All-American running back says playing for Eddie George “… ain’t fun”

Ohio State legend Eddie George holds players to his same high standard of play… especially his running backs.

Eddie George is one of the most decorated running backs in Ohio State football history. He became a legend in Columbus after winning the Heisman trophy in 1995. George has had success at all levels of football including a nine-year run in the NFL, and now he’s making the transition to the sidelines as the head coach of Tennessee State University.

As the former Buckeye heads into year two with the TSU Tigers looking to improve on 5-6 season and a fourth-place finish in the Ohio Valley Conference, George and his All-American running back, Devon Starling, sat down for questions at media day.

The question was asked, “How much fun is it to be coached by one of the greatest running backs of all time?” Starling’s response while chuckling… “It ain’t fun.” With everyone in the room starting to laugh, Starling was asked to expound on his statement, with Coach George sitting right next to him.

George’s prize pupil went on to explain that because his college coach excelled at such a high level, the expectations for all of his running backs are also high. He coaches them to do the little things well and that all the running backs in the room, whether All-American status or walk-on, are treated exactly the same.

Listen to Starling’s admiration for his head coach in his own words below.

Obviously, with the success that Eddie has had in his playing days, he knows what it takes to be great. And clearly, he wants his players to be great as well and is going to coach them and hold them to the exact same expectations he had of himself. Judging from his personal track record, his players would be wise to lock in on everything their head coach is teaching.

Tennessee State is picked to finish fourth in the Ohio Valley Conference for the second year in a row. However, if George and his star running back have anything to say about it, the Tigers could shock a few people along the way.

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