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    Dr. Saturday

    ESPN may have helped Lane Kiffin commit another recruiting violation

    By Graham Watson | Dr. Saturday – Wed, Feb 1, 2012 3:11 PM EST

    buffett.jpg

    It wouldn't be a National Signing Day without a potential NCAA violation by Lane Kiffin.

    Around 8:30 a.m. on the USC campus, ESPN reporter Shelley Smith recounted a text message she had received from Kiffin about three hours earlier on the air, and possibly walked the Trojans right into a secondary recruiting violation.

    "I got a text from Lane Kiffin at 5:15 this morning telling me to wake up, it was a big day and then I got a second text saying, 'We need to get Nelson,'" Smith said live on ESPNU. "Now, I'm not sure what last name because he didn't tell me that, there are a lot of Nelson's out there, but I'm going to guess that it's Nelson Agholor, a very highly talented athlete out of Tampa, Florida. He is expected to sign either with Florida or with USC in the next 45 minutes."

    Here the thing: Coaches aren't allowed to talk about any recruit that hasn't signed a national letter of intent and as Smith noted herself, Nelson wasn't set to make his announcement until at least 45 later.

    Whoops.

    According to the NCAA:

    Coaches can't talk about recruits before having a valid National Letter of Intent on file, and they can't attend NLI signings not on an institution's campus. Not allowing coaches to talk about the players they are recruiting avoids the "one-upmanship" that could (and previously did) occur between coaches in the recruiting process.

    buffett.jpgSadly, this isn't the first time ESPN has had a hand in helping Kiffin into a secondary violation. During Kiffin's brief tenure at Tennessee, he allowed ESPN to do an "Outside The Lines" piece on him and that segment included a scene of Kiffin having a meeting with a couple of recruits, which was a violation because media is not allowed to observe a coach having contact with a recruit.

    That was just one of 12 secondary violations Kiffin committed in a 10-month span in Knoxville, all of them linked to recruiting.

    Until today, Kiffin had been unscathed during his tenure at USC.

    While Smith was probably just trying to use her relationship with Kiffin to give some depth to her report, it definitely backfired. USC probably won't get more than a slap on the wrist for this, but perhaps Kiffin needs to be a little more careful about what he says.

    - - -
    Photo courtesy of tboblogs.com
    Graham Watson is on Facebook and Twitter: Follow her @Yahoo_Graham

    Watch Full Count!
     
    • Mr. 216
      Mr. 216  •  Cleveland, Ohio  •  3 months ago
      You Big Dummy!!! ( in Fred Sanford voice.)
      • Dalton M
        Dalton M 3 months ago
        i couldnt have said it better!
      • Tom
        Tom 3 months ago
        lol, yep, it just comes natural to him; his daddy got the brains. lol'
    • yohan feelin
      yohan feelin  •  Albuquerque, New Mexico  •  3 months ago
      Funny all the nerds saying how much they hate Lane. hahahaha. Guess what, we are going to be #1 to start the year, this is after a top 5 finish and 10 wins this year! Poised to make a Natl. Championship run. All this while on sanctions! You simply cannot stop USC or CLK! So eat it haters! Keep hating, we just simply keep winning Oh, and another top ten (top 5 in some rankings) recruiting class! Again! Oh, and we did sign Nelson Algohlor so EAT IT nerds! Any other coach and this a non story! People just can't stand USC dominating. Look at Urban, he is allowed to hire an EXTRA coach to recruit while OSU is under sanctions and no one says anything about it...Let's not even talk about the SEC, Auburn, and Saban's oversigning! How man in Bama's class this year? 55 guys? 47? hahahah such a joke. When we stomp everyone we play this year, then you clowns will really be crying. Saying we are cheating, etc.....so funny. Can't beat them, sanction 'em, or call them cheaters....Bunch of clowns
    • G
      G  •  Los Angeles, California  •  3 months ago
      First class clown
      • I earned my name
        I earned my name 3 months ago
        When you remove the "cl" from class you have lame kitten.
    • Rhino
      Rhino  •  3 months ago
      Kiffin's DAD...is a coaching GENIUS! Kiffin JR.......is a #$%$ BUCKET!
    • Weston
      Weston  •  3 months ago
      Kiffin cheats no matter where he's coaching. Some things never change.
      • Ralph
        Ralph 3 months ago
        This is breaking the rules but it didn't really give him an advantage, so how much "cheating" is it really?
      • Dougie Boy
        Dougie Boy 3 months ago
        10-2
      • Weston
        Weston 3 months ago
        Oh, Dougie: what's "10-2" have to do with this? Actually, that was a rhetorical question. The answer is "NOTHING".
    • JAMES
      JAMES  •  Nashville, Tennessee  •  3 months ago
      Half of what Kiffin does, he does on purpose to create drama or news. The other half he does because he acts before he thinks. Until he is personally punished he will continue to do what he is doing.
    • CDO
      CDO  •  3 months ago
      I'm a Notre Dame fan and while this honestly isn't THAT big of a deal, Kiffin should know by now what he can and can't say. I mean, how many mistakes can the guy make before enough is enough? I'm not saying he should lose his job or anything, but still the AD Pat Haden is trying to run a clean ship after the whole situation w/ Pete Carroll and his violations. If I was Haden, I would pull Kiffin into my office, chew him out a little bit, and tell him to make sure it doesn't happen again.
    • Jon
      Jon  •  Los Angeles, California  •  3 months ago
      Strange bird this one. First, he tweets Britney Spears happy bday and now he's texting Shelley Smith @ 5 in the morning. Technology is not his friend.
    • the greatest
      the greatest  •  3 months ago
      And why exactly, would you tweet a reporter (ESPN or otherwise) about a recruit, especially if they cant keep their sources confidential? What up with the "I'm gonna tell on you" reporting?
    • Deb
      Deb  •  Los Angeles, California  •  3 months ago
      DUH three hour time difference 5:15 here 8:15 in Florida most of ya don't have all facts yet you are willing to condemn Lane...Ya all should work for the NCAA as they too make decisions based on little or no reality,(if ya don't already)
      • Toolbox
        Toolbox 3 months ago
        What does that change? Nelson was scheduled to commit at8:45, not 8:15 AM. The rules say you can't comment on a recruit until you receive the signed LOI.
      • Islamisablast
        Islamisablast 3 months ago
        Kiffin cindemned himself and not just once. Once a cheater, always a cheater. U$C has certainly earned the title "Cheater U", regardless of who the HC is.
    • EletaP
      EletaP  •  Mobile, Alabama  •  3 months ago
      Lane Kiffin is a #$%$ I am SO glad he left the SEC. We don't need his kind here.
    • utfan
      utfan  •  Sacramento, California  •  3 months ago
      im glad surfer boy is NOT at UT any more! He is nothing but a #$%$ bag !
      • NOBO 2012
        NOBO 2012 3 months ago
        You know you're NOT.....what was your record the past two seasons??
      • utfan
        utfan 3 months ago
        he is a cheater! when he left ut they found 7 pre paid cell phones in his car! calling recruts + a number of violations as long as kitten is at usc they will have the death peantey before it is over ! not even over the probation they are own know and look violations and it want stop !
    • tef43
      tef43  •  3 months ago
      Shelley Smith, dumber than Erin Andrews, Hannah Storm and Suzy Kolber combined.

      Any wonder that ESPN has become the Worldwide Leader in Garbage?
    • Timothy
      Timothy  •  Anniston, Alabama  •  3 months ago
      Typical Kiffin! If it wasn't for his Dad, Kiffin would be a second level coach at a FCS school. No class, no boundaries, no ability. He had a dozen recruiting violations a Tennessee and everyone acts surprised that he did it again? He can't recruit without stretching the rules. What is he going to tell a recruit? Come here and maybe I'll be here when you graduate? He goes to an easier conference to bolster is resume with wins and still has to stretch the rules! Wow! And for the two USC fans that have written nasty statements to me - "Here", "This is what I was talking about"!
    • EdwardF
      EdwardF  •  Portland, Oregon  •  3 months ago
      Shocking! Who would have thought Kiffin would violate? SUCH a surprise. A clean coach at USC would be like a conservative in Hollywood. He'd never survive.
    • Jody
      Jody  •  Akron, Ohio  •  3 months ago
      He was talking about getting the Band..Nelson..lol he should know better than that..why dont people think before they txt. Keep your eyes on the road "Lane" Get it! ...road..Lane? ..yeah..I know....thank you..I'll be here all zee week..
    • John M
      John M  •  Seattle, Washington  •  3 months ago
      Read the 1st line of this article. If this guy is that much trouble that everyone expect him to get in trouble, get rid of him and put the "school" on probation...again! Seems to be a lot of this stuff going on in this conference.
    • DianneM
      DianneM  •  Bristol, Tennessee  •  3 months ago
      Just doing what Lane does best!
    • Jeff
      Jeff  •  3 months ago
      Shelley Smith definitely has a face made for the radio!!! In other words, she's fugly!
    • TFF
      TFF  •  Nashville, Tennessee  •  3 months ago
      He committed a similar violation at Tennessee by talking about Bryce Brown on the radio before he was signed. Jeez, what a #$%$
     Post a comment

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