I'm in the midst of a 6 hour train ride from Berlin to Amsterdam, and I can't help but think of just how bad a person Urban Meyer is. Let's list out why a recruits' parents should never consider sending their kid to play for him, especially if Brady Hoke is in the picture.
1)High likelihood your kid ends up in jail
There has been a great amount of coverage on the Aaron Hernandez situation these past few weeks, although one fact hasn't received enough attention. Yeah, the guy is clearly a bad person, but let's trace back to how he became who he is.
As anyone knows, people truly become "themselves" in college. Usually they become better people and learn a lot about life/relationships/not committing crimes. Unfortunately for Aaron Hernandez, his mentor in college was Urban Meyer. Urban won his heart as a high school football recruit, likely due to making Aaron feel like he was God's (aka Hoke's) gift to earth, leading AH to think he was invincible. Urban made this situation even worse as he would routinely let Aaron get away with fighting people/murdering people (probably) while in Gainesville. Aaron's young mind was contorted to believe this was ok, since Urban never suspended him and paid off the cops so they acted unaware as well. Four years at Florida of doing what he wanted under Urban Meyer's tutelage led to the monster we have today.
I know that is just one great example of how bad an influence Urban is, but there are countless others; the arrest record of his players at Florida speaks for itself.
2)He will inevitably leave OSU for a job like Bowling Green
Urban Meyer had it all at Florida; he won two national titles with Ron Zook's talent and was in the running for another. Then he ran into the buzzsaw that was Alabama, had a "heart attack", and promptly retired to be with his family forever and ever. Of course, Urban's plan all along was to get out of a situation that was all downhill (routine asskickings at the hands of Alabama) for greener pastures at a far worse football school. I mean, does OSU even football bro?
One thing Urban didn't count on was HOKEAMANIA coming to Ann Arbor and laying waste to anyone who encountered him, whether it be at The Big House or on the recruiting trail. In a few years, when Hoke is on the verge of his third straight national title aka Big Ten title, Urban will almost definitely suffer from the common cold and be forced to retire from coaching... Until the position at BGSU opens up that is.
3)Emotional trauma
Urban Meyer is interesting in that he operates his teams under "circles of trust" based on a player's "intangible characteristics". I don't know about you, but that sounds too much like a certain former Penn State coach for my liking.
Even if we give Urban the benefit of the doubt (never do this), it's not an ideal situation. I know I wouldn't want my kid to go somewhere where he felt he was second-rate in the coach's mind.
Enter Brady Hoke. While Urban is letting his players go all GTA Vice City on their respective campuses, Hoke is instilling values in his young men. Star running back gets in legal trouble? Atone for it all summer and you can't play for 2 games either. Star punter fails a drug test? No 2013 season for you. Incoming four-star freshman involved in an undisclosed assault case? GTFO the team.
Not only is he a disciplinarian, but the guy loves his players like a dad loves his children (well, besides Urban Meyer). Countless exiting players have said he's the first person they'd call when they returned to Ann Arbor. John Harbaugh is on record gushing about how great a guy he is. Here's a nice contrast between Urb and Brady: After beating OSU in his first year (2011), the first time in years for Michigan, Hoke was asked how he felt about starting his legacy off the right way. Instead of answering the question, he said "look over at the seniors... That's defining a legacy." The guy could've stood there and talked about how all his hard work paid off and his players should be thankful for him (exactly what Meyer would have done), but instead he just gave the players the glory.
While this was all going on, Urban was coming to contractual terms with OSU, probably laughing at his former Florida team/players and how they sucked.
Parents and recruits, the choice is simple: play for a guy who will turn you into a great football player and a better person, or play for a "man" who will turn you into a decent football player while pushing you to a life of crime and dishonesty. Choose wisely.
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