Auburn under Chizik (Trooper, Luper, et al) was poised to be the new recruiting Sheriff in town, at least compared to quiet little Auburn from days gone by.
And Big Cat had to be stopped! Player safety issue like the HUNH I guess, with AL.com at the keyboard 24/7 to help get the message out! Sigh. And Evan Woodbery should have been stripped of beat writer access IMO. See the bolded B.S. reason below the NCAA / Slive sat our No. 1 recruiter. Can't have that, but $100K handshakes in T-Town and Tom Albatar fitting custom suits is 'good for college football'.
Rich McGlynn was 'doing work' too, to police the recruiting by Trooper et al from becoming too elite. Sigh.
At this writing below, who knew what perfect AU storm was forming . . . a mere 9 months later. 'We comin'!"
Here's hoping for a revival of some sort, starting this weekend. Creating community among stud recruits, a buzz, showcasing what Auburn in-person time and again is experienced as magical.
E5
By
AUBURN -- Auburn was forced to temporarily halt contact with six prospective football players, and assistant head coach Trooper Taylor was barred from off-campus recruiting through Nov. 30 after the school self-reported secondary NCAA violations stemming from "Big Cat Weekend" in May.
Auburn released the penalties Thursday night in response to open-records requests from the Press-Register and other media. The Press-Register first reported the possible violations in May.
"Big Cat Weekend," as it was dubbed, was an activity-packed weekend for high-profile recruits that culminated in the traditional rolling of Toomer's Corner at a busy downtown intersection on May 30.
Although NCAA rules bar the introduction of visiting student-athletes during any function, videos of the event posted on two Web sites show the crowd cheering as the recruits are introduced by name, position and hometown. The man yelling the introductions does not appear on the videos, but Taylor is shown leading the crowd in cheers immediately after the introductions.
The rolling of Toomer's Corner was advertised on all three major Web sites that cover Auburn, with push-pinned message board posts urging fans to attend. The posts did not attribute the information to coaches or other Auburn staff members.
NCAA rules also bar media from being present "during any recruiting contact made by an institution's coaching staff member." All of the major Web sites that cover Auburn were on hand during the rolling of Toomer's Corner, and some of the recruits were interviewed by reporters.
Auburn first reported the violations of five bylaws on June 30 in a letter to SEC commissioner Mike Slive.
"Representatives of Auburn's athletic interests (boosters) were in attendance during this event and engaged in recruiting activity. Media was also present during this event along with Auburn's mascot. Lastly, the prospective student-athletes' names were announced at the event. All of these are violations of NCAA recruiting regulations," Auburn senior associate athletic director Rich McGlynn wrote in the letter to Slive.
Auburn offered self-imposed penalties, including a reduction of eight official visits and a letter of reprimand for Taylor.
Slive accepted that punishment, but added further restrictions. He barred Auburn from contacting six recruits who were present at Toomer's Corner for six weeks, through Sept. 15. Further, a member of Auburn's coaching staff was required to call each of the six recruits -- Jessel Curry, Khairi Fortt, Marcus Lattimore, Eric Mack, Trovon Reed and Lache Seastrunk -- and read a specific, six-sentence statement that said the prospects should "disregard the Toomer's Corner activities when deciding upon the University you will eventually attend."
Slive also said that Auburn should bar Taylor, one of the team's top recruiters, from any off-campus recruiting until Nov. 30, and that all six of the staff members present at Toomer's Corner should receive a reprimand. Those six coaches are Taylor, offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, running backs coach Curtis Luper, special teams coordinator/tight ends coach Jay Boulware, offensive line coach Jeff Grimes and safeties coach Tommy Thigpen.
Auburn accepted the additional punishments, and head coach Gene Chizik personally called the players involved to read the statement.
The penalties do not affect the eligibility of the six players. Reed and Curry have since verbally committed to the Tigers, Mack has committed to South Carolina, Fortt has committed to Penn State and Auburn is still recruiting Lattimore and Seastrunk.
The university issued a statement from Chizik that read: "We unintentionally committed a secondary violation and have cooperated fully with the Southeastern Conference and NCAA, and are moving forward. We're pleased about the foundation that we are setting for this program and are excited for our upcoming bowl game. We will continue to work hard on the recruiting trail to recruit top-notch student-athletes that best fit our needs at Auburn."
ROLLISON SUSPENDED: Auburn true freshman quarterback Tyrik Rollison has been suspended for an undisclosed violation of team rules, the school announced Thursday night.
A native of Sulphur Springs, Texas, Rollison is redshirting this season but was expected to compete with current junior Neil Caudle for the starting job in 2010.
Coaches had praised Rollison's growth in the offense during his first year of college.
"In the last three or four weeks, he's really come on," offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn said. "You can tell he's mentally into it and starting to develop and starting to do the things he needs to do to get better."
The release did not specify the length of the suspension, or whether Rollison would participate in team activities while he is barred from playing. Auburn will officially accept an invitation to the Jan. 1 Outback Bowl on Sunday.
And Big Cat had to be stopped! Player safety issue like the HUNH I guess, with AL.com at the keyboard 24/7 to help get the message out! Sigh. And Evan Woodbery should have been stripped of beat writer access IMO. See the bolded B.S. reason below the NCAA / Slive sat our No. 1 recruiter. Can't have that, but $100K handshakes in T-Town and Tom Albatar fitting custom suits is 'good for college football'.
Rich McGlynn was 'doing work' too, to police the recruiting by Trooper et al from becoming too elite. Sigh.
At this writing below, who knew what perfect AU storm was forming . . . a mere 9 months later. 'We comin'!"
Here's hoping for a revival of some sort, starting this weekend. Creating community among stud recruits, a buzz, showcasing what Auburn in-person time and again is experienced as magical.
E5
Auburn's 'Big Cat Weekend' results in NCAA violations
- Updated: Dec. 04, 2009, 8:51 a.m.|
- Published: Dec. 04, 2009, 7:51 a.m.
By
AUBURN -- Auburn was forced to temporarily halt contact with six prospective football players, and assistant head coach Trooper Taylor was barred from off-campus recruiting through Nov. 30 after the school self-reported secondary NCAA violations stemming from "Big Cat Weekend" in May.
Auburn released the penalties Thursday night in response to open-records requests from the Press-Register and other media. The Press-Register first reported the possible violations in May.
"Big Cat Weekend," as it was dubbed, was an activity-packed weekend for high-profile recruits that culminated in the traditional rolling of Toomer's Corner at a busy downtown intersection on May 30.
Although NCAA rules bar the introduction of visiting student-athletes during any function, videos of the event posted on two Web sites show the crowd cheering as the recruits are introduced by name, position and hometown. The man yelling the introductions does not appear on the videos, but Taylor is shown leading the crowd in cheers immediately after the introductions.
The rolling of Toomer's Corner was advertised on all three major Web sites that cover Auburn, with push-pinned message board posts urging fans to attend. The posts did not attribute the information to coaches or other Auburn staff members.
NCAA rules also bar media from being present "during any recruiting contact made by an institution's coaching staff member." All of the major Web sites that cover Auburn were on hand during the rolling of Toomer's Corner, and some of the recruits were interviewed by reporters.
Auburn first reported the violations of five bylaws on June 30 in a letter to SEC commissioner Mike Slive.
"Representatives of Auburn's athletic interests (boosters) were in attendance during this event and engaged in recruiting activity. Media was also present during this event along with Auburn's mascot. Lastly, the prospective student-athletes' names were announced at the event. All of these are violations of NCAA recruiting regulations," Auburn senior associate athletic director Rich McGlynn wrote in the letter to Slive.
Auburn offered self-imposed penalties, including a reduction of eight official visits and a letter of reprimand for Taylor.
Slive accepted that punishment, but added further restrictions. He barred Auburn from contacting six recruits who were present at Toomer's Corner for six weeks, through Sept. 15. Further, a member of Auburn's coaching staff was required to call each of the six recruits -- Jessel Curry, Khairi Fortt, Marcus Lattimore, Eric Mack, Trovon Reed and Lache Seastrunk -- and read a specific, six-sentence statement that said the prospects should "disregard the Toomer's Corner activities when deciding upon the University you will eventually attend."
Slive also said that Auburn should bar Taylor, one of the team's top recruiters, from any off-campus recruiting until Nov. 30, and that all six of the staff members present at Toomer's Corner should receive a reprimand. Those six coaches are Taylor, offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, running backs coach Curtis Luper, special teams coordinator/tight ends coach Jay Boulware, offensive line coach Jeff Grimes and safeties coach Tommy Thigpen.
Auburn accepted the additional punishments, and head coach Gene Chizik personally called the players involved to read the statement.
The penalties do not affect the eligibility of the six players. Reed and Curry have since verbally committed to the Tigers, Mack has committed to South Carolina, Fortt has committed to Penn State and Auburn is still recruiting Lattimore and Seastrunk.
The university issued a statement from Chizik that read: "We unintentionally committed a secondary violation and have cooperated fully with the Southeastern Conference and NCAA, and are moving forward. We're pleased about the foundation that we are setting for this program and are excited for our upcoming bowl game. We will continue to work hard on the recruiting trail to recruit top-notch student-athletes that best fit our needs at Auburn."
ROLLISON SUSPENDED: Auburn true freshman quarterback Tyrik Rollison has been suspended for an undisclosed violation of team rules, the school announced Thursday night.
A native of Sulphur Springs, Texas, Rollison is redshirting this season but was expected to compete with current junior Neil Caudle for the starting job in 2010.
Coaches had praised Rollison's growth in the offense during his first year of college.
"In the last three or four weeks, he's really come on," offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn said. "You can tell he's mentally into it and starting to develop and starting to do the things he needs to do to get better."
The release did not specify the length of the suspension, or whether Rollison would participate in team activities while he is barred from playing. Auburn will officially accept an invitation to the Jan. 1 Outback Bowl on Sunday.
