Tommy Tuberville snubs Cincinnati recruit, says father

Tommy Tuberville has made a habit of miffing players who committed to Cincinnati while Butch Jones was coach, causing at least three players to rescind their commitments from the Bearcats.

First, there was Kyle Kempt, an Ohio quarterback who had planned on sticking with Cincinnati instead of following Jones to Tennessee, where he had also been recruited. But Tuberville began offering other quarterbacks in his class, causing the quarterback to change his mind and his coach to ban Cincinnati coaches from his high school.

Now, there’s two more: defensive back Demetrius Monday said Tuberville’s coaching staff never contacted him in the month since the coach left Texas Tech to take the Cincinnati job. When Monday’s family reached out to the program this week, the team told him the high school senior should “look other places,” causing him to decommit Thursday. His father spoke to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

”The thing is, we’ve talked to some other kids committed to Cincinnati. They say the same thing, that they haven’t heard from the staff. Basically (Tuberville) isn’t calling anybody, he’s trying to get the kids to de-commit on their own.

“It’s a bad situation.”

Jaleel Canty, also a defensive back, had a similar story, requesting a conversation with the coach Thursday but being told he was busy and that the school didn’t want him anymore.

It’s not clear whether Tuberville plans to keep any of the players who made their commitment under Jones. Tuberville has brought in seven players since coming to Cincinnati, but there are still nine players recruited by Jones who have yet to decommit.

Seven players is not a full class, and there’s only a few weeks before signing day. It would seem Tuberville shouldn’t burn bridges with his remaining recruits, but there’s no indication he’s been on good terms with anybody since coming to the Bearcats.