Texas Longhorns head coach Charlie Strong will start the process of hiring a new defensive line coach after Chris Rumph departed for the Florida Gators on Friday, but he should probably make a few phone calls to Horns signees first.
Cy Falls defensive tackle Du'Vonta Lampkin and Rowlett defensive end Charles Omenihu weren't particularly happy after Florid announced Rumph as its new defensive line coach:
Really? 2 days after signing day?
— Call Me Deebs‼️ (@DeeChilllin) February 6, 2015
Guess i was lied to in my face
— Call Me Deebs‼️ (@DeeChilllin) February 6, 2015
Its not even the fact he left. Bc thats what coaches do. Its the fact i was told it wasnt going to happen
— Call Me Deebs‼️ (@DeeChilllin) February 6, 2015
After the report that Rumph was going to take the job surfaced on Thursday, Lampkin sent out the following:
Getting off the phone with coach strong "coach rumph did not accept the offer"
— Call Me Deebs‼️ (@DeeChilllin) February 5, 2015
And here's what Omenihu had to say in the immediate aftermath:
I guess that's life see why recruits do what we do trust none
— Charles #⃣7⃣ (@charless_94) February 6, 2015
I don't like being lead on
— Charles #⃣7⃣ (@charless_94) February 6, 2015
Rumph was the lead recruiter for both prospects, as well as their prospective future position coach.
The whole situation brought the trolls out:
— cuppycup (@cuppycup) February 6, 2015
I have a wild theory that Charlie Strong isn’t more honest than other coaches.
— cuppycup (@cuppycup) February 6, 2015
It's quite possible that Strong received reassurances from Rumph that he was staying put in Austin and relayed that to the recruits, but this whole situation is extremely unfortunate for the recruits and Strong will likely have to do some making up in order to rebuild trust with these particular signees.