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Lee Corso recalls recruiting advice from Ohio State legend Woody Hayes while at Indiana

Grant Bricker

By Grant Bricker

Published:

Lee Corso has been around college football for quite some time and always has great stories to tell.

Ahead of College GameDay’s latest show in Columbus he talked about what it was like coaching at Indiana (1972-1983) and recruiting at that time. Buckeye legend Woody Hayes apparently gave the old ball coach some pointers at his favorite restaurant in Columbus, the Jai Lai.

Corso recalled that Hayes shared a list of all the players that Ohio State and Michigan were going to go after. Hayes supposedly told Corso to not worry about them and focus on recruits that the other teams were interested in.

“He said, ‘Now here’s the list that Ohio State and Michigan are gonna take. So you forget those. Go after the others.’ Then he said, ‘You want to be in the B1G?’ I said yessir. He said, ‘Don’t worry about beating me and Michigan, beat the other sumbitches and you’ll stay in the league.’ He was right! I lasted ten years in the B1G because of Woody’s recommendation.”

It’s always great to hear some of Corso’s stories about his time as a head coach. It’s no wonder that he lasted as long as he did in the conference.

Grant Bricker

Grant Bricker covers the B1G for Saturday Tradition. His previous stops include the Williamson Homepage and Nashville Post.