http://www.greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080827/SPORTS0101/80826071/1025Clemson University's Koenning regrets joke about Alabama recruiting
By Ed McGranahan • STAFF WRITER • August 27, 2008
CLEMSON -- Vic Koenning swallowed the foot on Tuesday, apologizing for remarks he insisted were not meant to be taken seriously.
Koenning, in his fourth season as Clemson University’s defensive coordinator, said he was joking when he suggested two highly recruited freshmen at the University of Alabama were driving luxury suburban vehicles.
“I thought that was pretty clear,” said Koenning, who came to Clemson after two seasons as defensive coordinator at Troy State in Alabama. “I guess I made the mistake in cutting a joke.
Being around Troy, he knew exactly what he was doing taking a jab at UAT recruiting tactics, A+ for him“I shouldn’t have been kidding around.”
During a 10-minute session with reports after practice Monday, Koenning was asked if he had heard from friends in Alabama. Koenning owns a house on the state’s coast.
“Man, yeah. I’ve had five or six people to watch practices down there and call me and tell me what they’re doing,” he said, drawing a laugh from reporters. Koenning was then asked about freshman receiver Julio Jones.
“Julio? You know what, I actually ran into Julio in spring recruiting. I said hello to him. I said, ‘Well, I guess I’ll be seeing you at the end of August.’ And then he got out and got in his (Cadillac) Escalade and drove off.”
“Seriously?” a reporter asked.
“That’s serious. And then I went over and watched Burton Scott at Vigor High School at the track over there, and Burton Scott was running around. He went and got in his Escalade out at track practice and drove off. So I’m familiar with those two guys.“
During a second conversation roughly 20 minutes later, he expressed surprise that anybody would take him seriously given the context. He said today that he tried to contact each reporter, but several news outlets ran the remarks.
“I would never throw anybody under the bus like that. And I thought I was so off the way and tongue-in-cheek,” he said. “I even went back to make sure that those around knew I was joking because I didn’t want it to be misconstrued. And I thought I was pretty clear on that.”
Koenning said he received a phone call from one of the player’s high school coaches.
“I felt bad for the young men,” he said. “It was my fault and my misjudgment for joking around.”
Questioned by an Alabama newspaper reporter today, Tigers coach Tommy Bowden said during his pregame media session that he discussed the topic with Koenning.
Known for occasionally creating a stir with an off-the-cuff remark, Bowden said he was “surprised such a big thing was made” of it.
“I have never had a problem with either school, and a guy makes an off-the-cuff comment,” Bowden said. “I know we’re really looking for things to write about and talk about on the Internet and talk shows.
“If we’d had some bad blood in the past, but here’s a school that’s had zero bad blood and recruited that state actively and that’s why I’m kind of surprised it snowballed and got the momentum it did.”
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