USC’s Notice of Allegation, New Look SEC and Football Recruiting Hot Board

As I sipped my coffee (black, no cream) and slowly walked down my driveway to pick up my Tuesday morning edition of The State newspaper, there are certain headlines I expect to see: Obama Wants Higher Taxes On the Wealthy (shocker!), Unemployment in South Carolina Rises (Surprise?) or Another Republican Presidential Debate (Honestly let’s get Romney and Perry in a Texas Steel Cage Match, winner gets Obama!) So as I unfolded the paper and gazed upon the headline yesterday morning, I almost choked on my coffee as the headline displays: NCAA Spells out Allegations against USC
So on top of Garcia inconsistent play, the USC defense giving up 33.3 points per game (ranks 100th in NCAA, per ESPN) and opponents converting 51% on third downs, now my alma mater faces public scrutiny as Carolina was served an NOA, Notice of Allegations, by the NCAA. How was your cup of coffee yesterday morning Dr. Pastides? Athletic Director Hyman I hope the first phone call you made yesterday morning was to USC’s Compliance Department and you went all Donald Trump on everyone in that department? The main recipient of the Gamecocks’ ire should be Jennifer Stiles, USC Director of Compliance. Miss Stiles how on earth can a governing body of student/athletes sign-off on a 3-star hotel room for $14.95/per night? Did it ever cross your mind that $15/per day for a hotel suite, where USC has housed several dignitaries, faculty and athletic staff costs a little more than a dinner at Applebee’s? I checked the Whitney Hotel website today and the Low Price Guarantee for a one-bedroom suite is $109/per day. I called and asked for the Stiles Special and rudely received a dial tone. The first move I would do if I am AD Eric Hyman or Dr. Pastides is penalize Jennifer Stiles and her subordinates in the Compliance Department where it hurts---the wallet! I would fine each compliance department personnel a certain percentage based on a salary scale and proportionately equal to making up the difference of $47k. Jennifer Stiles would get the brunt of the monetary penalty for her lack of oversight. $47,000 is the reduced total rates accumulated by 12 USC athletes (10 football players & two track athletes) over a period from May 2009 thru October 2010, per The State newspaper.
Now in regards to the SAM, Student Athlete Mentoring, Foundation in which two former USC graduates, Steve Gordon (President) and Kevin Lahn (Treasurer), are members of the board. Allegedly from the Spring of 2009 through February 2011, these two persons made impermissible recruiting contact, provided impermissible recruiting inducements to prospective student athletes (WR Damiere Byrd and 2010 Florida signee Shariff Floyd, Floyd’s college decision came down between UF/USC) and provided extra benefits to student athletes through the SAM Foundation in the amount of $8,000. Damiere Byrd’s father serves on the Board of the SAM Foundation. USC Coach G.A. Mangus had a previous relationship with Gordon and Lahn while Mangus was the Head Coach at Delaware Valley, which is just outside of Philadelphia, PA. This SAM foundation is centered in the Northeast and tries to help prospective student athletes find college scholarships in several sports. Lahn and Gordon provided several inducements to football prospects (in 2010 brought 49 football prospects to a USC summer camp, per The State), a basketball prospect in which Carolina was recruiting but never offered and offered inducements to USC Track Coach Curtis Frye and 16 track athletes, per The State. Since the allegations USC has disassociated itself from Lahn and Gordon from being a member of any type of USC clubs.
Carolina has until December 14th to respond to the allegations and is set to appear before the NCAA Committee on Infractions February 17-18 in Los Angeles. I am not sure what type of punishment will be acceptable but I am probably guessing that USC will lose scholarships and some sort of recruiting sanctions as a result of these allegations. Any self-imposed penalties from now until February 2012 would look good in the eyes of the NCAA Committee on Infractions. Happy Valentine's Day USC!!!

Conference re-Alignment:
It appears college football is driving the bus with $$Benjamins$$ riding shotgun towards a destination of mega conferences. Here is how I project the SEC will look by 2012, no later than 2013 after Texas A&M and Missouri officially join the Southeastern Conference:
SEC East: Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee and Vanderbilt
SEC West: Alabama, Arkansas, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Missouri and Texas A&M
Shifting Auburn to the SEC East Division makes sense being that Auburn is the eastern most school in the SEC West Division. That would put four of the traditional six SEC powers, Auburn, Georgia, Florida and Tennessee in the SEC East and the remaining two SEC traditional powers, Alabama & LSU, would remain in the SEC West, per The Birmingham News. Why Missouri? Well the St. Louis (21st) and Kansas City (31st) television markets would expand the SEC TV audience further west leaving more of a Southeastern Conference footprint near Big 10 or Pac-12/16 territory. Missouri geographically makes sense because it already borders three SEC states, Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee. IMHO the SEC will not add two additional teams to increase to a 16-team conference unless teams like FSU ($20 million buyout to leave ACC), Notre Dame (pipe dream!) or Texas (afraid of the competition) have a change of heart. So who knows what the landscape of college football will look like before the 2012 season kicks off, but I am confident the SEC will have two new members join the best athletic conference in the NCAA.

Football Recruiting HotBoard:
Carolina is sitting in an enviable position right now because the Gamecocks can be very selective as to whom they target for the last 5-7 scholarships in the 2012 class. Here is my breakdown of where things stand today with the remaining prospects. Commitments in BOLD

Quarterback:
Brendan Nosovitch (PA)

Running Back:
Kendric Salley (SC)
Keith Marshall (NC); UGA leads by a wide margin; if Richt is fired then Marshall’s recruitment heats up!
Jela Duncan (NC); Duke leads but if USC were to offer then IMHO the Gamecocks can land this kid
I’Tavius Mathers(TN); committed to Ole Miss; but Houston Nutt is sitting on the hottest seat in the SEC, so USC could get back in the game if Nutt is fired at end of the year
Wes Brown (MD); set to reveal top 10 schools this weekend; claims USC will make top 10

Wide Receivers:
Shaq Roland (SC)
Kwinton Smith (SC)
Jody Fuller (NC)

Offensive Line:
OT Brock Stadnik (NC)
C Clayton Stadnik (NC)
C/OG Cody Waldrop (FL)
OT Joe Harris (GA)
OT Mason Zandi (SC)
OG Quincy McKinney (Fork Union Prep School)

Defensive Line:
DT Carlos Hood (GA)
DE Darius English (GA)
DE/DT Jonathan Bullard (NC); USC/UF battle with no leader; Bullard’s teammate, Ledbetter, committed to UF but Travian Robertson’s former high school coach now coaches Bullard’s high school team. USC coaches feel confident in landing Bullard; Shawn Elliott is lead recruiter
DE Tyriq McCord (FL); USC leads UF, Southern Cal, Miami and Georgia; plays at Garcia’s former high school; hybrid DE or LB; USC plans playing McCord at DE; G.A. Mangus lead recruiter
DT Carlos Watkins (NC); Clemson leads UF, BAMA and USC (final four schools); I expect Watkins to be committed to Clemson soon! Shawn Elliott lead recruiter
DE Jhaustin Thomas (GA); Auburn leads USC and UF (not a take); Thomas says he will visit USC but that remains to be seen; might not have a scholarship offer from USC available in the not so distant future if he does not commit soon;

Linebacker:
ILB Kaiwan Lewis (NJ)
OLB T.J. Holloman (GA)
LB Raphael Kirby (GA); committed to Miami but listening to other schools pending UM’s NCAA investigation; USC & UGA right behind Miami and working hard to get an official visit; highest rated linebacker prospect on USC’s LB board; Lorenzo Ward lead recruiter
LB Reggie Northrup (FL); committed to Miami and similar situation as Kirby (above) listening to other schools pending the NCAA investigation into UM; same high school as current Gamecock Shaq Wilson; Steve Spurrier Jr. is lead recruiter
LB Quanzell Lambert (NJ); BAMA & Iowa lead USC and several other schools; same high school as Damiere Byrd; G.A. Mangus is lead recruiter

Spur:
Jordan Diggs (FL); Gamecocks legacy as Dad, Shed Diggs, played at USC in mid-80’s; has not visited USC campus this year yet but is expected to take a USC official; USC & Nebraska lead; currently sitting out high school season due to a transfer issue earlier this year; G.A. Mangus is lead recruiter

Safety:
Kyle Fleetwood (GA)
T.J. Gurley (GA)
Elijah Shumate (NJ); USC leads Rutgers, Notre Dame and Michigan; expected to visit sometime in the fall and announce at Army All-American Bowl in early January; good friends with Damiere Byrd and Sheldon Royster both USC freshmen from New Jersey; G.A. Mangus is lead recruiter
Lucas Thompson (FL); Miami leads USC; apparently headed to Miami until NCAA allegations surfaced at UM; Jeep Hunter is lead recruiter
Karl Joseph (FL); lead recruiter is Jeep Hunter
Traveon Henry (FL); lead recruiter is Jeep Hunter

Cornerback:
Rico McWilliams (GA)
Chaz Elder (GA); USC leads UGA; Elder was expected to commit to Carolina at the end of August but UGA’s coaches convinced Elder to hold off on a commitment; Elder visited UGA unofficially for the USC/UGA game; Elder’s mother wants him to attend USC; Lorenzo Ward is lead recruiter
Wayne Morgan (NY); BAMA leads USC (no offer); G.A. Mangus is lead recruiter
Chris Moody (GA); Georgia Tech and Missisippi State lead USC; wants to play QB in college; Lorenzo Ward is lead recruiter
Chris Brown (SC); Brown just committed to Notre Dame this past weekend; long rumored to be a USC lean;USc recruiting as a defensive back but Notre Dame offered as a wide receiver; this battle is not over for Brown’s signature; Steve Spurrier Jr. is lead recruiter

Athlete:
Kelvin Rainey (FL)
Jerrell Adams (Fork Union Prep)
Devin Shaw (NJ); Iowa (written offer) and USC (verbal offer) lead several schools; not sure how much USC is actively pursuing this prospect but I’ll keep tabs on him; G.A. Mangus is lead recruiter
Stefon Diggs (MD); Auburn & Florida lead USC, Maryland, BAMA, Clemson, Miami; this prospect visited USC unofficially during the summer and enjoyed himself; needs to take official visit to USC for the Gamecocks to be serious contenders; G.A. Mangus is lead recruiter

My next blog will be Friday afternoon when I go inside the five keys to a USC victory over Vanderbilt.

Go Gamecocks!