Ohio State Loses Star Recruit Because Of Convicted Sex Offender Charles Eric Waugh

As the ballad of Charles Waugh unfurls, Ohio State has taken its share of lumps in the P.R. department. Now, they are getting hit in the athletic department. Alex Anzalone, a highly rated linebacker recruit from Pennsylvania, has decommitted from just one day after the Athletic Department's letter about Waugh—convicted in Kentucky four years ago on child pornography charges—was made public.

Anzalone committed to the school at the annual Scarlet and Gray spring game. He also met, and was photographed with, Waugh and other recruits that day. Waugh later posted the picture (one of several) on twitter. That's Anzalone on the left.

According to ESPN, the picture was the last straw in an already confusing and mixed up experience for Anzalone. His father, Sal, urged him to decommit.

That was enough to spook Anzalone, who already had experienced some regret about his early college decision, his father said.

"You would think that these kinds of people would be kept at a distance away from recruits," Sal Anzalone said. "The fact that he got close to recruits was the issue. Keep people like this away from them. I can't be everywhere."

The timing of the Anzalone decision is curious, coming on the heels of the Ohio State athletic department's email about Waugh. Perhaps the school was aware of the impending Anzalone decision and tried to get out ahead of the story. Maybe Anzalone did not like all the attention the picture was receiving. Or, perhaps it's all just a coincidence. It's times like these the nation needs not just any investigative journalist, but the.

SEE ALSO: Ohio State Warns Athletes About Superfan Who's A Convicted Sex Offender How An Ohio State Blog's Reporting Led To The Arrest Of A Fan Who's A Convicted Sex Offender

Alex Anzalone Decommits from Ohio State [Eleven Warriors] Alex Anzalone decommits from OSU [ESPN]