Wait...how can this be? Lyles has gone on record to say he felt Oregon did pay him for influence, but that he NEVER did anything wrong. Well wait, that was before he said he may have pushed the limits. Well, wait.... Lyles then said every dime he accepted was for recruiting services...wait...then he said...Oh, never mind.... I thought the claim was that Lyles influenced Seastrunk on his decision to head to Oregon. But, he's taking $$ from Tenn to get Seastrunk there - as a JR. Interesting... In an apparent NCAA violation, then-Volunteers secondary coach Willie Mack Garza sent the money to one-time scout Will Lyles, who had paid for plane tickets for Seastrunk and his mother Evelyn. Garza, who joined Kiffin’s staff at USC in 2010, stepped down from his position with the Trojans in September citing “some personal issues unrelated to USC that I need to address.” His resignation came shortly after Lyles informed NCAA investigators in August of the transaction. Lyles said NCAA investigators were conducting a wide-ranging look into Tennessee recruiting practices. “I’m so sick and tired of this ‘Willie Lyles said this and Willie Lyles said that,’” Evelyn Seastrunk said. “I don’t care what Willie Lyles says. I don’t care as long as my son is OK. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footba...ormer_vols_aide_paid_seastrunk_airfare_092611
I think it has been well established that Lyles was peddling players. UO has to prove they were not using him to feed players here. They players indicate it was not the case. But $25,000 and no credible recruiting videos is going to be hard to overcome.
none provided thus far to the press... big difference. Want to feel a little better??? Here's the latest Scott Reed blog entry relaying the Oregon angle on this http://duckotherside.blogspot.com/2011/09/lyles-hurt-his-own-players.html STOMP
Hopefully the recruiting of LMJ was clean because the NCAA is going to look into everything and everyone that has been touched by Lyles.
In a court of law, Lyles would have no credibility. Unfortunately, though, the NCAA operates without parameters, and I'm convinced that they enter an investigation already know what the outcome will be, and then take whatever "evidence" the gather that supports it as the truth. Also, has Auburn even received a Notice of Inquiry for the Cam Newton deal? Or was that "investigation" really cleared up in one day after Newton said he just didn't know about any money being given to dear dad?
Given this info, Tennessee and Kiffin/USC seemed to be the topic of conversation when Lyles last met with the NCAA. Now, one might wonder why Lyles didn't provide this information to the NCAA when he first spoke with them, but whatever. Anything that harms USC and Lane Kiffin is OK by me. Lyles even has a money transfer payment from Garza. Uh-oh Lane, here comes the NCAA again, plus you should probably never step foot again in Tennessee... http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsport...trikes-again-ncaa-investigating-vols/related/
I think something like this- the NCAA wants to put a halt to some of this recruiting service stuff. Not all of it, but wants teams to realize to stop dealing with fringe types. So they have a quandary. Do they try and make an example out of Oregon, or deal with us straight up as we probably done nothing worthy of a harsh punishment? I think they are having a tough time with what to do.
honest question, do you enjoy being worried? I know thats part of the attraction of following sport for some. This Lyles stuff is obviously a concern as the NCAA is currently looking at Oregon's undercarriage and will (almost certainly) levee some sort of penalty. Maybe while digging they find something really really wrong, but so far whats leaked out has seemed pretty meh... this blog entry isn't pretending to be the whole truth clearing Oregon from any & all wrongdoing regarding Lyles, but it does give a good example of Oregon abiding by the rules when they were aware that others were breaking them. I recall the reports (probably rivals) at the time they happened of Evelyn Seastrunk being very upset with Oregon about not being flown out for the official as she had with others. That relayed Cambell quote is from the stuff I recall from a couple years back. I remember thinking... how come others are doing this (Evelynn attended LSU, USC, Tennessee and Cal visits) but we aren't? It certainly can't be because we won't afford it especially for an elite prospect, so it's probably illegal... where is the NCAA on this? Why are we obeying rules if they aren't enforced? according to Lyles, they were all over it by the time of his flip and he just confirmed matters. From what I see, Oregon greased the palm of a greasy guy who might have directed a stud player this-away (though neither side is claiming that to be the case) and said player never played a down for the University :MARIS61: They willfully operated in the grey area but also seemed to try to stay clear of blatant rule breaking. Brace yourself for a slap on the wrist STOMP
Prob right, NB and BP. Regarding the trustworthiness of Lyles, lets say the NCAA leveled some harsh penalties on Oregon, based in part on Lyles testimony. If the guy lacks any credibility, which we mostly could agree on, wouldn't Oregon have legal discourse/or cause for a law suit against the NCAA??
Former students are suing the NCAA over head injuries...why not teams over failure to properly handle discipline?
I think this guys credibility is sooooo shot it'll be hard for the NCAA to do much with Oregon! I think that's why the Duck camp is sooo quiet. This guy will self destruct before any sactions are handed out!
What I don't understand is Chip made over $3mill last year and almost $2mill the year before. None of this Lyles crap ever would have come to light if Chip would have just cut a check out of his own account instead of trying to hide it in the team's budget. Also I bet Lyles didn't report, much less pay taxes on any of the monies he got from schools. The IRS is sooooooo going to fuck him.
The point is that I'm not really overly concerned about the Lyles issue and the investigation by the NCAA. While the NCAA can be seemingly punitive at times, usually the penalty fits the crime. I think UO has had ample opportunity to give their side of the story. I think the NCAA committee that determines the penalty (if any) will try and do the right thing. I sometimes wonder if we will be made an example of the overall situation, but given the number of schools in the same boat and other investigations on-going, it's unlikely that will happen to us.
