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Michigan recruit Logan Tuley-Tillman is unapologetic about a picture he posted on Twitter of himself burning a recruiting letter from Ohio State, even in the face of a barrage of obscene online taunts from Buckeyes fans.
"It made my mom upset, but I just told her it's empty thoughts," 2013 commit Tuley-Tillman told WolverineNation. "It's the biggest rivalry in sports. It's sad that grown men and women get like this over a picture. I say women because there have been a few adult female Ohio State fans sending bad stuff, too. God bless them, though."
There are always fumes in the air around this rivalry, and the prized offensive tackle from Peoria, Ill., literally took a match to them, not fully expecting this kind of reaction.
"Everyone was saying that Mike McCray and I were going to flip to Ohio," Tuley-Tillman said in reference to himself and fellow Michigan commit McCray, a linebacker from Trotwood, Ohio. "My mom showed me the letter, and it was more of a personal thing [to burn it]. I didn't think it would get this much attention."
The picture was accompanied by hashtags that said "GoBlue" and "BeatOhio," which is how Brady Hoke refers to Michigan's chief rival. It has since been picked up throughout the athletic program.
Ohio State defensive tackle commit Tracy Sprinkle (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria), tweeted, "Michigan commits talk a good game. I'd rather show out on the field. #fueltomyfire." "
OSU defensive back commit Cam Burrows, a teammate of McCray's at Trotwood-Madison, said he does his talking on the field.
While some of the commitments are using it as motivation, others are taking it more personally. Buckeyes commit Jalin Marshall (Middletown, Ohio/Middletown) believes there is more to the tweet under the surface.
"It shows to me that they are either jealous or have that much disrespect for Ohio State," he said. "He doesn't need to get death threats for it, but if he doesn't want something like this happening then he shouldn't have done it."
Marshall said that he can't wait to step on the field against Michigan, and that he'll remember this when the teams collide.
This isn't the first time a recruiting letter has been set afire, either. In fact, current Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner tweeted a picture similar to Tuley-Tillman's during his recruitment.
Source: AP