$EC Schools Paid 2015 LB Recruit a Combined $32,000
Leo Lewis, a 2015 LB recruit, was paid by Ole Miss & Mississippi St to come to their respective schools. He ended up signing with Miss St and is cooperating with the NCAA in its investigation of Ole Miss. He was granted conditional immunity in exchange for his cooperation; however, he's admitted that his current team, the one he ended up signing with, illegally paid him as well. I can't imagine that this is going to end well.
https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2017/8/25/16199394/leo-lewis-…
https://www.seccountry.com/sec/mississppi-state-lb-leo-lewis-received-2…
The money quotes:
Lewis says he took $10,000 cash from an Ole Miss booster, he could only recall the name Allen, the day before signing day. “He told the group (NCAA investigators, his lawyers, and Ole Miss lawyers and reps) he had never intended on signing with Ole Miss and that as he took the payment, he was still deciding between LSU and Mississippi State,” Godfrey says. “Lewis was then pressed by a lawyer for Ole Miss as to why he took the money.”
‘I just wanted the money,'” he said. “‘Cause I needed it … We was moving to a house, and I actually had my daughter. My dad had just went to prison. Uh yeah, so needed it, so I took it. [I] asked for it, and I took it.'”
"Godfrey’s report also states that an audio tape exists in which Lewis’ mother, Tina Henderson, “allegedly told Farrar (Barney Farrar, Ole Miss staff member at the time) that she had received multiple cash offers for Lewis, including $650,000 from LSU and $80,000 from Mississippi State.”
August 25th, 2017 at 1:55 PM ^
Love his honesty. "...needed it, so I took it"
August 25th, 2017 at 2:00 PM ^
August 25th, 2017 at 2:22 PM ^
moving to a new house. some dude just gives him $10K? how many of the 17 yr olds that we were would've said 'no' to that?
August 25th, 2017 at 1:56 PM ^
Probably just an isolated incident...
August 25th, 2017 at 2:22 PM ^
August 25th, 2017 at 2:52 PM ^
Double up vote for you for recognizing my humor. :-)
August 25th, 2017 at 1:56 PM ^
"Godfrey’s report also states that an audio tape exists in which Lewis’ mother, Tina Henderson, “allegedly told Farrar (Barney Farrar, Ole Miss staff member at the time) that she had received multiple cash offers for Lewis, including $650,000 from LSU and $80,000 from Mississippi State.”
LSU and Bama come with the real bagmen. I don't buy that LSU offered that much. Wasn't the rumor regarding Rashan Gary and Clemson only $100-200k? Cam Newton only got $180k.
August 25th, 2017 at 2:05 PM ^
August 25th, 2017 at 2:41 PM ^
was about to say the same thing, 650k is way out there
August 25th, 2017 at 5:16 PM ^
Yeah, and he signs with mississippi state and turns downs $650k from lsu, right.
August 25th, 2017 at 1:57 PM ^
This comes public after Hugh's prostitution calls were revealed. And they also come after we learned earlier this week that Hugh made ~200 phone calls to a banned booster - AFTER he was officially banned - on the schools phone. And Ole Miss has to defend Hugh on these calls because they said he wasn't released for reasons pertaining to the investigation. And now this...
If there was ever a reason to hand out the Death Penalty, this is it. On one hand, Ole Miss tells us what a good guy Hugh is - all this recruiting stuff wasn't his fault, he didn't do anything wrong. But he did. So, either the school knew about the issues, or they didn't. Either way, it isn't good for Ole Miss...
Death Penalty. If it isn't in play, then it's forever more no longer a threat.
August 25th, 2017 at 2:17 PM ^
case for the death penalty. However, when you say "If there was ever a reason....this is it," you may have forgotten PSU's escape from the death penalty in a case that offended against numerous minors and every sensible human outside of Pennsylvania.
August 25th, 2017 at 4:08 PM ^
The NCAA should have followed their rules. They claimed that PSU violated the rules by engaging in conduct that was intended to give themselves a competitive advantage by creating a positive image. Guess what? That's not a violation of the rules, every school attempts to create a positive image of itself. PSU did horrible things but they didn't violate NCAA rules.
NCAA rules don't address everything that can happen in the world and they didn't cover what PSU did. The NCAA just decided that PSU was bad so they should be punished. That's arbitrary and capricious, an abuse of their power. Abuse of power is a bad thing whether it's by the government, big business or a "nonprofit" like the NCAA.
August 25th, 2017 at 1:58 PM ^
I wonder what kind of cash the big guns are playing with. $650k is a lot for 3-4 years.
August 25th, 2017 at 2:15 PM ^
Verdict=Bullshit
August 25th, 2017 at 4:09 PM ^
Or it might have been a typo.
August 25th, 2017 at 1:59 PM ^
August 25th, 2017 at 1:59 PM ^
64th overall in the 247 composite in 2015.
Honestly, I know the SEC is corrupt. But any time I hear details like this I have a hard time believing that there's any area of major college football that's completely clean.
This does, however, serve as a useful rejoinder to people who suggest that these guys are making hundreds of thousands a year. $10k is not small, but it won't be renting you a mansion, either. The cars the Alabama players were (are?) all driving? All Dodges. Why? Because they are dealer vehicles--a benefit, not the result of them having $100k extra to drop on a vehicle.
The money is big to these kids because $10,000 is a lot of money to someone who isn't rich. The texts that got Ole Miss in trouble in the first place regarded a player trying to cover his mom's rent.
It's in flagrant violation of the rules; it's not 7 figure stuff.
August 25th, 2017 at 2:31 PM ^
Right. I've represented poor people for the last 17 years and it's amazing what a difference $500 here or $1,000 there can make to struggling households. Give one of these families a five-figure check and that's life-changing money.
August 25th, 2017 at 4:22 PM ^
Um, pretty sure I remember one of the players having an BMW i8 which is over $100K. Plus a Dodge Challenger Hellcat starts at $65K so just saying "Dodges" does not mean trivial money.
August 25th, 2017 at 5:44 PM ^
You missed the point: it's not the price of the cars that's the issue, because the players aren't buying the cars at all. They're being allowed to use them, probably in some sort of no-cost or absurdly-below-value lease arrangement, by a dealership that is known to be friendly.
So they don't need to have $65,000 in hand ready to blow on stuff, they just need to walk into the right dealership with a recognizable face and talk to the friendly manager who will hook them up. The fact that there were so many Dodges just tells us what the local friendly dealership keeps in stock.
(BTW, if you wonder how the dealership can afford to do that sort of thing with such high value inventory, well, perhaps it's a very well-off dealer, or a dealer with a rich owner. Or perhaps selling a Dodge Challenger that was last driven by, say, Amari Cooper turns out to be really easy even if the price is 15% above Kelly Blue Book.)
August 25th, 2017 at 6:00 PM ^
I get that. And no, I don't think they are coming up with any money for these. If anything, any lease money is being funneled by boosters. Or sponsored by the dealers. But the point remains that the benefit they are receiving may be 30, 40 or 50K, not less than 10K. Whatever the source it's all illegitimate (at least through NCAA eyes). And I suspect that players are also getting other benefits.
August 25th, 2017 at 4:50 PM ^
Mom's rent... Right. Rent. I thought it was for the electric bill (lights, specifically), but either way I'd call it a code word for weekly payment. Not surprised at that, though. The fact that it was active members of the football staff handling the payments is what surprises me. Talk about cognitive dissonance...
August 25th, 2017 at 2:00 PM ^
August 25th, 2017 at 2:05 PM ^
Wasn't he offered immunity?
Regarding paying players: I think the lawless wild west (wild south?) situation now is absurd, corrupt, and ultimately bad for everybody.
I think a lot of this stuff should remain against the rules. And I think paying the revenue sports will never work due to Title IX issues.
But I think that players should be free to make NIL money. A lot of the money will wind up being the same, but through legal and traceable channels.
If that Tuscaloosa Dodge dealership wants to be endorsed by every guy on the team at the cost of a free vehicle lease for four years, that becomes his business.
August 25th, 2017 at 2:20 PM ^
"This kid is going to lose nis eligibility " Only if the NCAA reneges on the promise made by its investigator at the start of each interview with the kid. Or if the kid lied to the investigator. https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2017/8/25/16199394/leo-lewis-…
August 25th, 2017 at 3:05 PM ^
Or if he doesn't continue to comply with the investigation by attending the hearing (at which he could certainly hurt his own school).
August 25th, 2017 at 9:44 PM ^
August 25th, 2017 at 2:01 PM ^
This is just going to make it that much sweeter when we do it clean and win it all.
August 25th, 2017 at 2:08 PM ^
August 25th, 2017 at 2:06 PM ^
Wasn't Willie Gay really high on Michigan then all of a sudden it was down to Mississippi State and LSU? *thinking emoji*
August 25th, 2017 at 2:15 PM ^
August 25th, 2017 at 4:39 PM ^
August 25th, 2017 at 2:09 PM ^
The most messed up part of this is the Lawyer who had the balls to ask "Why did you take the money".
How much of an utterly out of touch doucheag do you have to be to need to ask why an 18 year old kid from a rough background took $10K in cash just handed to him. Like in his head it really is "You know that was a bribe to play for us, in good conscious you should not have taken it".
August 25th, 2017 at 2:13 PM ^
Lawyers ask dumb questions all the time to get the obvious answers on the record. I think it was an appropriate question to ask especially if the kid was going to lie/not tell the entire truth about something. Ole Miss could then attack his credibility to the NCAA.
August 25th, 2017 at 2:25 PM ^
That is just the lawyer doing his job. And it actually helps the kid. Gives him a chance to give a justification for breaking the rules. Instead of 'yeah, I did it' the kids gets to say 'yeah, I did it but I had some legit reasons, kid on the way, we are working class at best, etc.'
The kid should have added: 'Give me a break. Hugh Freeze spends that much on hookers every week.'
August 25th, 2017 at 2:09 PM ^
August 25th, 2017 at 2:12 PM ^
August 25th, 2017 at 2:51 PM ^
August 25th, 2017 at 2:16 PM ^
August 25th, 2017 at 2:16 PM ^
These programs do this and when was the last time they were ever any good?
August 25th, 2017 at 2:23 PM ^
Alabama? LSU? Clemson?
August 25th, 2017 at 2:17 PM ^
They're just jealous, Pawwwwl.
August 25th, 2017 at 2:27 PM ^
Laquan Treadwell doesn't see what the big deal is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
https://www.sbnation.com/college-football-recruiting/2013/1/29/3929224/…
August 25th, 2017 at 2:33 PM ^
The Bagmen have names. Not a good sign for the underground money flow
August 25th, 2017 at 2:37 PM ^
I feel bad for this kid. They're dangling his eligibility in front him, and have all the leverage now. He should have told them to kick rocks from the beginning.
He's going to have to watch his ass on the field for cheap shots. It's an unwritten code amongst football players not to talk about cash. He's now known as the snitch by his teammates.
August 25th, 2017 at 3:31 PM ^
This kid is making the right move. We are talking about AMATEUR athletics and schools that have no issues with breaking the rules! Anyone who hurts this kid because of some kind of unwritten code should have their scholarship revoked.
You know what wins and losses means in a league where rules are broken? They mean nothing. Hopefully the NCAA actually has the guts to punish Ole Miss and Mississippi State accordingly.
August 25th, 2017 at 8:55 PM ^
I never said he wasn't making the right(as in moral) move, and I agree with everything you said in theory.
However, that is just not the reality of college football. He is going to have severe repercussions because of this. He got immunity, but his school didn't. It would be nice to think that a player getting paid is rare, but that's just being naive.
I'm in no way condoning the behavior, but out of the thousands of kids that take money he got stuck in this. As I said, I just feel bad for him because he probably just wants to play football, but now his name is known for all the wrong reasons.