Article from South Bend paper on Urban Meyer.

[NWLB]

Article from South Bend paper on Urban Meyer. To which I ask: which one of our players was it?

Meyer carries a love for ND
By TEDDY GREENSTEIN
Chicago Tribune


SALT LAKE CITY -- Urban Meyer remembers the scene so vividly he even can recall the date: Jan. 18, 2000.

Meyer, then Notre Dame's receivers coach, was at South Bend Regional Airport to meet a blue-chip recruit from Jacksonville, Fla., named Gus Scott.

"He was going to commit to us," Meyer says. "Then he got off the plane and that wind was blowing and he looked at me like I had six heads.

"Obviously he went to Florida."

Scott went on to have a solid career as a safety at Florida and was the New England Patriots' third-round pick in the 2004 draft.

Despite such memories, Meyer has great affection for Notre Dame and its place in the college football landscape.

"It's the purest form of college athletics and it always will be," he said.

Meyer said that while other schools cater to recruits -- bragging about dorm rooms with couches and big-screen TVs -- Notre Dame keeps it simple by stressing football and top-notch academics.

"And that's why those kids are so successful after football," he says. "If you want to see what college athletics are for, go fly into South Bend.

"But because of the immediacy of winning, it has probably hurt Notre Dame a little bit. The great skilled athletes, I recruited them for four, five years. Everybody says you just select (recruits), but you have to work harder at recruiting at Notre Dame than anywhere else."

Part of the reason is geography.

"You have to go to Florida and beat Florida and Florida State, go to Texas and beat Texas and Texas A&M," Meyer says. "Everybody has their home base, but Indiana is not strong enough. You can't sign 20 kids out of Indiana. Maybe you sign one."

Lou Holtz hired Meyer in 1996 and the two remain very close. Meyer calls former Irish coach Bob Davie "one of my best friends."

But it's Holtz who still intimidates him.

"When he calls me, I get a little sweat bead on my forehead," Meyer says. "We talk at least every other week."

The two will discuss plays from each other's games or the best way to handle problems. Meyer also likes to thumb through Holtz's 400-page coaching manual from South Carolina.

"I had a kid test positive for marijuana at Bowling Green," Meyer says. "I was so mad. ... Lou was the first person I called. He's a great mentor."

[orangeandbrown]

Ann Arbor is hot with rumors about Carr retiring and Meyer hiring in to the Big House.

[Falconfreak90]

Possibly a former TE? I have an idea but I don't think its appropriate to guess...especially if I'm incorrect (which happens all the time).

[hammb]

Possibly a former TE? I have an idea but I don't think its appropriate to guess...especially if I'm incorrect (which happens all the time).

He'd be my first guess too Freak.

Know the guy personally; he was a real go-getter.

[Dayons_Den]

"but you have to work harder at recruiting at Notre Dame than anywhere else."

wtf urbie? ? ?

[BGSUfanatUT]

great, theres this whole nice article about Um and ND and the heartwarming story....

..."oh yeah, bowlign green has pot heads"

wtf urban? I realize he was makign a point there, but c'mon, it a was needless shot. This bothered me as you can tell.

[kdog27]

I got the same impression. Nothing else about BG. We wouldn't be where we are without him but you could also say he wouldn't be where he is without us. Prick.

[orangeandbrown]

I think the former TE left under the current regime.

[NWLB]

I'd bet there was more to the comment than what wound up in print. I would have been nice if he had avoided using that specific example. He makes comments, no exactly like that, but similar to it in the past.

Not came of the comments, they were mostly just rough around the edges, leaving things you could hook other things onto and make a stink. But the media loved him then and now, so typically they don't.

[Schadenfreude]

Pot happens.

We shouldn't take that comment personally.

[hammb]

Pot happens.

We shouldn't take that comment personally.

I certainly don't.

If you started condemning all the players that smoked weed there would probably be about half as many division 1A football teams...and possibly only 20 Division 1 Basketball teams.

WHO CARES? I know it's illegal, and we all have our own opinions on that, but so long as it isn't affecting their play on the field or work in the classroom I couldn't care less.

[Mr. Frieda]

Besides...I dont event want to hear about the "characters" that he coaches at Utah. That state is not exactly full of normal people. I jsut got done watching fox news where they talked about polygamists trying to form their own compounds and crap. I think those folks in Utah are a little too secluded from society and normalcy. I'll take a pot head getting tossed from BG any day.

[kdog27]

Have you ever been to Utah. It actually has some really nice towns, nice people great skiing, great recreation and it's beautiful. As for the polygamy it goes on, no doubt but it's not like the whole state is married to each other. ...As for the pot thing. If you are given a full ride through college it is not too much to ask to give up weed!

[Flipper]

Utah is ok. Their liquor laws are a little wacky, but the people are really nice.

I think that TE left about the same time Urbie did or a little afterwards. If that's da mon you guys are talking about...