Recruiting Wars, McJimbers and the Gentleman's Agreement

Earlier in the week, an article was written on Cantonrep.com titled "Buckeyes-Spartans Recruiting War Heating Up". In it, the author goes on to make Pat Narduzzi sound like an angry ex who felt he's been cheated out of things that rightfully belong to him. Further, Narduzzi goes on to talk about a gentlemen's agreement which existed between Dantonio and Tressel that involved leaving recruits unpoached.

Actual photographic evidence of when this agreement was made. Tressel, McJimbers and Dantonio

Normally, this wouldn't be cause to write a post, Narduzzi makes Dantonio look like Matt Lauer in front of a mike so you can't take him too seriously. However, this all came up yesterday again in the introductory press conference for the new recruits. In a Detroit News article titled "Mark Dantonio says recruiting committed players 'unethical'" It contains transcript from yesterday's press conference referencing the Urbaning of former MSU commit Se'Von Pittman.

It didn't sit well with the Spartans coaches and a few days ago defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi spoke about a "recruiting war" beginning.

On Wednesday, the feelings hadn't changed, though the Michigan State coaches were careful not to single out any team or coach.

"I would say it's pretty unethical," Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said. "You ask people for a commitment, you ask for people's trust, ask for people to make a commitment to you, but then you turn around and say it's OK to go back after somebody else's commitment. That's a double standard.

"Everybody's got a job to do, there's a lot of pressure, but we're all grown men and we're trying to do a job, just like society today in every respect, whether it's a reporter or doctor or lawyer or somebody else. People are gonna try and do their job, they're gonna do what they have to do to get it done sometimes."

Look, I get that we're all pissed Meyer stole Pittman, but this seems over the top to me. Complaining about the poaching of an admittedly marquee recruit during your Signing Day PC seems petty. Pittman would have been a valuable addition to this class, but MSU will do without him as well.

I've never believed that Dantonio lives by this uber-ethical recruiting code as it pertains to committed kids. He may well have had a Gentlemen's Agreement with Tressel but both OSU and MSU fans can agree the greatest evil of the Big Ten lives in Ann Arbor. For Dantonio regarding committed kids, I've had the feeling that he'll put in a call and if they say no then he lets it go. Coincidentally, this is exactly what Meyer said yesterday.

"Sometimes they say, 'How can you go recruit a young guy committed to another school?'" Meyer said. "You ask a question, 'Are you interested?' If they say, 'No,' you move on. If they say, 'Yes, very interested,' then you throw that hook out there. If they're interested, absolutely [you recruit them], especially from your home state. Is it gratifying to take a guy from another school? Not at all."

Something tells me the process of saying no to Urbz goes a bit more like this though.

 I want to have Se'Von Pittman play football here. Call him and see if he's interested.

No Urbz. No Dice.

 Deploy the hookers and coke, ask if he's interested now.

No Urbz. No Dice.

Cars and tats?

No Urbz. No Dice.

Offer my heartfelt allegiance and this Simpsons Yo-Yo

Se'Von Pittman is on the phone.


What's always surprised me most of this adherence to an ethical code is that it is so counter to Dantonio's on the field attitude. On the field, Dantonio will gamble the whole game on a trick play because he knows he has a chance to play on the assumptions of others that a FG will be a FG and a punt a punt. Why does it surprise him so that someone would be willing to do the same thing in recruiting?

The class of 2013 needs to be man-by-man one of the strongest at MSU since he came here in 2007. MSU has enjoyed the on-field success of an elite program the past four years using elite recruits from the class of 2009 and 2010.  The classes of 2011 and 2012 are solid and 2012 is not far off from 2010 from a rating perspective, but if we want to continue having eleven win seasons and playing for Big Ten titles MSU needs to recruit at it's 2009 and 2010 level consistently.

In short, if Dantonio needs to ask a second time if a recruit means "No" when he calls, that's fine with me. Given the Urbaning of the Big Ten it's going to become part of what's necessary to win in November.