Unlike some, Tressel thinks before speaking

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By Sean McClelland, Staff Writer 2:51 AM Thursday, May 21, 2009

Say what you will about Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel. Say that he doesn’t win the big game enough. Or that he’s too loyal to longtime assistants.

At least he doesn’t embarrass the university when he speaks. At least he doesn’t accuse rivals of recruiting violations that turn out to be false, as new Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin did to Florida counterpart Urban Meyer.

And he doesn’t, as Meyer did recently, threaten to shun former players who are now broadcasters unless everything they say is positive.

Shane Matthews once played quarterback for Florida. Now an analyst on Gators broadcasts, he had the audacity to question the offensive strategy in last season’s loss to Ole Miss.

“If you want to be critical of a player on our team or a coach on our team, you can buy a ticket for seat 37F,” Meyer snapped. “You’re not welcome back in the football office.”

Two national championships say Meyer’s a great coach, but this guy demanding loyalty from anyone is laughable, considering his history of pledging allegiance to schools (Bowling Green, Utah), then bolting at the first opportunity.

Reminds me of the time Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski took the school newspaper to task for not leading cheers for the team. Lost some respect for Coach K when that happened.

OSU fans are lucky to have Tressel, who at least thinks before he speaks and realizes the weight of his words.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2408 or smcclelland@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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