...orts-headlines

A call from the big man
Gwaltney receives phone call from USC's Pete Carroll an hour after winning national title


BY GREGG SARRA
STAFF WRITER

January 6, 2005

When the phone rings at 1 o'clock in the morning you're never sure if it's bad news or not. But for North Babylon halfback Jason Gwaltney, it was almost too good to be true.

Gwaltney picked up the phone and on the other end was Pete Carroll, the hottest coach in college football. About an hour after Carroll's USC Trojans demolished Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, 55-19, behind Matt Leinart's five touchdown passes, Carroll already had recruiting on his mind.

And why wait to check in on one of the country's top recruits? That attention will make any high school senior feel special.

"I was in total shock when I realized who it was," said Gwaltney, Long Island's all-time rushing and scoring leader. "I congratulated him and we talked for a few minutes. When I hung up, I looked at the clock and I still couldn't believe it."

Carroll's aggressive pursuit of one of the nation's top big backs left Gwaltney in awe. It also left him more confused as to which school to attend next fall.

"The phone call from Carroll left quite an impression on Jason," North Babylon coach Terry Manning said. "The guy just coached the national championship game and has the presence of mind to call on a recruit. That is very powerful. That's why he's the best."

Manning said the call came on the heels of a three-hour visit from Ohio State coach Jim Tressel on Tuesday afternoon.

Gwaltney has narrowed his choice to Ohio State, USC or West Virginia, which he orally committed to and will visit this weekend. The 6-1, 230-pounder, the only two-time winner of the Hansen Award, given to Suffolk's top player, rushed for 7,800 yards and 135 TDs in his four-year career.

Manning said that Gwaltney has struggled with his decision. "Jason really enjoyed winning the Long Island championship, but making the choice of which college to attend has been a tremendous strain on him," Manning said. "What should be an exhilarating experience is turning into something loaded with pressure and anxiety. I've sat with him for hours and we've gone over all the options and it's still a very hard decision."

[Folanator]

Man...that is strong.

[horseshoe1]

Like it or not you have to give Pete credit. Whatever Pete wants Pete gets.

Recruting is the name of the game and he is the best.

[gobucks19]

I can just hear the reports if JT had called anyone at 1am in the morning - "JT sees the writing on the wall about his key recruits leaving over the football scandal at tOSU. He is so desperate that he called one of his top RB recruits at 1am to talk him off the ledge towards coming to tOSU. You can only think back to the recent decommittment of Bemoll and possible waivering of XXXX recruit and see that JT is doing everything [including calling recruits in the middle of the night] to stop the bleeding at Ohio State." Don't kid yourself, its about perception not reality.

I do give PC credit, he is on top of the world right now with no end in sight. But damn, let's not annoit him ruler of the world just yet. At some point all of these young kids are going to believeing the hype being placed on them and then the rug will be pulled out from under them - losses, bad team chemistry, turmoil, whatever it is, then lets see how everyone reacts including the coach.

Anyways - Congrats to USC and PC for their great season. Hopefully we can play each other next season.

[Piney]

Didn't Tressel do something similar after the 2003 Fiesta Bowl? I can bet any coach worth their recruiting salt has a list of 5 names they will call after a big bowl victory to get that extra edge in recruiting.

But what can you say about Petey, when you are on top of the world you are on top of the world. Of course we said the same thing about Miami a few years ago and look where they are now.

[HINYG8]

Originally Posted by horseshoe1

Like it or not you have to give Pete credit. Whatever Pete wants Pete gets.

I hope he wants the 49ers job.

[OilerBuck]

Whether you want to admit it right now or not, we all have to be a little jealous of USC. They are mopping the floor with competition, ESPN is licking their butt, recruits are flocking there, it's so freaking warm all the time and they still have those hot cheerleader outfits (methomps, this is your cue for a pic)!

Right now it's cold here, ESPN is attacking and recruits are decommiting.

We just have to hope that Jason's want to play now rather than sit the bench becomes the #1 factor. I don't like getting in a tugging match with USC because of the current perception of both programs.

I wonder how many calls Pete made after the game. I guarentee you that Gwaltney wasn't the only one. That could be a deal breaker for the top 5 recruits on their board.

[BuckeyeNation27]

I wonder how many calls Pete made after the game. I guarentee you that Gwaltney wasn't the only one. That could be a deal breaker for the top 5 recruits on their board.

big deal.....he called the kid after his bowl game. taken right out of the recruiting handbook. lets write a story about how great it is that he did this!

im tired of people getting kudos for doing things that are about as hard to do as me typing this post.