It’s a dirty business, and Rick Neuheisel apparently doesn’t like the way the game is played.
Offensive lineman Albert Toeaina joined his cousin, fullback Matt Toeaina, Thursday as the newest member of the Oregon football team. Toeaina, the lineman, is the second recruit to join the Ducks after verbally committing to Neuheisel, the Washington head coach.
“There’s a war going on in the Northwest,” Neuheisel told The Seattle Post-Intelligencer on Wednesday. “I’m up for the fight — let’s go.”
Albert Toeaina, one of the top offensive line prospects in the country, opted for the Ducks over Washington and Oregon State. Chris Solomona, one of the top junior college defensive lineman, also signed with the Ducks after committing to Washington out of high school two years ago.
“I’m not whining,” Neuheisel said. “I just want to know the rules. I’m anxious to play.”
Two years ago, Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti was one of several Pacific-10 Conference coaches to file a compliant against Washington’s recruiting methods.
Announcing Washington’s signings at a press conference Wednesday, Neuheisel fumed about Oregon’s aggressive strategy in recruiting players who had reportedly already committed to the Huskies.
“A couple of schools didn’t start recruiting until they saw our list,” Neuheisel said, referring to Oregon and UCLA.
Breaking verbal commitments is not a rarity for recruits, though. In fact, Washington signed two recruits Wednesday who had made pacts elsewhere.
“Certainly some notable people have flip-flopped a lot or committed to several different schools,” Bellotti said Wednesday. “It’s the nature of the beast. It’s 17-year-old young men who have to step back sometimes or talk with people they trust more. They’re are somewhat impressionable at that time, and every place they’ve been looks like the best place at that point.”
Not all of the Pac-10 coaches agreed with Neuheisel.
“The one thing I am surprised about is more kids didn’t change their minds after the early commitments,” Washington State head coach Mike Price said. ” Recruiting is always competitive, but from the schools in our conference, I can’t remember a negative recruiting instance. We don’t cheat, we don’t lie and we don’t bad-mouth each other in the Pac-10.”
Neuheisel was also “especially peeved,” according to one report, about a video that was played during the Civil War game on Dec. 1. The video showed a frame of Neuheisel followed by a clip of a person vomiting.
“They showed it six times during the Oregon-Oregon State game, with a variety of recruits there,” Neuheisel said. “Guys told me, ‘They were bashing you!’”
Oregon Athletic Director Bill Moos told The Seattle Times that the video was a “tremendous concern” and that he apologized to Washington Athletic Director Barbara Hedges.