Thanks to new college hierarchy, Mike Weber, OSU dispute may soon be a thing of the past
By Joel Greer
The controversy surrounding Mike Weber’s signing of a Letter of Intent with Ohio State may soon be a thing of the past.
Weber, a 4-star running back from Detroit Cass Tech, learned a day after National Signing Day (Feb. 4) that his position coach was leaving the Buckeyes for the NFL Chicago Bears. Things are now rectified between Weber and Ohio State, bit the deception should have embarrassed OSU head coach Urban Meyer.
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While the signing drama seemed unfair at the time, Weber’s signature on the LOI binds him to the school, not the coaching staff.
A victim?
Was Weber a victim of the current NCAA’s LOI system that would force him sit out the 2015 season (and lose a year of eligibility), even though he was never told the coach was leaving?
Whether he was deceived by Ohio State or not, Urban Meyer could have released Weber from his scholarship, and the former Cass Tech star could have remained a Buckeye or choose another school.
Things are beginning to change, however, for much of college football. Last summer, the Power Five Conferences—ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, SEC and Pac-12) plus Notre Dame and BYU—were given autonomy by the NCAA to create many of their own rules.
Most recently implemented, reports Mitch Sherman of ESPN, were the four-year virtually guaranteed scholarships, cost-of-attendance payments (cash allowances beyond the basic scholarship) and provisions for better health care.
Strong Lobby
Much of the lobbying for these changes have been pushed forward by the College Football Players Association— the association which former Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter helped unionize last year.
Colter had the backing of the United Steel Workers Union and was given the ok to move forward by the National Labor Relations Board.
Also helping the players’ needs are the Power Conferences themselves. While each of the 65 member schools get a vote, another 15 are reserved for player representatives.
Ethics questionable
Weber isn’t the only player who felt betrayed. Du’Vonta Lampkin, a new member of the Texas Longhorns 2015 class, was expected to play for defensive line coach Chris Rumph. Like Weber’s situation, Rumph had a new job at Florida two days after NSD.
Unethical behavior is not limited to recruits and assistant coaches.
Call it flipping, poaching, or just plain stealing, coaches will recruit and sign prospects who were committed to other teams. Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh flipped six players in the current class, but coaches are adults not 17-year-old impressionable kids.
Representatives of the Power Five Conferences seem much more interested in the players’ well being than the stodgy NCAA. After all, players have been asking for a small monthly stipend for 50 years and it took the Power Five less than a year to get it done.
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