If A Recruiting Violation Is Committed At A Small OKC High School Is It Still A Violation? Nick Saban Says No!
by ccmachine on Jan 7, 2011 11:50 PM CST
in Football
Email
Print
Anyone that is familiar with football is familiar with the name Barry Sanders. Now college football fans are getting acquainted with Barry J. Sanders. The son of the former Heisman Trophy winner and NFL Hall of Famer is making a name for himself while following in his father's footsteps. The 5-11/190 running back from Heritage Hall High School in Oklahoma City has drawn interest from 18 different schools and has received scholarship offers from twelve of them. One of the schools to offer Sanders a free ride is Alabama and it just so happens that Nick Saban was at Heritage Hall on Wednesday to visit with the highly touted running back. The problem is though, Sanders is only a junior.
According to the NCAA recruiting guidelines, "A college coach is only permitted to contact you in person off the college campus only on or after July 1 when you have completed your junior year of high school. If the coach meets with you or your parents and says anything to you or them, then this is considered a contact. Anything more than a very basic hello is a contact."
Sanders told the Daily Oklahoman that Saban informed him that he believed Heisman winning running back Mark Ingram was turning pro and would make his decision on Friday. Guess what happened on Friday? Ingram announced that he was turning pro!
That's a lot more than a very basic hello! That's a, "Hey, we're putting running backs in the NFL and you could be one of them and we've got a spot for you son!" type visit. Not a problem if the kid is a senior but a huge problem when he's a junior. Saban also inquired about the condition of Sander's foot following a surgical procedure he had on his right foot. Again, that's more than a very basic hello.
Now with word circulating about Saban's visit and a photo of the two chatting popping up on message boards the story is changing a bit. Now Heritage Hall defensive coordinator Mark Adams says that Saban was talking to him when he said that he believed Ingram wasn't coming back and Sanders was in the vicinity and overheard the conversation.
Adams also said that Saban was on campus for only around fifteen minutes and just happened to run into Sanders while touring the campus.
"He took a tour of the campus, and we walked in the commons area (cafeteria area), and he crossed paths with Barry. He asked about his foot, and that was it and started talking with me again."
Saban says he doesn't believe that he violated any recruiting rules and apparently the Heritage Hall coaches agree with him. Yes Coach Adams, its all about you. Nick Saban came all the way to Oklahoma City for you to give him a tour of your campus and to talk with you, a high school, defensive coordinator about his current running back situation. It was just mere coincidence that he happened to run into one of the most highly touted recruits in the nation while there. Keep telling yourself that, buddy!
This is why the NCAA is a joke. Nothing will ever come of this matter and you'd better believe Saban will continue to do this kind of stuff and get away with it.
44 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Unbelieveable!
I had heard from a friend (huge Ok-State fan) earlier this week that Saban had made a trip to Heritage Hall. So I knew that Saban had been there and we all know about Barry J. Sanders being a running back at HH. But for Saban and the HH DC to say that Sanders and Saban met on mere chance is an outrage. How hard is it to spot a kid on a scooter like that in what the DC is playing off as a “crowed commons area and Sanders happen to hear conversation and waltz on over without being beckoned.” The picture is a clear shot of Saban and the injured Sanders…Saban’s hands are in his pockets meaning he has been standing there for a while and intended to be there a while longer. I just don’t get how the NCAA could turn its back on clear cut evidence of recruiting violations.
Forgot...
I know exactly why the NCAA won’t punish Saban for making an early recruiting visit. Apparently all you have to do these days to get yourself out of deep doodoo is tell the NCAA that you simply “didn’t know.” It’s how Cam Newton got out of trouble and it’s how Terrelle Pryor and other tOSU players got out of trouble. Why should we expect anything less for Saban and the NCAA? I just wonder what line it’s going to be: 1) “I didn’t know Sanders was a junior.” 2) I didn’t know it was Sanders in front of me." 3) " I didn’t know the recruiting rules." 4) I didn’t know _________(fill in the blank)."
Terrelle Pryor and the others at OSU
didn’t get out of trouble. They got zapped for nearly half their season next year. How would we react if the NCAA zapped Landry, Finch, and 3 others for the first 5 games next season? We’d go ape____. That’s not nothing!
How do you know?
Just because Jim Tressel said he made his players promise to come back does not mean that they will. Players can tell their coach anything they want to but they don’t have to follow through. And who knows, made Tressel said it to make the CFB population feel better about the “easy” punishment. Why would they not come out? Their draft stock is going to decrease with missing 5 games of the season.
They're not that good
that’s why.
Some of you just play with “facts” in order to fit the narrative you’ve already created.
If you're not cheatin'
You’re not tryin’.
"Let’s hang half-a-hundred on ‘em."
-Barry Switzer
by OUPest on Jan 8, 2011 9:29 AM CST via mobile reply actions
I agree
it was not a chance encounter. I remember sitting in the office on Wednesday and readng the headline that Nick Saban had visited Heritage Hall. There were about 8 seconds of confusion and even ‘why?’ was asked. Then we remembered, ‘Oh, Sanders.’
There is nothing special about or at Heritage Hall aside from Barry Sanders, Jr who is a top recruit. As was stated though, nothing will happen to him. You don’t get punished in the NCAA unless you are from Oklahoma, apparently! The NCAA must be married to ESPN!
I'll wait and see
If the NCAA does anything.
Bama is currently on probation until Jun 2012 for previous violations.
It’s always approached differently when the team is already on probation, as opposed to no history (or recent history) of infractions.
Saying “I didn’t know” at this point in his coaching career would be a very weak defense.
As for Cam and UA, I believe they will be punished, much like USC and Bush, five years after the fact.
Saban has all but said he doesn't care about secondary violations
This is just another example of him proving it.
"I don't like Texas. I don't like the city of Austin. And I don't like the color orange. It reminds me of puke." The Boz
Crimson and Cream Machine - There's only one Oklahoma!
Listen to Sooner Nation, the #1 podcast for OU fans
What are you guys afraid of?
So he bumped into the kid. So what. Isnt this kids high school in Oklahoma? So isnt OU closer to him than Bama? Oh, thats right. Inferiority complex. Alot of fans have that when Saban is around. LMAO.
"Bumping into a recruit" is not exactly the term I would use.
“Bumping into a recruit” is more like if Saban came across a player from a Bama HS at a restaurant in Alabama. “Bumping into a recruit” is not flying to OKC from Bama to “take a tour of a school.” We here at CCM do not have your so called inferiority complex…especially when we have Finch, Williams, and Clay at the RB position. Sanders would not be the #1 or the #2 RB on this Oklahoma squad until Finch and Williams decide to enter the draft so quit trying to stir trouble when there is none here.
As far as distance…Saban is offering Sanders playing time (obviously with him saying Ingram is going to enter the draft) and Sanders father was an OSU player. What in your right mind makes you think Sanders has an interest in going to OU (also consider the fact that OU gave Sanders a ticket to the OU/TX game and Sanders wore a UT hat). Kids don’t go where they can be close to home…they are going to places where they will get playing time and look good.
OU also hasn't offered the kid a scholarship
Check the facts before you make ridiculous statements that show you know nothing about college football and even more so Oklahoma football
by OnlyOneOU on Jan 8, 2011 5:25 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
Never said OU offered....
You saying OU wouldnt take him?
OU doesn't need him,
Why waste any efforts on a kid you won’t get (hello OSU legacy) who plays a position that you are richly stocked with?!?! It’s not like he is a DT or heck a kicker…
by OU JJ on Jan 9, 2011 12:08 AM CST via mobile up reply actions
I am saying "no OU would not take him" not at this point in time
Oklahoma currently has 4 RB’s on the roster and has 1 RB coming in for next year, I’ll go ahead and do the math for you…that makes 5 RB’s for the 2011 season. Assuming no one transfers, next year’s team will be composed of 2 Jr RB’s, 2 So RB’s, and a single Fr RB…and all these kids will have another year under their belt before Sanders is even able to sign anywhere. What makes you think Sanders is going to get playing time over players like Finch and Williams and Clay when we have seen that Stoops is loyal to his seniors (assuming Finch, Clay, and Williams all stay that long)? Sanders best shot at sharing the load will be when he is a Jr. and Williams is the Sr.
I am also saying
Sander is just one back…there will be others in the 2012 class. I would even go as far to say that Sanders will not be the #1 back in his class, so why would we settle for Sanders when the ocean is big and the fish are many?
Inferiority Complex Over A Kid The Sooners Haven't Offered
I think not! Call it what it is, cheating. Don’t feed the troll anymore fellas and let him move on.
Then why make such a big deal out of it?
Boy, you okies sure are defensive.
It's A Big Deal
Because it is a rule violation that happened in the city we live in. Has nothing to do with OU recruiting or not recruiting (Sooners haven’t offered) and everything to do with what is ethical and right. Keep trying to ruffle feathers if you’d like but it will never change the fact that your coach got caught cheating. Unfortunately it also won’t change the fact that the NCAA is going to do nothing about it.
I don't think anyone made a big deal about anything but you dude!
CCM simply posted on a story that is happening in the now and we all responded because of all the NCAA rules violations that have taken place this season. To see another violation go unpunished is on the NCAA not Saban and not Alabama…Saban is simply trying to give his school the upper hand regardless of the consequences much like all other top schools. This story is big time sporting news around Oklahoma and we are very much in the know on most of it, so of course we are going to take a stance against it.
Who are we defending? The way I see it…we are calling for the NCAA to step up and take action or change the rules completely. I have seen no one here get defensive about Saban except for you, the rest of us sit on the other side of the fence. The times we get defensive are in response to your snide remarks. We love our football and we are very passionate about it here at CCM.
There is nothing wrong with stating your case but saying that things are “legal” when clearly it is stated as illegal is just not smart. Also not reading up on all the angles for this posting is not smart…most people will find where you are wrong and rip you on it which is what has happened to you multiple times for not knowing things.
I know right!
18 schools on Sanders radar with 12 having already offered (including Alabama). Looks like the pool is running dry over there in SEC land on great RB’s for Alabama and now they are desperate to get their next “Mark Ingram” who was out done by his back up this season in Richardson. Maybe Bama should have let Soph. RB Richardson have the load of the carries and they could have beat Auburn.
Of course he will get away with it.
It’s perfectly legal. Quit whining about a coach bumping into a recruit and consentrate on not choking in big games. Geez.
There you go again with the "bumping into a recruit" language
get a life and stop trying to cause trouble that you don’t want to get involved in…talking about BCS games, or as you like to call them “Big Games,” I believe we were the ones who made it to a BCS bowl not Bama, and I believe we won, so what were you saying?
Not hard to get in when your conference is the Big Tex Conference.
Your conference is weak. Everyone knows it. You have a good coach, though.
Dude Seriously!
Bring something intelligent to the conversation or go home. Last I checked your conference was below .500 in their bowl games as well. Seriously, starting talking like you know something or you’re outta here!
choking in big games?
says the guy whose team could’ve won the SEC and played in a BCS game if they’d managed to hold a 3 TD lead against Auburn.
Not too easy to bump into a kid when he’s in Oklahoma and you’re in Alabama, is it? Argue that it’s a minor violation that shouldn’t be punished, or that the punishment should be really light, or that everyone does it and Saban’s crime was getting caught on a photo b/c Stoops has probably done it or whatever. But don’t treat us like we’re stupid. It’s disingenuous to say that he just happened to bump into the kid and “oh, by the way, he stood there and talked to him for a few minutes just to be polite.” Maybe it’s a minor infraction, but it’s an infraction nonetheless and arguing anything else is absolutely disingenuous.
Amazing how you 'bump into' someone at their high school over 500 miles from Tuscaloosa
who would have ever imagined it?
Talk about choking in big games
How about when Alabama got blasted by Utah in the Sugar Bowl 31-17. At least when OU lost to Boise it was only by a point in overtime.
I love it when I take my kid's lunch to his small catholic
& I see a Div 1 coach “checking out” the rigorous education my kid is getting. I am so glad such a high profile guy is so concerned & all! Oh crap, I forgot about that junior football recruit… He is here to see him or anything! ((((sarcasm)))))
by OU JJ on Jan 9, 2011 12:12 AM CST via mobile up reply actions
Really????
Ever looked into YOUR schools NCAA violation record? Its pretty big.
Are you talking Coaching staff violations or player violations?
And I don’t get why that matters…the past will always be the past and the NCAA will continue to give its beloved SEC conference a pass on everything.
SPEAKING OF INFRACTIONS
The Texas Tech athletics department dug themselves into a hole recently… Now they’re in a hole within a hole.
"Let’s hang half-a-hundred on ‘em."
-Barry Switzer
by OUPest on Jan 9, 2011 2:51 AM CST via mobile reply actions
sanders
look for coach Adams to be a bama defensive back coach in 2012
coach adams
would be a great fit to become a bama position coach…
perhaps he’ll bring barry junior along!
Roll Tide…
Its amusing to listen to the jealousy from rival fan bases
From my understanding saban was on his way to a coaches conference and stopped by HH to speak with the coach. He didn’t make a trip to OK solely to check out the school. Was he was there for Sanders? Probably, but I doubt he blatantly broke any rules in a crowded Commons area. Saban is not stupid. There is no law prohibiting you from being sneaky.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Crimson And Cream Machine
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
