On Friday night, I attended a high school football game in Philadelphia to see 2015 Buckeye commit Tyler Green and 2017 target Anthony McFarland.
Green, McFarland and their DeMatha Catholic (Md.) teammates travelled up I-95 to play La Salle (Pa.) in the "Brothers Forever Classic." The game's name comes from two former players, one from each school, who became best friends at the U.S. Naval Academy. They went through battle together and each was killed in the line of duty. Today, they are buried next to each other in Arlington Cemetery, with this game serving as a reminder of their friendship.
Although DeMatha ultimately lost the game 41-39, they made a strong comeback, scoring the last 19 points of the game. Green and McFarland played major roles in the comeback.
Tyler Green, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound safety, has a reputation that precedes him. Green spent most of the game at nickelback, and La Salle avoided throwing at his side of the field. He recovered an onside kick, and his positive attitude buoyed the team even when they were down by three scores.
I also went to the game to see Anthony McFarland, a 2017 running back prospect and Ohio State target. McFarland might have been even more impressive; he blazed past La Salle's defense for 300 yards and three touchdowns, essentially being the only reason DeMatha's offense was in the game before the comeback.
During the game, I was able to chat with Green's mother for a good two hours about everything under the sun. The conversation drifted to why Tyler committed to Ohio State and the answer was simple: Urban Meyer.
"Tyler was always a Florida fan growing up because of Urban Meyer," she told Eleven Warriors. "When [Meyer] left Florida and came to Ohio State, [Tyler] was an Ohio State fan. If Ohio State hadn't offered, I'm not sure what the second school behind them would have been; it was Ohio State and that's it. We had discussed on the visit where he got his offer and committed what would've happened. We all knew he was going to commit on the spot."
While talking to Mrs. Green, it struck me how seriously the Greens took his recruitment. Tyler travels an hour and a half each way to school each day, a sacrifice made to play for a powerhouse like DeMatha. Before he committed to the Buckeyes, he created a matrix with positives, negatives, and miscellaneous information for any new school he was interested in.
For her own part, Mrs. Green is an avid football fan. She took pictures all throughout the game, and she mentioned that she and Tyler often discuss what he did right and wrong after games.
After the game, I caught up with Green and McFarland to ask them a few questions. Note: the volume levels are not the best, so outlines follow the videos.
Tyler Green
- Being a senior captain means a lot to Green; he has to be a leader for the team.
- Green was at the Virginia Tech game last weekend; he called it an amazing atmosphere.
- He plans on going to the Kent State game and the game against "That Team Up North."
- His reaction to A.J. Alexander's commitment, which I broke to him: "When I get my phone, I am going to message him."
Anthony McFarland
- McFarland was going to his last class when DeMatha coach Elijah Brooks told him he had a phone call. He spoke to OSU defensive line coach Larry Johnson, who told McFarland he had an offer.
- Anthony said he was a big fan of Braxton Miller and Carlos Hyde.
- McFarland credits his impressive, performance to watching lots of film.
- He is close with Tyler Green, calling him his big brother.
- McFarland tells Tyler all time, "Just get to me an Ohio State game!"
