In SEC, If You're Not Cheating, You're Not Trying

Update: Arkansas is now investigating.

Woo pig sooie! Arkansas might have some explaining to do after this image appeared Sunday on several Razorback message boards. It shows several recruits from this past weekend wearing personalized jerseys and posing for a picture in the team's locker room.

Look closely and you'll also see that the lockers have been personalized with names of the recruits.

Last we checked, creating a false game day environment was a big no-no according to NCAA rules. Can you say secondary violations?

Comments

[Ron]

None of them was looking so, they are in the clear, they didn't know anything about it....

[richard]

So you're claiming that something everyone does is illegal? You may be right, for all I know. But I do know that everyone else does the same thing, so it would really surprise me if it were illegal.

[B]

There parents received the benefits, not the kids, so it is ok.

[Matt]

That's something every team does. I see no problem.

[DoubleA]

Arkansas plans to use the Cam defense and just say they didn't know. Seems to work with the NCAA these days.

[boom.roasted.]

The NCAA should penalize #56 for looking so sloppy

[It's Cheating]

It is illegal. Kiffin and Sarkisisian were reprimanded for uses smoke machines and letting kids run onto the field to the announcement of their names.

Minnesota last year was not allowed to further recruit Seantrel Henderson because they produced a jersey with his name and a life-size cardboard cut-out of his image for his visit.

It is a recruiting violation.

[bevo]

The jerseys are for their respective mothers. The nameplates? They belong to their, um, uncles.

The kids did not (A) know they were breaking the rules and (B) benefit from their status.

The NCAA sees nothing wrong here. Move along.

[Todd McDermott]

This does not simulate a "gameday" environment. Someone really thought they had something. The jersey's aren't personalized. They are numbered. Do you see names on the back? I don't. Lockers with paper nameplates does not constitute simulating a game day environment. Maybe it simulates a practice day environment because they use the locker rooms on practices also.

Learn the rules before you tell people they are breaking them, hot rod.

[Keith]

It's Booby Petrino..Is there any surprise there would be cheating going on at Arkansas?

[Yabba]

Appears Nebraska fans are just butthurt over Tevin Mitchel.

Cornhusker Steve Ryan is a complete tool and loser.

If I had an alcoholic, lunatic for a head coach I'd probably cry about stuff like too.

[Drew]

Man, what is it with parents these days? Naming their kids things like "45" and "8". I mean, that has to be those kids' names since the jerseys are "personalized", right?

Pretty big stretch to call stickers above a locker a "game day environment", false or otherwise.

B- for effort, though.

[df]

this is a photo shop....jokes on us!

[CC4u]

The name plates don't look like paper unless they have created the very first light reflecting paper down there, and The jerseys they are wearing are game day jerseys not practice jerseys. If my team was about to get in trouble I would defend what is clearly against the rules(sarcasm). You can try to twist it all you want but the picture speaks volumes.

[HogBlogger]

You've got to be kidding. The Razorbacks wear matching jeans on game day.

Besides that, I don't see the marching band anywhere in the picture.

[OS]

13.6.7.9 Activities During Official Visit.

An institution may not arrange miscellaneous, personalized recruiting aids (e.g., personalized jerseys, personalized audio/video scoreboard presentations) and may not permit a prospective student-athlete to engage in any game-day simulations (e.g., running onto the field with the team during pregame introductions) during an official visit. Personalized recruiting aids include any decorative items and special additions to any location the prospective student-athlete will visit (e.g., hotel room, locker room, coach's office, conference room, arena) regardless of whether the items include the prospective student-athlete's name or picture. (Adopted: 8/5/04, Revised: 5/14/05)

[Da Man]

What about Tevin's mom being hired now by the University of Arkansas? Don't worry Slive has your back pigs.

[Jim Van Horn]

When has Bobby Petrino ever been accused of cheating? Job hopping maybe, but I have never heard of any claim of cheating.

.
For what it is worth, and I don't claim to know the rules, it would seem to me that wearing jeans with a jersey is not what you would take to the field with on game day

I would imagine that all schools try to make the athletes they are recruiting feel special on their visit--it would be kind of stupid not to. I imagine that there is some kind of line that you can't cross without getting in major trouble, but I don't know enough about the inner workings of major college athletic departments to have any of what that might be.

[HuskerGreg]

FWIW...its a dumb rule.

[Rudy]

cardboard nameplates stuck aboard lockers is not a violation dumbazz. Had the names been on the back of the jersey that may have been one but it wasnt. they put the jersey's on took a picture, gave them back. They didn't do what kiffin did and have smoke and the scoreboard and the game announcer call their names as they ran through the band playing the fight song.

I'll give you C- for effort. So go stick your head up cam newtons ass and figure out where the 200k went that he has no knowledge of. DlCKHEAD

[Da Man]

Ok Rudy...yah everything is above board at Arkansas. This kid has been committed to NU & has wanted to go to NU for a long time. Suddenly desperate for a CB Arkansas offers his mom a job at the University & rolls out the red carpet & he switches...come on now.

[OS]

"Personalized recruiting aids include any decorative items and special additions to any location the prospective student-athlete will visit (e.g., hotel room, locker room..."

So yeah... nametags on the lockers do matter. SDay goodbye to these 11 recruits or have the NCAA pounce on you.

[C Tate]

His mother didn't all of a sudden get a job at Arkansas. And the bigger question is how did he commit to Nebraska in the first place. He was always a Hog lean and grew up a huge Arkansas fan. We were shocked as any when he went to Nebraska.

[greg]

if anything at all it would be a secondary violation. we can still sign them with a minor slap on the wrist oooooooh you really got us. maybe he didn't want to go play in the cold. the big 10+2 maybe better than the big 12-2 but it aint the SEC

[The Last Word]

Chizik and Auburn gave Cecil newton a quater mil to get Cam to come to Auburn and your loser ass is worried about kids putting on a jersey and getting their picture taken?

By the way, I'm not surprised Auburn is in a recruiting scandal. Malzahn's on that staff, and he's been a great recruiter all the way back to the Shiloh Christian days.