All’s fair in love and war, but recruiting? C’mon, man.
USC coach calls Tennessee commit Jalen Hurd ‘so soft and terrible’
#Crootin
In a video originally posted to the official Instagram account of USC athletics (since preserved in perpetuity by an anonymous YouTube hero), the voice of what sounds to be Southern Cal wide receivers coach (and ace recruiter) Tee Martin calls Tennessee pledge Jalen Hurd “so soft and terrible”:
While it’s unclear whether or not the voice is actually that of Martin, to add to the plot, Martin rebuffed overtures to return to the Vols (whom he led to the 1998 national championship at quarterback) last offseason. Further, SC’s previous head coach, Lane Kiffin, had left Tennessee to move out west, seemingly in the middle of the night, after just one season in Knoxville.
The purpose of the video would seem to be an effort to hype up the signing of cornerback Lamont Simmons. Simmons was a three-star in the 247Sports Composite rankings from Jacksonville, Fla. and one of 19 in new SC head coach Steve Sarkisian’s first class with the Trojans.
On paper, there’s no real connection from Hurd – the Composite four-star out of Hendersonville, Tenn. was an early enrollee with UT and didn’t have an offer from the Trojans – to Simmons, which seems to make the sound bite but an internet-happy coincidence. Either way, USC took to damage control this afternoon, deleting the video and tweeting this apology:
USC Athletics apologizes for an inappropriate comment overheard on a video created on National Signing Day. The video has been deleted.
— USC Trojans (@USC_Athletics) February 17, 2014 See More:
