*Being the son of Sean “P. Diddy” Combs can definitely open doors.
For Justin Combs, that little fact was responsible for him being a part of UCLA’s football team, according to the school’s former head coach Rick Neuheisel. Neuheisel, made the revelation on his SiriusXM radio show as he discussed what led him to recruit Justin for the team.
The New York Post noted Neuheisel’s admission that it was “doubtful” he would’ve offered Combs, a 5-foot-9, two-star defensive back out of Iona Prep in New Rochelle, if his dad wasn’t Diddy.
“When you’re weighing the assets of what a youngster can do for your program, there’s no question [being Diddy’s son] had something to do with it for me,” said Neuheisel.
“Justin is a great kid. His problem was his size. He’s not big enough to be a dominant player. Could he be productive? Yes. The fact his father was an influential guy played into my decision to go ahead and offer him.”
Despite Combs being selected to play in the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl, many felt he was more of an FCS type of player, better suited for Stony Brook or Fordham, the Post reports, adding that Combs has only appeared in one game last year since his arrival at UCLA.
As for Diddy’s altercation with UCLA strength and conditioning coordinator Sal Alosi, Neuheisel provided a bit of insight in to the incident, saying that Combs was working out with Diddy’s private trainer instead of attending UCLA’s discretionary workouts. The workouts aren’t mandatory, according to the Post.
“Justin looks a little out of shape, and there was something said,” Neuheisel said. “He was actually removed from the workout. [Diddy] got the report from Justin and marched over.”
From there, Diddy’s confrontation resulted as the entertainment mogul allegedly attacked Alosi and swung a kettlebell at someone after he was pulled away. Diddy was ultimately charged with three counts of assault with a deadly weapon for the incident, one count of making terrorist threats and one count of battery.
Although Diddy caught charges, Neuheisel revealed that things were initially going to go another way.
“What I learned was they were going to let this go, because the UCLA folks didn’t want to press charges,” he said. “But when the campus police arrived on the scene, they looked at the film.”
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