The newest Georgia Bulldog, Mirko Jurkovic, was the second casualty of the 2015 Ohio State recruiting class.
The first was CB Jamel Dean, who was originally the second commit of the class. After early-enrolling and failing to gain medical clearance, Dean scuttled a year of eligibility (and a medical hardship waiver) to transfer to Auburn. Frustrated with his exit, he's now relishing a shot at his old team:
"They really didn't care [if he stayed or not]," Dean said of Ohio State. "Once Auburn said they were going to let me play, I was ready to leave."
[...]
"Oh my gosh, I'd say I'm going to have a lot of anger built up for [playing Ohio State]," Dean said. "A lot of people are hoping it will happen — friends, coaches, other people that were supporting me."
If Jurkovic feels the same way, he's saying the exact opposite to the press. Though his problems were academic in nature, the three-star OL prospect from IMG Academy says there's no hard feelings with the Buckeyes.
From Michael Carvell of AJC.com:
There have been conflicting reports over what happened between Jurkovic and Ohio State. Was it really an academic issue? Or did Ohio State run out of scholarships?
“I wasn’t admitted to Ohio State,” Jurkovic explained.“I don’t know what all went on there behind the scenes there. It just kind of was what it was. I don’t know. I wasn’t admitted to Ohio State. That’s all I know.
“And there are no hard feelings against Ohio State. It’s a business. It didn’t mess me up too much. I ended up at Georgia, so I’m not too mad or disappointed about that. Ohio State is just a thing in the past now.”
... I'm unfamiliar with these "conflicting reports" — as far as I know, Mirko's problems have always been reported as academic in nature. Even Notre Dame asked him to attend Holy Cross (at Notre Dame) for a year before transferring to the big show.
Regardless, it's always nice to see an amicable breakup.
And so concludes Mirko Jurkovic saga.
