College football recruiting is not for the faint of heart, and coaches are often willing to say whatever it takes to land top players. For Dabo Swinney, that may entail making stuff up about when your rivals are planning to retire.
Offensive tackle Jackson Carman, the No. 1 recruit in the state of Ohio and top player at his position in the country according to Rivals, announced that he has committed to Clemson on Wednesday. His decision came down to Clemson and Ohio State, and Carman told reporters he was persuaded in part by Swinney’s claim that Urban Meyer is nearing the end of his coaching career.
“(Dabo) also kind of mentioned that Urban was on the back half of his career, which he is, and that Dabo is just starting up, you know what I mean?” Carman said, via Ari Wasserman of The Athletic. “So having a chance of being a part of something that’s upcoming and being able to establish Clemson as a top three figure, that was big.”
Carman said that wasn’t his main reason for choosing Clemson, but it obviously made an impact.
“Not hugely, but it did have an underlying factor,” he said.
Reporters later asked Swinney what he told Carman about Meyer, and the Clemson coach didn’t exactly deny that he engaged in what some call “negative recruiting.”
Dabo was asked about this by a group of reporters. Said he didn’t recall exactly what was said but definitely did not deny it. https://t.co/FlVchisc8P
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) December 20, 2017
Meyer is 53, which makes him just five years older than the 48-year-old Swinney. That isn’t a massive age gap, but even Meyer was quick to say “no” on Wednesday when reporters asked him if he will still be coaching at age 65. We all remember the infamous way in which he left Florida several years ago, so perhaps that was a factor for Carman.
In any event, Swinney has managed to pull a top Ohio recruit away from Ohio State, which is a nearly impossible task. Whether you agree with his recruiting method or not, the higher-ups at Clemson must love it.
