fiver

understatement, but fair enough...i wasn't intending to attack you. getting top RB's (Mike Dyer from Arkansas) has been one of Auburn's strengths for many years. Malzahn is an Arkansas native as you probably know. Getting Trovon Reed from Lousiana was a surprise I guess, but LSU was the logical choice, and one could make the case that their depth at WR was a bit deeper than AU's. I attributed it to him being the type of player (a QB turned WR) that would fit perfectly into a Malzahn scheme. Shon Coleman, the OL from Mississippi to which you allude, was somewhat of a surprise..Auburn does historically recruit heavily in MS and Georgia. I actually thought Bama was going to get Shon (who is battling leukemia instead of playing football right now, btw). Obviously, I have no idea whether AU has done anything wrong or not...but i do feel like a lot of accusations have been made by nameless sources without any proof to this point...I admit to being a bit defensive right now. It's not like Auburn scored top players from Pac-10 or Big Ten territory.

I don't think my response is worthy of a 'wow, dude.' He alluded to Auburn probably needing to cheat to obtain a top 5 recruiting class, and I provided a defense.

sure, pile on. Everyone outside the SEC hates the SEC. Everyone inside the SEC hates each other.... Chizik was responsible for recruiting many of the defensive players that were on the 2004 undefeated Auburn team, and I believe he recruited well while he was a defensive coordinator at Texas. The Iowa State program that he left has blossomed somewhat this year, and many of Chizik's players are leading the way. Curtis Luper and Trooper Taylor have been highly regarded as excellent recruiters throughout their careers and prior to arriving at AU. If there are any Oklahoma State fans out there, I'm sure they would agree about Luper and Taylor, and I'm sure the University of Tennessee fans out there would confirm that Taylor did a good job at UT. Is it hard to believe that defensive linemen are excited to play under former Lombardi Award and Outland Trophy winner, Tracy Rocker? Now, let's address the fact that AU was thin at a lot of positions after Tubberville was relieved of his duties, and Chizik has been able to sell immediate playing time at AU to recruits. ..but by all means let's use every bit of psuedo-anecdotal "evidence" we can find to crucify Auburn University. Over the years, AU has consistently been a top 20 recruiter, and ol Tubbs even had a couple of top 10 classes. Is having a top 5 class when incoming freshmen are promised immediate playing time that big of a stretch?

I find it hard to believe there would be nothing to be gained by self reporting, cutting ties with the player before he ever stepped foot on the field. Can others confirm?

This is being denied now, just turned on the radio and they were laughing about how something he said was taken out of context and caused a lot of talk on twitter. Coach Chizik also denied this 'rumor'. It's very frustrating to me that everyone already believes Cam, his father, and/or Auburn Univeristy are guilty of wrong-doing that will require suspensions, vacating wins, etc. I believe AU wouldn't have allowed Cam to play this season if anything was going to result from the so far baseless accusations. they had a long time to review this prior to the season beginning. And thought they could get away with it. I'll indulge you. Let's say AU thought they could get away with it and payed for Newton's LOI...I would hope that AU administrators would have cut their losses and reported a violation after finding out that MSU had reported a similar shakedown if there were any merit to it.

exactly.

This is being denied now, just turned on the radio and they were laughing about how something he said was taken out of context and caused a lot of talk on twitter. Coach Chizik also denied this 'rumor'. It's very frustrating to me that everyone already believes Cam, his father, and/or Auburn Univeristy are guilty of wrong-doing that will require suspensions, vacating wins, etc. I believe AU wouldn't have allowed Cam to play this season if anything was going to result from the so far baseless accusations. they had a long time to review this prior to the season beginning.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5786315 SEC compliance officials knew about this last January, so AU officials had to know about it around the same time. AU has already indicated that in their due dilligence they didn't find anything to validate these claims, and they chose to play Cameron Newton this season. They had the opportunity to remedy a potential problem before the player ever stepped on the field. Short of proof, I'm not going to believe hearsay. Who are the sources in this article, btw? Regardless of whether the accusations are being made erroneously or all/some of it is true, the story further tarnishes the SEC's reputation as it pertains to athletics. Either way the story ultimately leads, it's ugly and sad. Why are MSU boosters, 'recruiters', etc. speaking to the press about this now instead of months ago?

ESPN.com and the NY Times need to run an update to their Cam Newton story regarding John Bond. Both of these media outlets evidently considered Bond to be a reputable source, and they both reported that John Bond himself was contacted by agent-runner Kenny Rogers. Since Rogers has publicly denied speaking with Bond since they played ball together 20 years ago, Bond's attorney has now stated that Bond never had contact with Kenny Rogers. Bond heard through the 'gravevine' that Rogers contacted another MSU booster regarding Newton's LOI being for sale. You guys probably don't care about this story, but there has been some really shitty reporting in all of this. I encourage you to read this article by Gregg Doyel at cbssports.com. http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/14267701/consider-the-source-on-newton-story.

That's kind of what I thought too. I don't think I would be all that excited for the guy, but that's probably not fair since he isn't his brothers. Cody's really important to IU for 2 reasons. The first is what people have mentioned is that he is seen as the piece that might bring even more elite recruits to Indiana. And the 2nd is simply that IU could really use another big body. We all know that Crean can recruit guards. To pair them with big men with talent makes those big men really important pieces. IU doesn't need Zeller to actually be the 20th ranked player in the country for him to be a huge get for them. They just need a solid player at the positions that they are sorely lacking at and also a possible help in recruiting momentum. I had almost given up on Crean. Hopefully, he is able to land a few more quality recruits for 2011 and beyond, and IU soon becomes relevant again. I'm really struggling to understand the train of thought that had you ready to give up on Crean after two seasons. Rebuilding a roster when you are starting from scratch is not a quick and easy process. Short answer is 'I'm inpatient.' I understand that Crean took on a substantial task in rebuilding the IU program, but until recently, I thought his inability to recruit front court talent would ultimately lead to his firing. It has been painful watching Pritchard get so much playing time.

That's kind of what I thought too. I don't think I would be all that excited for the guy, but that's probably not fair since he isn't his brothers. Cody's really important to IU for 2 reasons. The first is what people have mentioned is that he is seen as the piece that might bring even more elite recruits to Indiana. And the 2nd is simply that IU could really use another big body. We all know that Crean can recruit guards. To pair them with big men with talent makes those big men really important pieces. IU doesn't need Zeller to actually be the 20th ranked player in the country for him to be a huge get for them. They just need a solid player at the positions that they are sorely lacking at and also a possible help in recruiting momentum. I had almost given up on Crean. Hopefully, he is able to land a few more quality recruits for 2011 and beyond, and IU soon becomes relevant again.

You shouldn't write an article unless you name your source? .....not exactly what I meant....it's more of an ethics question I guess. Students' academic records are protected by FERPA laws. Wouldn't the author's source have broken the law by providing such information? Should one write an article that slanders a kid when the information was obtained illegally (if true) and circumstances don't allow the accusations to be confirmed? Well the issue is with the source, he should be the one in trouble for violating the FERPA laws, not the journalist for reporting on it. That is my problem with it. Should one be able to report upon information that is illegal to share while using an unnamed source as a shield from legal consequences? ...well, my other problem with it is that I'm a fan of the team that it indirectly, negatively portrays....but that's obvious to everyone.

You shouldn't write an article unless you name your source? .....not exactly what I meant....it's more of an ethics question I guess. Students' academic records are protected by FERPA laws. Wouldn't the author's source have broken the law by providing such information? Should one write an article that slanders a kid when the information was obtained illegally (if true) and circumstances don't allow the accusations to be confirmed?

After reading about this further, I now know there is no way that UF can legally confirm nor deny this story due to student privacy laws. I wouldn't be surprised if the story is true as Cam did leave Florida abruptly, but what's the purpose of the article if it can't be checked for accuracy? You either name your source or don't write this article, imo.

so what are the odds IU gets him over UNC and Butler? The Perea commitment couldn't have hurt.

They should pass both up and give it to Denard Robinson. :good: If neither Newton nor James are selected, more likely, it would go to Kellen Moore. Bo Jackson (1985) was the last player to win the Heisman while playing on an unranked team.

Thayer Evans at Foxsports.com is reporting that a source (Urban Meyer?) is indicating that Cam Newton was caught cheating multiple times academically when he was at Florida and faced possible expulsion when he transferred to Blinn College. Whether this is true or not won't affect Cam's eligibility this year with AU, but it's more fodder for the smear campaign. Academic records like these aren't public, and it's likely that someone from UF released this info if it's true. We all knew that Cam had a questionable past, and this year has been about redemption for a kid who made some bad decisions at UF. If this particular story is confirmed by UF, then I don't have any issues with Heisman voters bypassing him. LaMichael James doesn't exactly have a sparkling record either though, so if voters decide to pass on Cam based upon further hearsay (name your source, Evans!), then let's go ahead and pass on James as well.

Rating conferences during the season has it's purpose i guess, but one is able to more accurately rate conferences after they have intermingled more thoroughly after the bowl season. I do believe Oregon has the best team in the nation, and I understand (probably even agree) with the argument for the Pac-10 having the strongest conference this year....however, i'm interested in seeing how all of the bowl games unfold. FWIW, I do think the SEC was overrated at the beginning of this season.

Georgia's passing game is going to give AU some problems....I would think both teams are going to score 30+ points in this game.

This kind of thing happens every year with the SEC I'll go ahead and say it for everyone. the SEC has always been overrated.

That was pathetic. I didn't think either Philly defender made an illegal tacke warranting an unnecessary roughness call either, but yeah...that was probably poor form on their behalf considering the guy was still motionless on the turf.

the medical team was scrambling soon after he went down...hope he's ok.

Yes....AU would have to lose to Georgia and Alabama...it looks like the South Carolina-Florida game next weekend will determine who goes from the SEC East.

Friday's developments: Kenny Rogers denies ever speaking with Auburn about Cam Newton. He says his only contact with Cecil Newton was regarding the culture Cam could expect in the small town of Starkville where the Mississippi State campus is located. Kenny Rogers denies speaking with John Bond since they played football together almost 20 years ago. Kenny Rogers denies ever receiving money from any school for any player's LOI. Auburn athletic director, Jay Jacobs, says the university would not have allowed Cam to play any game this season if there were any questions about his eligibility. Jacobs also indicated that Auburn audited phone records of university representatives as part of their due diligence.

This is going to be a huge distraction no matter whether AU or Cam's family did anything wrong.