GMan 3,569 Report Share Posted February 7, 2008 http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar...mplate=printart Tiller steamed after losing top prospect By Jeff Rabjohns jeff.rabjohns@indystar.com February 7, 2008 A star recruit's signing-day decision to renege on an oral commitment had Purdue football coach Joe Tiller fuming Wednesday. Roy Roundtree, a nationally ranked receiver and kick returner from Ohio, signed with Michigan on the first day of the college football signing period. Roundtree committed to Purdue in May and reaffirmed his decision many times since. He signed with new Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez after a visit to Ann Arbor, Mich., last weekend. "If we had an early signing date, you wouldn't have another outfit with a guy in a wizard hat selling snake oil get a guy at the last minute, but that's what happened," Tiller said. Unlike most sports, football does not allow high school players to sign a binding national letter of intent before their senior season. Tiller has been among the growing number of coaches campaigning for an early signing date. Roundtree, rated as a four-star recruit on a five-star scale, is described as having breakaway speed. The 6-1, 155-pound receiver played for Ohio power Trotwood-Madison. "The problem when you lose a recruit at this late date is it's really impossible to bounce back and recover," Tiller said. "You have to wait a full year to recover. Given the position, etc., that could be detrimental. "On the other side of the coin, maybe the guy did you a favor. It makes you wonder about the guy, the people surrounding him, the people in that building who would let that happen. I can say this: We won't go back in that building again and we won't be the only institution not to." One of Roundtree's teammates, Michael Shaw, backed out of a commitment to Penn State and signed with Michigan. Several recruiting experts listed those switches among the biggest surprises Wednesday. Roundtree is the second recruit Purdue lost. Louisiana four-star defensive back Jerico Nelson committed to Purdue on Jan. 22, then switched to Arkansas last weekend. Tiller said losing Nelson, whom the Boilermakers had been recruiting for a short time, was much different than the two years they spent on Roundtree. Purdue signed Carmel tight end Jordan Brewer, though he said several schools, including Indiana, Ball State and Illinois, continued to show interest. "The Boilers stuck with me even though my junior year I wasn't really that good," he said. "Then my senior year I went to all kinds of camps and got better. They stuck with me through the hard times and the good times." Tiller, heading into his final season at Purdue, said he's concerned about a loss of integrity among Big Ten coaches. "There has been an unspoken rule that if a guy commits and you've been recruiting him hard, you always call them up and say, 'Are you sure about this?' If he says yes, you back off. "We had a basketball issue where that wasn't true. We have a football issue where that isn't true, so maybe that's changing." North Central's Eric Gordon committed to Illinois for basketball and maintained for months he would honor it before signing with Indiana. Last February, Notre Dame football coach Charlie Weis lost several oral commitments on signing day and blasted the poaching of other schools' recruits. "We're not the only school it's happened to," Tiller said, "but whatever issues are out there are solvable if we address them in an adult type manner." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandman 13 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 What's a little poaching bewteen friends? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hacker 82 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 [ QUOTE ] What's a little poaching bewteen friends? [/ QUOTE ] So long as they aren't poaching your wife, girlfriend or car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMan 3,569 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] What's a little poaching bewteen friends? [/ QUOTE ] So long as they aren't poaching your wife, girlfriend or car. [/ QUOTE ] Actually Sandman may not mind that either...LOL... Sandy...when are we going to knock the dried mud off the golf clubs??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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