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Well, this is certainly something. According to the Dallas Morning News, Mike Leach and the Washington State Cougars are no longer welcome to recruit players from DeSoto HS in DeSoto, TX.
"You just don’t do a kid like that," Mathis said. "Washington State isn’t welcome at DeSoto any longer."
This is a tough pill to swallow, as WSU doesn't need negative press of any kind. The fact that this happened doesn't make Leach some sort of monster. We aren't paying a coach over 2 million to make sure everyone's feelings aren't hurt. It sucks that he had to yank an offer, but if the goal is to get better by getting the best available players, and Leach thought he could land a better player, why the hell wouldn't he do this?
I've already heard people saying This Coach and That Coach wouldn't have done this to a kid, but that's just silly. I feel bad for Turner, but I'm not going to damn Mike Leach for attempting to make the Cougars better. If Turner has spurned other offers like his coach said, then he should still be able to land at an FBS school. Talent always wins out, and even though we're in the home stretch recruiting wise, many schools still have slots open.
This happened, and it's unfortunate that it did, but it's a part of the game. Keeping a kid on scholarship just to be nice wouldn't have done anyone any good. If we want to be looked at as anything other than a laughing stock, we'll have to make tough decisions like this.