Micah Hyde-Ron Zook relationship began with a recruiting error
Green Bay Packers special teams coordinator Ron Zook relies heavily on defensive back Micah Hyde for his contributions in the third phase of the game. However, their earliest interaction was far from love at first sight.
As a high school player, Hyde attended a University of Illinois recruiting camp when Zook was the head coach of the Illini, according to Weston Hodkiewicz of Press-Gazette Media. Hyde was a two-star quarterback/defensive back out of Fostoria, Ohio, but Zook was more impressed with an unnamed receiver.
"I remembered (Hyde). He remembered me. I remember the exact day he was at the camp," Zook said, via Press-Gazette Media. "We took another receiver over him. I said (to him), ‘Well, recruiting is not an exact science. I screwed that up.’ We had a good player, but he’s a good football player."
Hyde, who ended up going to Iowa, was selected in the fifth-round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Zook joined the Packers' coaching staff last season, and in their first year together Hyde averaged 15.8 yards per punt return and returned two punts for touchdowns.
(h/t PackersNews.com)
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