Ohio State Buckeyes

Ohio State Football: Wisconsin Coach Adds Fuel to the Fire

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Bad move for a Wisconsin assistant, good for Ohio State?

Wisconsin assistant coach John Settle has added fuel to the fire of Saturday’s match-up between Ohio State and Wisconsin. As if the rivalry needed any kindling.

Settle is the running backs coach for the Badgers. He didn’t exactly have nice things to say about Ohio State’s freshman running back Antonio Williams who was a Wisconsin commit last year until shortly after his official visit to the school. You will soon see why he decommitted and chose to play for the Buckeyes.

I came across the story in an article by Land Grant Holy Land and here are the quotes by Settle as reported by Wisconsin247.com.

“There’s a reason he’s not here,” running backs coach John Settle said. “We talk about smart, tough dependable. If a guy doesn’t fit that criteria, he wouldn’t do well in this environment.”

“We didn’t chase him,” Settle said. “After he made some comments about one of our family members, I think it was a forgone conclusion that he was welcome to go look at other places.

“The players didn’t want him here.”

Settle was referring to a tweet that Williams sent, and then deleted, following a Wisconsin 10-6 loss to Iowa last season. It was an ill advised tweet to say the least if he intended on playing running back for the Badgers.

“We will not be elite until Stave leaves.”

Quarterback Joel Stave threw two interceptions in the game and that spurred Williams to share his opinion on twitter. Evidently the Wisconsin coaching staff was unaware of the tweet initially but running back Corey Clement came accross it while rehabbing from an injury.

That didn’t sit well with the Badgers team as a whole and Settle in particular. The coach didn’t stop with his initial comments on the situation either. Check out these quotes.

“It speaks volumes,” Settle explained. “There’s a culture and an environment here that the players have created. You don’t go out in public and try and criticize a family member. If something happens, you do it in house, especially when you’re not even a part of the family yet.

“That’s recruiting. That’s dealing with some guys who are immature, teenagers,” said Settle. “A commitment by some guys is not totally a commitment. We go until they sign the papers. We go in with a list of guys we’re going to recruit and recruit those guys until the end.”

“I’m proud of Corey for stepping up. The other plays backed him. I think things happen for a reason.”

The motivational aspects in this week’s game between Ohio State and Wisconsin game didn’t need heated up at all, but coach Settle definitely added a log to the fire. Both teams are ranked in the Top 10 in the nation and have a chance of playing in the College football Playoffs. Each team also has suffered a humiliating defeat by the other in recent years.

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In 2010 the Buckeyes went into Madison ranked #1 in the country and came out with their only loss of the season. It cost Ohio State a chance of playing for the National Championship.

Everyone remembers the 59-0 beatdown the Buckeyes gave the Badgers in the 2014 Big Ten championship game. The revenge factor and the motivation appeared to be on the side of Wisconsin until coach Settle shared his comments.

Why would a running backs coach want to run off at the mouth as his team prepares to play one of the best teams in the nation? It doesn’t make any sense to give the master motivator Urban Meyer more ammunition to get his Ohio State Buckeyes ready to play in an important game like this.

You can make a case that coach Settle made valid points with his comments, but why couldn’t he have saved them for one more week? And now he has criticized a member of the Ohio State family. How does he think the Buckeyes will take to that?

Also, the coach is not an immature teenager. He is just acting like one.

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