The \u2018Game\u2019 will not just carry those centuries-long stakes for former OSU head coach Urban Meyer now. It would also be a battle between two of his former pupils. It feels almost like the choice old Obi-Wan Kenobi had to make between Luke and Anakin. For Meyer, supporting Michigan might be no less than supporting the Sith. And yet, the dark side tests his loyalties, courtesy of his old Utah Padawan, whom he even helped land in Michigan.<\/p>\n
The Rose Bowl against Washington in 2018 was Meyer\u2019s last game for Ohio State. In an unofficial ceremony after the game, the former head coach placed a whistle around Ryan Day\u2019s neck in the locker room, announcing him as his successor. But many OSU fans might not know that he did a similar ceremony for now-Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham at Utah in 2004. That two-decade-old bond has Meyer confused about his \u2018hate\u2019 for the team up north.<\/p>\n
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\u201cLet\u2019s say there was a college football draft and Ohio State is up. Urban Meyer is out to do the pick, and the draft is being held in Ann Arbor, Michigan,\u201d Rob Stone asked Meyer on the Triple Option podcast. Meyer quickly displayed his \u2018hate\u2019 for Michigan in the hypothetical scenario. \u201cI\u2019d bring my kid up like Mark [Ingram] did and say the Wolverine still s\u2013k.\u201d However, the former OSU HC immediately remembered his long-time \u201cfriend\u201d is now UM\u2019s head coach.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t. You know. I can\u2019t. Can I still say that with Kyle Whittingham there?\u201d a confused Meyer asked his co-hosts Mark Ingram<\/a> and Rob Stone. Both Rob Stone and Mark Ingram assured Meyer that he can still say that for Michigan, since he is \u201ccontractually obligated\u201d to say it. But it still shows Meyer\u2019s love for his former assistant and the bond they share.<\/p>\n Before winning two national championships with Florida, Meyer was the head coach at Utah from 2003 to 2004, where he compiled an impressive 22-2 record. Like many coincidences in his life, Kyle Whittingham was Utah\u2019s DC under Meyer after the former OSU head coach retained him from the previous staff. Two years might not look like much, but for Whittingham, it was the turning point in his coaching trajectory.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think I would be where I am today if I had not had that opportunity to work for Coach Meyer for those two years,\u201d Whittingham said about his former boss. \u201cAnd as I said, I found out right away that I wasn\u2019t ready for the job when I thought I was. But two years later, I learned so much from him that I felt very comfortable taking over. And that\u2019s how it laid out.\u201d<\/p>\n Because of the principles Meyer brought to Utah and the 10 years\u2019 worth of experience Whittingham had as an assistant, he finally became the team\u2019s head coach in 2005. But before Meyer departed for newer pastures, the duo kindled a lasting bond and a mutual respect that gradually turned into a \u201cclose friendship.\u201d So much so that when Whittingham was pondering joining Michigan<\/a>, he turned to the very man who terrorized UM for the better part of a decade.<\/p>\n Urban Meyer opens up on Whittingham reaching out to him for his UM decision<\/p>\n OSU head coach Ryan Day has a crystal-clear memory of being garlanded with the whistle that Urban Meyer once strutted around his neck. He calls it a \u201cvery memorable experience\u201d and relishes it to this day. The same happened for Kyle Whittingham, who said that he \u201chad the same whistle ceremony\u201d and still calls it a \u201cgreat experience.\u201d Most importantly, Whittingham took his friendship with Meyer to another level, and Meyer proved<\/a> to be a true friend.<\/a><\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a Buckeye, so my first thought was, \u2018What?’\u201d Meyer said when Kyle Whittingham asked for his advice regarding his Michigan move. \u201cHe\u2019s my friend. Kyle and I are really close, but it didn\u2019t take long for me to put two and two together. Not only did I tell him that I think it was a great move, but it was exactly what that school in Ann Arbor needed. They fell into the perfect guy. So when Kyle told me that, I said, \u2018Kyle, it\u2019s a no-brainer. You could win a national title there.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just about being Meyer\u2019s former assistant now. Whittingham is now the head coach, whom Urban Meyer helped become the head coach in Ann Arbor. Rooting against him would undoubtedly be hard, and it won\u2019t be a surprise if we catch a sly smile on Meyer\u2019s face after a dominant Michigan play. But at the end of the day, those seven years with Ohio State will probably reign supreme, and that UM \u2018hate\u2019 should overpower that old \u2018Padawan\u2019 connection.<\/p>\n The post Urban Meyer Questions Continuing OSU Tradition After Kyle Whittingham Joins Michigan: \u201cCan I Still..\u201d<\/a> appeared first on EssentiallySports<\/a>. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n Trending Articles<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The \u2018Game\u2019 will not just carry those centuries-long stakes for former OSU head coach Urban Meyer now. 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