01-02-2005, 08:57 AM
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Head Coach
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Join Date: Nov 2003
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Troy and the Booster
http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/sports/...y/10548046.htm
Quote:
Posted on Sun, Jan. 02, 2005
To stop Buckeyes' problems from getting worse, Tressel should ...
Take control now
By Terry Pluto
Dear Jim Tressel:
You have become the most powerful and respected Ohio State football coach since Woody Hayes.
That's why it's time for you to really take command of your program.
What you've accomplished in four years is remarkable. It begins with the 2002 national title. You are 3-1 in bowl games, 3-1 against Michigan and you have brought back the faith and confidence of the Buckeye fans.
You've seen the team graduation rate rise from 27 percent to more than 50 percent, along with being among the Big Ten league leaders in players on the conference all-academic team.
Just as important, you have the support of Ohio high school coaches who know you, believe in you and will continue to send their players to you.
In so many ways, you have been exactly what Ohio State needed after the malaise of the John Cooper Era. He never connected with fans or most high school coaches.
To say nothing of his graduation rate that was one of the worst in the Big Ten, nearly as bad as his 2-10-1 record against Michigan.
That's why you have to take one more step.
Part of your program is a mess. Too many kids arrested, too many problems with boosters. Things will never be perfect, but they have to be better than having 15 players in trouble with the law over the last four years and having your starting quarterback suspended right before the Alamo Bowl for taking cash from a fan.
You need to look back at some of those recruits. Were they at-risk kids when they came to Ohio State? Were you warned about them? Were they worth the gamble?
Not every high school player belongs on a church window, but sometimes you just know a kid is headed for the police blotter. You are not at Youngstown State, where you sometimes had to take some chances. You have one of the premier programs in the country. You are considered one of the top college coaches, and you have a school where kids want to play.
Be more selective.
You have recruited so many good kids who have handled themselves well; you are letting the knuckleheads trash their reputations -- and yours. You can repair some of the damage by more careful recruiting. Look at some of the players arrested -- they weren't even that talented.
If you have to get rid of some troublemakers before next season, do it -- even if they surface and play for another school.
And you need to look at the booster situation.
You never should have sent Maurice Clarett to that car dealer, no matter how pure your motives. You say you did it so he wouldn't get a sweet deal somewhere and end up in hot water with the NCAA.
Yet, to some outsiders it appears as if you had a hand in setting him up with a car -- fair or not.
You have a prior relationship with a Buckeye booster named Robert Q. Baker, who supposedly gave Troy Smith some cash. It is a blessing that another Ohio State supporter called the school to inform officials about the Baker/Smith situation.
Left unchecked, it would just become worse and include more players. Right now, we don't know if this was an isolated incident, or if many players were being paid. No doubt, the NCAA will try to find out.
Boosters with $100 handshakes for players probably go back to the days of no facemasks or forward passes, but that still doesn't make it right.
Coach, it's up to you to begin to make some of these things right.
If it means being tougher with longer suspensions and expulsions for players, do it. If it means breaking some old friendships with supporters, do it. Whatever it takes, do it.
You can do it, because you have the clout and credibility to bring things under control. And if you don't, the NCAA will -- and you certainly don't want that to happen.
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