Well, that’s one way to lose a recruit
Four-star high school football recruit Bruce Judson decommitted from Ohio State in October, but the reason he changed his mind about the Buckeyes is a bit unusual.
According to Sporting News, Judson claims he started losing contact with Buckeyes Coach Urban Meyer as soon as he gave his oral commitment. And the lack of inclusion got so bad that Meyer didn’t recognize Judson when they passed on campus, Judson said, leading to his decommitment.
“Long story short, I was walking in the hallway about to go to the indoor field and work out,” Judson said, via SEC Country. “He [Meyer] was like, ‘Hey.’ I looked around. ‘Come here.’ He was like, ‘How you doing, you like your visit?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ Then he’s like, ‘What up Richard LeCounte? Are you showing this guy [Judson] around?’
“I was like, ‘Coach, I’m showing him around.’ He asked me, ‘Who are you?’ I told him Bruce. He said, ‘Oh, Bruce Judson from Florida. The speedy guy.’ I was like, ‘Yeah.’ He said, ‘I’m glad that you’re on board and glad you got up here.’ After that, I knew I was decommitting.”
LeCounte, who is now committed to Georgia, backed Judson’s story, but mentioned he thought Meyer was making a joke because Judson was wearing Michigan colors.
Judson said he didn’t think it was funny.
“We had met face-to-face before at a satellite camp,” said Judson, who will be in the 2017 recruiting class, “so he should have known who I was, especially with me being a commit.”
Judson, a 5-9, 202-pound “athlete” prospect, has numerous offers still on the table, led by Alabama, Auburn, Florida and Florida State.
Gin and ‘Juice’
According to TMZ.com, Snoop Dogg says he’s down to do a hip-hop record with Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell, who dropped a mixtape during the offseason under the moniker “Juice,” a nickname he was given last season by Coach Mike Tomlin, referring to Bell’s on-the-field resemblance to O.J. Simpson.
In April, Bell told TMZ that he’d like to collaborate with Snoop, and “Tha Doggfather” is in favor of the idea, under one condition.
“I’ll make it happen. I want to make sure his leg’s back right,” Snoop, a vocal Steelers fan, told TMZ this week. “He’s a Steeler. He gets that love. … Twenty-six, get at me, cuz, so we can make some music. Get your feet back up under you so we can get back in the playoffs and win that thing.”
Bell is recovering from reconstructive knee surgery after suffering a torn MCL in Week 8 last season.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler added one caveat: “Considering marijuana use cost Bell two games last season, he might want to make sure Snoop — a noted marijuana user — establishes a no-smoking zone in his studio for at least a few hours.”
Go Navy
According to NESN.com, Bill Belichick knew there were risks involved when the New England Patriots selected Navy long snapper Joe Cardona in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft.
Cardona was able to play for the Patriots in 2015 because he was assigned to the Naval Preparatory Academy in Newport, R.I., where he worked one day per week. He went to Norfolk, Va., for training after the 2015 season concluded and then was set to report to a ship in Bath, Maine.
According to an interview with U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus on Thursday on the Dan Patrick Show, Cardona may be out for some time.
“We have Joe Cardona, long snapper for the Patriots,” Mabus said. “He played last year for the Patriots while he was on active duty because he was able to work them both out. He’s been assigned to a ship and he’s going to report to that ship, so he may need to leave the Patriots for a year or so in order to go fulfill that role.”
Not to worry. The Patriots signed former Cleveland Browns long snapper Christian Yount before the 2016 NFL Draft.
Quote of the day
“We have more wood to chop, and we all realize
that.”
Paul Reddam owner of Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist, looking ahead to the May 21 Preakness