Progrums

Vols’ Million-Dollar Play Leaves Buckeyes in the Dust

Five-star running back David Gabriel Georges, a 6-ft-10, 210-lb standout from Baylor High School in Tennessee, opted for the Volunteers over Ohio State after Tennessee dangled a three-year, roughly $2 million-per-year deal complete with family travel perks. Reports from On3’s Hayes Fawcett reveal that the SEC program treated Georges like a VIP, offering the kind of compensation that redefines “amateur” in college football. Despite Ohio State’s late push, social media backlash ensued when Georges chose to stay in-state. In a gracious statement, Georges asked fans to respect his decision, thanked his supporters, and expressed excitement about his future with the Vols, leaving Ohio State to regroup its recruiting class.

In a move that truly embodies “business as usual” in the SEC, Tennessee essentially wrote a new playbook on how to lure recruits: just throw cold, hard cash at them—and their families! Meanwhile, Ohio State, still operating under quaint concepts like “school pride” and “tradition,” can only wonder when paying student-athletes was outlawed by amateurism or if it just disappeared somewhere between “Go Bucks!” and “Go Vols!” As for Georges, he’s off to chase his dreams—and probably a private jet—while Buckeye fans scramble for Plan B, which apparently involves old notions like “winning” and “clever recruiting.”