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Greg Mattison tells 4-star OL he’ll get developed ’10 times better’ at Ohio State than Michigan, other schools
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The nature of recruiting can be a pretty cutthroat business sometimes. Coaches are constantly doing their best to their program over what other schools may have to offer. And for Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Mattison, if that means taking shots at your old boss, it’s what you have to do.
In an interview with 247Sports, four-star offensive lineman J.C. Latham (2021) talked about a conversation he had with Mattison, who used to be the defensive line coach at Michigan. He was Latham’s primary recruiter while at Michigan, but has kept in touch with the talented prospect since arriving in Columbus.
And in his pitch to Latham to come to Ohio State, he took a few mild shots at the Wolverines.
“When I first went to Ohio State back in the spring time for practice, [Coach Mattison] was the first guy I talked to because I knew him right off the bat,” Latham told 247Sports. “He was telling me how different Ohio State’s program was and how their facilities, practices, culture, all that was a lot better at Ohio State than Michigan. He was really telling me at their school, it’s a business and they ran it strict to a T. He was telling me, ‘if you’re here, I can see you getting developed ten times better than I could see at any other school.’ So he was kind of really just breaking the ice with me when I first visited.”
Right now, Latham is still considering both Michigan and Ohio State, as well as LSU and Georgia.
Mattison had been on Michigan’s staff from 2011-2018, serving as the defensive coordinator from 2011-13 and adding linebackers coach to his title in 2014. When Jim Harbaugh arrived in 2015, Mattison was bumped to coach the defensive line and DJ Durkin was the defensive coordinator. In 2016, when Durkin was named the head coach at Maryland, Don Brown took over the duties as DC at Michigan.
Mattison left for Ohio State following the 2018 season, as he was presented the opportunity to run the defense again by Ryan Day.
Latham is listed as the No. 80 player in the 2021 recruiting class and is listed as the No. 14 offensive tackle.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB