In the wake of a report from AOL Fanhouse that the NCAA is prepared to slap Tennessee with a failure to monitor violation, the football program could be facing an additional leftover issue from the Lane Kiffin "era". Ivan Maisel of ESPN.com reports that the NCAA, as part of its investigation into the program, is looking into whether one of Kiffin’s assistants, Ed Orgeron, conducted a workout with a potential recruit in May of 2009. That prospect, Brandon Willis, gave a verbal commitment to UT eight months later, but ultimately signed with North Carolina when Kiffin and Orgeron left for USC.
The workout, if true, would be a blatant violation of NCAA rules.
NCAA rules allow college coaches to observe a prospect twice during the spring of his junior year. However, the college coach may not instruct the prospect or conduct the workout. The NCAA doesn’t allow in-person contact between a college coach and a prospect off the college campus until a six-week period that begins after Thanksgiving of the prospect’s senior year of high school.
The recruiting calendar is clear and well understood in the coaching community. The evaluation rule, sometimes referred to as the “no-tryout” rule, is clear, too. Unlike some portions of the NCAA manual, there is no gray area regarding either potential violation. Orgeron, two sources said, conducted the workout of Willis at 6 a.m.
Per Maisel, UT would probably be hit with secondary violations if its proven the workout took place, and may face sanctions such as “a reduction in off-campus recruiting days by the coaching staff and a reduction in official visits by high school prospects.” For the actions of a coach who is no longer at the school.
When contacted by Maisel, Orgeron said he’s "been told that I’m not allowed to comment. That’s what I’ve been instructed to do. That’s what I’m doing."
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