OSU AD quashes any thought of out-of-state spring practices
Oh, the retort from Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh to Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith should be good.
Smith was asked Tuesday about the Buckeyes possibly emulating Michigan's out-of-state spring practices. And he quoted Allen Iverson in his response as well as possibly delivered a shot across Michigan's bow.
"We're talking about spring practice. What's my man's name? Allen Iverson? We're talking about practice, man," Smith said. "So the reality is I wouldn't do that, I wouldn't support taking that time away from our student-athletes.
"Is it creative? Does it help from a recruiting and marketing point of view? I get that," Smith said. "If we were jumpstarting our program I'd probably try and do that, too. But we're not jumpstarting our program. We're in a different place."
Hot fire about the team up north. Though the jumpstart part is partially true, right? The hiring of Harbaugh has not only helped Michigan from a competitive standpoint but it's made the Wolverines a nationally-known program again. Michigan didn't fall off the college football map under Brady Hoke, but it's certainly much-more discussed with the former San Francisco 49ers coach.
[Check out Dr. Saturday on Tumblr for entertaining things you won’t see on the blog]
And if Michigan wants to complain about Smith's comment that the Buckeyes are in a different place, well he can just say "scoreboard." Ohio State beat Michigan 42-13 in 2015.
Smith's comments mean we can quash the possibility of Ohio State emulating Michigan. OSU coach Urban Meyer left the door open (even just slightly) when he was asked if Ohio State would look into having spring practices outside Ohio.
If Harbaugh has a reply to Smith's comment, we expect it to come via a tweet. After all, Harbaugh has engaged the SEC about his spring practices on the platform and even called out Tennessee coach Butch Jones. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has voiced his disapproval with Harbaugh's Florida practices on the same time-demands grounds as Smith.
[Visit Dr. Saturday on Facebook for stories you might have missed and chat with the writers]
- - - - - - -
Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
