Nebraska coach Bo Pelini's thinly veiled attack on Ole Miss' recruitment of Damore'ea Stringfellow drew the ire of Rebels coach Hugh Freeze in his first news conference of the preseason Friday, and Freeze held nothing back.
Stringfellow initially planned to transfer from Washington to Nebraska, and had signed non-binding papers with the Cornhuskers, but eventually landed at Ole Miss. Pelini didn't openly question Ole Miss' recruiting tactics, but certainly raised a question about them with his remarks.
"Read between the lines," Pelini said. "I think we all know what happened in that situation."
Pelini also went so far as to criticize a parent of Stringfellow, which turned out to be his mother, based on Freeze's remarks:
Pelini definitely could have done a better job of addressing this situation if he believes Stringfellow's recruitment was dirty. He could have filed a formal complaint with the NCAA without commenting at all publicly, or he could have gone fully public with an allegation, including the detail and specifics necessary for a credible public perception.
But by tossing out only a hint of impropriety at another school and nothing more, Pelini drew exactly the response from Freeze he deserved. And the fact that he didn't respond directly to Freeze doesn't suggest the Cornhuskers coach has much in the way of direct evidence of a recruiting violation.
In other words, Pelini has once again checked to make sure his foot can still fit in his mouth.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
