Just days after the dismissal of head coach DJ Durkin, Dino Tomlin (a three-star prospect and son of Pittsburg Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin) surprised many by committing to Maryland during a really tumultuous time for the program.
During a recent interview with L3 Leadership, Tomlin talked a bit about what it was like going through the recruiting process as an NFL head coach while guiding his son through the recruiting process.
"One of the challenges that I see in sports these days is that your word means less," Tomlin explained.
"I think those of us that are in the sports world, and those of us that wear the moniker of 'coach' at any level, we have an opportunity to combat that with the young people we work with."
A lot of coaches will complain about this or that with today's generation, but this is different because Tomlin goes on to share a black-and-white path for coaches on how to combat that with today's youth.
"We combat that first and foremost by living out the things that we say, and making sure that we are true to our word. Then we challenge them and hold them accountable to be true to their word."
Tomlin then talks about going through the recruiting process with his son, and how we made it very clear that once he committed someplace, the recruiting process was over. Doesn't matter how attractive the next place came calling was, committing carries some serious weight.
"The word 'commitment' is thrown around in today's recruiting world where kids commit and then de-commit, and universities offer scholarships and then pull them back, and all this shuffling is really saddening to be quite honest with you."
"It's really been my mission the past year to talk about being true to your word, and particularly for those of us in athletics. It's a shame, but I'm watching athletics become a negative vehicle, and usually athletics has been such a positive vehicle for good, moral decision making and things of that nature, that's something I'm advocating for in 2019."
See the full video below.