College football coaches are weird

The announcement that star high school linebacker Will Compton is sticking to his commitment to Nebraska (after opening up his recruitment to Missouri and Illinois following Bill Callahan's firing) is a couple of days old now.

The part of the story that has legs, at least on (anti) Nebraska and Missouri blogs, is the tatoo tale. One of Nebraska's coaches, Mike Ekeler (above), showed up for a home visit last Sunday with a tattoo. Of the recruit's name. On his flesh.

The Huskers' first-year linebackers coach showed up at Compton's home Sunday with a temporary tattoo on his arm. It read "Compton" in Old English lettering above a Blackshirts emblem.

"Knowing him, that's not surprising," Compton said. "When he did that, it put a big smile on my face."

Anyone who even casually follows recruiting knows that the only thing that matters is landing the recruit. There's no shame in this game, even when the recruitment technique mirrors the courtship rituals of junior high boys and girls. And besides Ekeler's boss, Coach Bo Pelini, has already set the humiliation bar pretty darn high.

And in the end the stunt did the trick. Says Will's dad Bill, "It wasn't salesmanship type of thing that you sometimes see," the elder Compton said. "This was genuine."

Nothing more genuine than a fake tattoo on a coach's arm. But hey, kudos to Ekeler for securing the commit. All's fair in love, war, and college football recruiting.

Omaha World-Herald: Compton reaffirms pledge to Huskers