Meyer, Dantonio deny using negative recruiting against Penn State
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Ohio State coach Urban Meyer and Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio both denied that they and their coaching staffs have employed negative tactics when recruiting against Penn State, according to ESPN.
The denials come in response to Penn State coach James Franklin, who has previously discussed the difficulty of recruiting against schools that bring up possible sanctions related to the Jerry Sandusky scandal to prospects.
Most recently, Franklin told the Reading Eagle that schools like Ohio State and Michigan State, along with Notre Dame and Michigan, are not allowing his school to move on from the past.
“We’re able to tell kids they’re going to compete against the very highest level week in and week out. What makes it tricky, they’re not having to deal with some of the things we’re dealing with and working through, which magnifies it,” Franklin said about the rival schools. “Those programs as well as others know that and use that against us. We have that conversation with every single prospect. We don’t usually initiate it, but it’s coming from somewhere.”
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When asked about Franklin’s statement at Big Ten media days, Meyer said that it was the first time he had heard about the issue.
“I’ll address that with Coach Franklin if that is an issue,” Meyer said. “That’s a pretty strong allegation that I’ve not heard yet. So that’s not been presented to me until this moment. Absolutely not.
“We’ve got a great deal of respect for every school in our conference, and we do just fine with recruiting. We don’t worry about that stuff. I’m glad you told me that. If that’s true, I'll address that.”
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Dantonio could not completely deny the claims, but said that he does not engage in negative recruiting tactics.
“I know we have a lot of reporters here,” Dantonio said. “Everybody’s got a pen. But from my standpoint, I have not said anything negative about Penn State, and hopefully our coaches have not as well. So I was surprised to read that.
“I don’t know what happens out there on the road completely. But it’s not our M.O., and that’s not how we do business.”
