Ohio State Buckeyes

Urban Meyer tricked an Ohio State recruit into thinking he took the L.A. Rams job

Published Feb. 1, 2017 3:22 p.m. ET

Aaron Torres

College football’s National Signing Day is full of quirky stories involving commitments, decommitments, recommitments and everything in between. Yet when it comes to the Ohio State Buckeyes' Class of 2017, the craziest – and funniest – story might have occurred weeks before Signing Day.

One of the Buckeyes’ key signees is Baron Browning, a five-star linebacker from Kennedale, Texas, who graduated from high school early and has already enrolled. When Browning committed, he initially joked with the Ohio State staff by telling them that he was going to Alabama. Only later did he fess up that the Buckeyes were his choice.

That’s a pretty good prank, but what happened next – Urban Meyer getting his revenge – was even better. Browning told the story from Ohio State’s football facility on Wednesday (video courtesy of Cleveland.com):

“I was in class and he texted me, like ‘call me when you’re with your mom.’ And my mom is the assistant principal at my school. So I knew it was obviously something serious so I was like, ‘Mom come in your office quick.’ So he called me and she puts the phone on speaker phone. ...

"I think this was right when the Rams had fired Jeff Fisher and he’s like, ‘Hey what’s up Baron. I just wanted you to know that the L.A. Rams offered me their job and I’m going to take it.’”

A stunned Browning didn’t know how to react. Eventually, Meyer let him in on the joke. And here’s the worst part: Browning's mom was in on the gag, too!

“And I’m just sitting there looking and my mouth just dropped. I’m speechless. And I’m just sitting there, like I don’t even know what to say. I’m just speechless. And I’m just sitting there and he’s like ‘hello.’ And I’m not even saying nothing, I’m mad. I’m just listening. He’s like, ‘You there?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’m here.’ And he’s like, ‘Oh, I’m just messing with you.’ I wasn’t laughing, though. He got me back. I see how it felt.

"I was really more so mad because my mom was in on it, too. They planned it together. And I’m just like, ‘Wow, I guess I had that coming.’ And he was like, ‘That’s payback. Don’t ever do it to me again.’ So I haven’t been messing with him much after that.”