Gator Coach Meyer manipulated recruit with religion and even his own death

[bassrique]

Just awful...

Silly me, but I didn’t realize God was a Gator.

But apparently he is based on comments from Sharrif Floyd’s high school coaches about what went down in the final few days before Floyd announced his college choice on national TV last Saturday at the U.S. Army All-American game.

As we all know, Floyd picked Florida.

Now we’re starting to find out why.

According to Floyd’s coaches, he was set to pick Ohio State until he spoke with Meyer on the phone. That’s when Florida’s coach, desperate to rein in the nation’s top defensive tackle prospect, went “all in” with the religion card. Here’s what the coaches said:

“Sharrif was really confused and put a call into Coach Meyer. When they spoke Coach Meyer told him that he had a ‘dream’ the night before, and that Coach Meyer saw himself on the sideline coaching Sharrif. Told him that is was a "message from God that I should come back and coach, as I guess if it’s my time to die, I'd rather die on the sidelines coaching you than anywhere else in the world.

"Sharrif talked to us the next day and said Ohio State is great and all, but Coach Meyer said he would DIE for me. That's pretty intense. From that day on Sharrif mainly kept to himself. But that was the turning point in my eyes."

Either you have to applaud Meyer for a brilliant recruiting maneuver or mock him for preying on the emotions of a naïve high school kid.

You could also do both. Make no mistake, Meyer knew exactly what he was doing, just like the way he “resigned” as Florida’s head coach only to announce a day or two later he was taking an indefinite leave of absence. Contrived? You bet.

But, considering all the highly-touted prospects that have committed to the Gators in recent days, Meyer’s ploy has worked to perfection.

Really, though, the entire Meyer/Floyd proves yet again that while the NCAA Rulebook is as thick as a phone directory there is only one rule that truly matters when it comes to recruiting – caveat emptor.

Let the Buyer Beware.

It’s difficult to blame Floyd for believing such nonsense since players worship coaches like Meyer as father figures. They sincerely accept as true anything and everything that comes out of the mouths of coaches, especially one like Meyer who has won multiple national championships.

Titles bring credibility.

But Meyer’s master stroke in convincing Floyd that committing to Florida was a matter of divine intervention is yet another indication of how far some coaches are willing to go in recruiting to sign the top players. Did Meyer cross the line? Yes. Is it illegal to tell a kid you had a vision from God? No.

The way the NCAA works, it’s the player’s responsibility and his advisors to separate fact from the B.S.

Is this the first time a well known coach has played the religion card? Heck, no. And it won’t be the last either.

If you recall, former Clemson coach Tommy Bowden unapologetically played the religion card while recruiting RB C.J. Spiller. Unfortunately, God later determined the Tigers weren’t worthy of an ACC championship or a BCS bowl game during Spiller’s time in the Upstate, though he did accomplish a lot individually.

I’m sure there are countless other examples as well where coaches have exploited a player’s belief in the almighty to gain a recruiting advantage.

About 20 years ago, preacher Oral Roberts relied on the same tactics when he convinced thousands of his followers God would “call him home” unless he raised enough money ($8 million) to send out missionaries from a medical center he had built earlier.

In essence, it’s all about passing the snicker test. As long as the prospect doesn’t laugh when religion is invoked, the coach has a chance.

And that’s exactly what Meyer was counting on.

So, is God a Gator? Well, if that movie set for release this weekend is really true, his attention isn't focused on college football right now.

http://blog.gamecockcentral.com/2010...y-matters.html

Just awful...

It's just awful how rumors and outright lies take on a life of their own and spread like wildfire on the internets.

Here's what a person with a name [the recruit] says [from Scout/Fox Sports]:

"I read those comments and when I did I immediately spoke with my head coach Ron Cohen. Coach Cohen told me that it was not true at all and nothing like that was ever said. I immediately called Urban Meyer to let him know what was being said on the internet. I wanted to let everyone know that this is total and false information. I never said that to my coach because it did not happen and my coach never said that to anyone. I am going to the University of Florida because that is where I want to go. I have a great relationship with Urban Meyer and I am a Gator. A lot of schools tried to hit me with the religion pitch but not Florida, not at all and that's how it is and I am not going to change my mind. I have talked to a bunch of my friends and they think this is something that started on one of the Ohio State boards. People are trying to get back at me for not going to Ohio State and not going to their team but I know what I am and that is a Florida Gator."

http://florida.scout.com/2/938128.html

Depending what words you put in a search, you'll see how far and wide this seeming lie went: In another search I did, this bilge was on the Sporting News and a couple other bonafide, mainstream sports sites.

When I first read it, I smelled fish because there wasn't any specific sourcing. Journalists call this "deep background". I call it deep ________. Much of what we read in newspapers on "news sites" is anonymously sourced.

There's a book out there making waves right now on another arena subject, it's called "Game Changer" IIRC, and the vast majority of it is deep background sourced.

It makes me wonder.

Should non-sourced material be taken seriously? If so, why and when?

[Jimmy Bones]

For the record, God IS a Gator.

Satan is a Nole.

Now you see why it's great to hate Florida State.

[UnsungZeros]

[Pilgrim]

And the author thinks we all should believe every rumor and accusation we read on websites that are MODELS of moderation, research and nonpartisan reflection like "gamecockcentral.com"???

As in so many things in life, consider the source.

[mike_v_s]

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

And the author thinks we all should believe every rumor and accusation we read on websites that are MODELS of moderation, research and nonpartisan reflection like "gamecockcentral.com"???

As in so many things in life, consider the source.

I think his point was to call that story ********.

Mike

[bassrique]

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

And the author thinks we all should believe every rumor and accusation we read on websites that are MODELS of moderation, research and nonpartisan reflection like "gamecockcentral.com"???

As in so many things in life, consider the source.

Click on the google search link I provided or create your own search - this garbage is like a virus. It's coming from a multitude of sources. [I would like to find the original source.]

I should note that Sporting News .com took down their "Meyer plays the death card" link after they figured out they'd behaved irresponsibly.

[bassrique]

Originally Posted by mike_v_s

I think his point was to call that story ********.

Mike

Missed your post.

Anyhow, you are completely off-base. The blog post I pasted about Meyer and a top recruit was ________, not ********.






================================

I should also bring up that Meyer will take his leave come national signing day, and return when he feels better. We should note that Meyer told his five-star recruits that he would be coaching again sometime this coming season.

And I'll also say that UF has the "consensus #1" recruiting class this time around. This analysis is flawed, but I'll take it.

Prediction: Gators make a BCS Championship run again year after next.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Bones

For the record, God IS a Gator.

Satan is a Nole.

Now you see why it's great to hate Florida State.

I'm not all that sure that God is a gator but, I've been in Florida since '82 and I can gauran-damn-tee you that The Gators are Gods. Chomp, Chomp!

I'm half afraid to leave the house in one of my old Penn State shirts.

[Brad Barker]

spencer hall had a funny take on this (fabricated!) story this morning... can't link to it, since patton oswalt's "sky cake" bit is in the post. oh well. :/

[bassrique]

spencer hall

I'm not familiar.

Mr. Hall had this figured out by this past morning? [Despite the three hour deferential.]

PM please.

[bassrique]

Originally Posted by OP

Should non-sourced material be taken seriously? If so, why and when?

Well?

[Brad Barker]

Originally Posted by bassrique

I'm not familiar.

Mr. Hall had this figured out by this past morning? [Despite the three hour deferential.]

PM please.

the head writer for the "every day should be saturday" football blog, as well as a former sporting news writer. just google "edsbs."

[bassrique]

Originally Posted by Brad Barker

the head writer for the "every day should be saturday" football blog, as well as a former sporting news writer. just google "edsbs."

Thank you.

====================

Brad,

You are one of the more interesting posters here. May I bother you to answer this:

Should non-sourced material be taken seriously? If so, why and when?

[Jimmy Bones]

Originally Posted by Steve

I'm not all that sure that God is a gator but, I've been in Florida since '82 and I can gauran-damn-tee you that The Gators are Gods. Chomp, Chomp!

I'm half afraid to leave the house in one of my old Penn State shirts.

Well, down in G'ville, Penn State shirts don't bat any eyelashes. Nole shirts occassionally do, but we're used to the occassional traitor - and at least it's a state school.

It's when those choobs wearing Volunteer shirts show up...

And I think the validity of unsourced material is hard to determine, and every person ought to make their own determination as to whether or not to take it seriously based on who is presenting it, the topic at hand, the liklihood of truthfulness, among other things.

Frankly, as a guy who grew up in Spurrier-era Gatorville, I'd have to say, Steve is a billion times more likely than Urban to pull the religion card. Hell, it may have come from Steve to begin with - he still harbors ill will at UF for not rehiring him immediately. Now... if Tebow were to say something like that, I might believe it... mebbe staying as an assistant rather than going NFL. :P

[SoonerMatt]

Please, everyone knows that Bruce Campbell is god and the job of satan is divided between Mac Brown and Pete Carroll.

[jazzy grille]

Even if it was true, it would not shake my love for the Gators..

And I'm an Atheist. Now, that's fanatical!

[sloasdaylight]

That made me laugh. The minute I read it I knew it was a phony. After two national Title games in 4 years, and nearly a 3rd, I'm accustomed to the gator football team and Urban being the butt of a lot of jokes, but this is just getting sad right now.

[Pilgrim]

Originally Posted by mike_v_s

I think his point was to call that story ********.

Mike

I completely agree! I intended to reference the idiot author of the article, not the Original Poster. I should have been more clear.

Originally Posted by SoonerMatt

Please, everyone knows that Bruce Campbell is god and the job of satan is divided between Mac Brown and Pete Carroll.

I completely agree about Bruce Campbell - but if the last half is true, then Steve Sarkisian is right behind Brown and Carroll. He's gone to the Dark Side.

[DudeistMonk]

Lol, if I played football that well or someone like me played football that well that conversation would have gone something like "Ohh, so you've completely lost your gourd then...Ohio it is!" but I don't imagine college football is an atheistic hotbed, nor was I ever more than a 2nd string pee wee lineman.

[Brad Barker]

Originally Posted by bassrique

Thank you.

====================

Brad,

You are one of the more interesting posters here. May I bother you to answer this:

i take issue with that assertion. anyway, despite my extensive background as a high-school journalist (), i'm not too clear on the differences between non-sourced material and anonymous sources.

anonymous sources are perfectly appropriate, though, when there is significant information and the release of the name of the source could lead to persecution by bosses, etc.

i think perhaps the major issue is that there may have been a gradual reduction in standards and critical thinking skills among journalists. additionally, blogs and news websites have blurred the lines between journalists and non-journalists. (who in some cases don't have the skills to trace a quote back to a joke message board post.)

when it comes to a story such as this, where i would doubt that anyone's livelihood is at stake with coming out with this information, an anonymously cited source is wholly unnecessary.

i have absolutely no idea if there is any standard when it comes to anonymous sources, and i do believe this issue came up at around the time when a journalist went to prison after refusing to name an anonymous source... think it had something to do with the valerie plame thing way back when. probably lots of insight and opinions out there from that incident.