If this kid contributes at Auburn (still a big "if"..I know), then this makes Urban look bad. There is no way you can deny that. He didn't stick with a kid that he and his program committed to when other programs believed in him. Time will tell
You could also argue that OSU stuck by him and didn't rescind his offer after his second injury but gave him a chance to play and when they found out the extent of his injuries OSU offered to honor the scholarship so he could still get an education. That, of course, is a much less interesting storyline.
I can understand him wanting to play and find another doctor who would give him hope that he could play. I hope it works out for him and he gets to live out his dream.
The issue is,however, ensuring the team doctor's have the final say on medical issues. Doctors can have differences of professional opinion and offer differing prognosis on how well a patient will recover. Maybe OSU's MD's were overly cautious, but that is better than letting a kid play when you suspect doing so will risk him to more severely injure himself. He's a highly touted 4* recruit, so if anything a coach would want to keep him on the roster, that OSU didn't is a positive reflection, IMHO, of how the doctors medical advice is followed. If you're going to roster manage you don't cut highly rated recruits even before they play. That he got on with a top program speaks highly of his talent and indicates he is the type of recruit a school would want to hang onto if they thought he was capable of being medically cleared at some point.
I'm all for giving injured football players medical hardship scholarships after injuries. And I'm sure that OSU over the years has had its fair share of cases where the player is truly injured and can't play anymore. And it's a good thing that OSU offers the continuation of the injured kid's scholarship. Great, fabulous, this is what should be done. But in this case, we have a world renowned ortho examine the kid and say that he needs a bit more rehab and then can begin activities. That doesn't seem like the kid is injured to the point where he can't play again. Auburn taking him further solidifies this thought.
Sounds to me like in this particular instance, the staff/Meyer deciding that the kid is damaged goods and although he probably will be able to play football again "this is not what we were buying when we offered a scholly". Herein lies the rub.
Two points:
His second injury was after he got the offer but they didn't pull it but honored it even when he was injured in his final game as a senior.
We can quibble over what Dr Andrew's said but absent actually reading his report no one knows. The reports I saw said Andrew's said "should be able..." which is a good sign but no guarantee. The OSU doctors apparently saw him just after the injury when he enrolled early at OSU and based their decision on what they saw then. I'd rater have a school go with their MD's first call than push back and second guess them because a kid is a 4 or 5*.
In the end, only time will tell what was the right call. I can't fault a kid from doing whatever it takes to follow his dreams. I also am not surprised that a school took a chance on him as it was a low risk way to get a 4* recruit. If he pans out they are the hero, if he gets reinjured then well, they thought he was OK but circumstances just didn't work out.
What will be interesting, absent the OSU connection, is how the increased focus on injuries playing football affects decisions to allow players to continue to play after injuries. Will we see more medical hardships as schools seek to limit liability for injuries suffered by players after they were cleared to play?
