Someone alert Les Miles so he can drop an f-bomb: LSU recruit Terrance Toliver, a Texan who is one of the top wide receivers in the country, was apparently the subject of frequent negative recruiting from the Florida Gators:"Every time (Florida recruiters) came, they just said LSU doesn't qualify their players," Toliver told FOX 26's Mark Berman Wednesday. "About (how) their academics are not all that. It kind of had me confused."I'm shocked, shocked that there's negative recruiting going on in the SEC, but what is interesting is that recruits are becoming more open about it. The Toliver accusations were preceded by a Washington Post article on Illinois recruit Arrelious Benn, who received a series of insulting text messages from then Notre Dame QB coach Peter Vaas:
Eventually a bewildered Toliver asked his football coach Rick Sargent and Hempstead instructional coordinator Tina Johnson to go to Baton Rouge to find out the truth about LSU. The two went last weekend. "They went and checked (LSU'S) academics out and their facilities," Toliver said. "They just came back and told me whatever Florida was saying about the academics wasn't true."
"FYI, ILL is telling Robert Hughes that they will build their offense around him? Didn't they tell you that? Coach Vaas," Vaas wrote Benn on Dec. 17....against all the service academies instead of, you know, Michigan and Ohio State.
Earlier that month, Vaas left this voice message on Benn's phone: "You don't want to do anything except bury your head in the sand. . . . I guess you're not tough enough to compete at the big level."
Moral of the story: be prepared to have kids rat you out if you're a poopyhead.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-09-2007 @ 1:54PM
Mike Bernstein said...
Well, in fairness to the Florida recruiters, what they were saying to Tolliver is the truth: LSU is not nearly as strong academically as UF as a major state university, UF's academic support program for its athletes is one of the strongest in the country and by far stronger than LSU's, and UF's 80% graduation rate for its football players is the second highest in the SEC (after Vanderbilt) and one of the highest in the country. Given that 99% of all Division I football players will never play a down in the NFL, those academic credentials are legitimate things to brag about . . . especially to the vast majority of the recruits who will need to get a job outside of sports when their NCAA eligibility is exhausted.
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2-09-2007 @ 1:55PM
Mike Bernstein said...
P.S. I won't fault anyone for picking a school where they felt more comfortable and more at home. After all, Baton Rouge is only about 500 miles closer to Hempstead than Gainesville is. But to anyone who cares to dispute the facts I posted above, including Mr. Tolliver's high school coach and guidance counselor, I suggest you invest $7.95 in U.S. News & World Report's annual report on the Best Colleges in America and compare the average range of SATs and high school GPAs of the entering freshman classes at both schools, and then compare the relative academic reputations of the schools. LSU is a fine school, but UF is objectively better in virtually all academic categories.
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2-10-2007 @ 10:22AM
Mark said...
Meyer is turning out to be a BIG snake.
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2-12-2007 @ 8:29AM
Frank Johnson said...
I was at the Bayou Bash and I can assure you Coach Miles did not drop an "f-bomb" while referring to Alabama. Coach Miles has far too much class to do such a thing in front of ladies, coaches' wives and children! I find it very interesting that there are more Bama fans commenting about the happenings at the Bash than Tiger fans. Guess they are envious of the Tigers and Tiger supporters. Wonder what their recruiting party looked like?
I predict that Saban will never be as successful at Alabama as he was at LSU. First, he has to share the State w/ Auburn; second, he will not recruit Louisiana like he envisions. The kids, parents and high school coaches all see him for what he is; only interested in taking care of old No.1 (himself). He says he doesn't care about money, don't believe it. His ego requires that he be the highest paid coach. In the long run, he, like Paul Dietzel, will regret the day he left LSU.
Although he is a great coach and recruiter, I personally think it was good that he left LSU because every year he created this uncertainty about leaving or staying. He will have the same "ants in his pants" at Alabama after a couple of years. Except he now can't be looking at the pros because he was an obvious failure at Miami. Best of all, he cannot blame anyone but himself as he had total control of the football operations. What pro team would want him?
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2-10-2007 @ 7:37PM
yard said...
Sure players go to LSU for an education. The only advantage for the players is that it is easier to spell LSU than Florida.
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2-12-2007 @ 2:58PM
kevin said...
yeah, in a conference with MSU, minnesota, northwestern, indiana, and purdue--OSU and Michigan sure are the "big boys". how'd they do in their bowls again?
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2-12-2007 @ 6:34PM
Nolan said...
Whatever Mike. Your evidence is pointless because you are not focusing on the language used by the Florida recuiters. They said that LSU does not "qualify their players." You talk as if they actually told Toliver: "When you juxtapose the two universities and focus on academic strength, you will find that The University of Florida grades higher across all academic categories." One is a lot worse than the other. Does LSU have a problem qualifying their players? No. So shut up or focus on what is actually being said.
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2-12-2007 @ 7:06PM
Bob said...
completely off topic but i want to know what people are thinking of Tim Tebow as a quarterback next year. can he work out the decision kinks?
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2-13-2007 @ 9:27AM
u suck said...
no he can't, he will be used the same way he was this year his whole career! that is as a running back!
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2-14-2007 @ 4:14PM
TampaGator said...
To Frank Johnson/#6:
Excellent post (not sure how it ties in to the article/thread, but otherwise solid). Les Miles is a great coach, a solid recruiter, and a class guy. I don't condone dropping f'bombs in presence of women and children, but apparently that didn't happen; and frankly, I found it difficult to believe when I first heard it--very uncharacteristic for him.
I totally agree with you that Saban will be a complete bust at Alabama. He's a decent recruiter, but VERY lacking as a game time stratigist.
I can't wait to see that LSU-Alabama showdown (shame it isn't in Baton Rouge). Good luck next year, and Geaux Tigers! except for 10/6, then, as always, it's...
GO GATORS!!
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2-15-2007 @ 1:03PM
John said...
"...against all the service academies instead of, you know, Michigan and Ohio State."
Umm ... yeah ... it's not like ND doesn't play Michigan every year. And they haven't played OSU in ... how long ... thirteen months?
Given the OOC pansies that B-10 and SEC teams consistently schedule, don't you think this "service academy" garbage is a bit over-worked?
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