Tiger Wrap: Resetting LSU's recruiting board in June
Intro The NCAA's new, relaxed rules have allowed players to earn money from their name, image and likeness through the transfer portal and NIL era. The last two offseasons have been chaotic, as players from small schools went hunting for six-figure deals and the promise of championships. The lack of enforcement and investigations can be traced to the loopholes in the NCAA's rulebook, and coaches are forbidden from contacting players directly, but players can reach out to another player on another team and parents and third parties can entice players as long as the school or coach do not direct those activities. The NCAA is looking to reduce the number of allegations of improprieties reported, but many coaches are hesitant to make substantial changes to the contact between coaches and players.
Published : 11 months ago by Sonny Shipp in Sports
Tampering is a widespread issue in college football and coaches fear nothing can be done to stop it in the transfer portal and NIL era, a sentiment 247Sports first reported on last May.
The advent of the transfer portal and the ability for players to play immediately at their new school and earn money from their name, image and likeness opened the floodgates in 2021 for creative workarounds of the NCAA's new, relaxed rules. Not surprisingly, the last two offseasons have been chaotic as the portal and NIL congealed, and player movement quickly transformed into unregulated free agency. Superstars at small schools became hot commodities, and the blueblood programs — and their boosters, players and NIL collectives -- went hunting, luring the best players to their schools with six-figure NIL deals and the promise of championships.
"A couple of years ago something like that could get a coached fired," Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson said. "Today there's no penalty for doing that."
"It's disturbing, it's upsetting," Georgia coach Kirby Smart said.
"This is a cutthroat business," said Florida's Billy Napier said.
Accusations of improprieties have run rampant the last two offseasons — Pat Narduzzi famously went after USC and Lincoln Riley last year after Biletnikoff winner Jordan Addison left Pitt in favor of the Trojans — but NCAA rule enforcers have done little to alleviate concerns. The lack of enforcement and investigations can be traced to the gaping loopholes in the NCAA's rulebook. In some ways, the loopholes have become features rather than bugs in the system. Coaches are forbidden from contacting players directly, but players can reach out to another player on another team, and parents and third parties can also entice players as long as the school or coach do not direct those activities.
"All of us have stories about guys getting bought off our teams or players who aren't in the portal having multiple offers," Clawson said. "And it's hard to substantiate it. There's always some degree of liar's poker going on with this."
Wake Forest lost two stars after the 2022 season because of tampering, Clawson said. Quarterback Sam Hartman, the ACC's all-time touchdown leader, was tied to Notre Dame as a landing spot before he entered the transfer portal. He's now a Heisman Trophy candidate for the Irish.
"A lot of it involves third parties and you can't necessarily trace it to another coach, but there are real offers out there for kids," Clawson said. Clawson was admirably supportive of Hartman's predicament last December, as rumors were ramping up that the quarterback could be looking to hit the portal.
"If there is some incredible offer for him to go to another school and get life-changing money, how could we fault him for that?" Clawson asked.
Shane Beamer strongly suspects four South Carolina players departed in December and January because of inducements. The Gamecocks lost their leading rusher, Marshawn Lloyd, to USC. Two of their three top pass rushers — Gilber Edmond (Florida State) and Jordan Burch (Oregon) — also left the program, and the nation's top transfer tight end (Jaheim Bell) joined Edmond at FSU.
"It was strange in a couple of those situations based on conversations that I had with guys two or three days before they went in the portal," Beamer said. "It's interesting how things happen, but again, rumors are one thing, proof is another thing."
Said Arkansas coach Sam Pittman: "Somebody comes into your office and says, 'I'm going to the portal' and the next day they already know where they're going. They probably had a conversation or two before that. ... There's a show on TV you can get married in 30 minutes. In the portal, I don't think it works that way."
Not all of the blame should be laid at the feet of NIL collectives, boosters or opposing coaches, Smart said.
"A lot of time it's the player who is negotiating or looking for greener pastures, and when they do that sometimes they create the tampering," Smart said. "It goes both ways."
Coaches and administrators hoped shrinking the portal availability from a year-round pursuit to two windows in December and April would curb tampering, but any shift in conduct has been marginal, per SEC commissioner Greg Sankey.
"We need to see some real clear messages on that behavior ceasing — accountability," Sankey said. "That's part of a bigger solution. I don't ascribe to the fact that just 60 or 30 days make that substantial of a difference."
Many coaches are also hesitant to contact the NCAA with allegations. Evidence is difficult to obtain and pursuing justice seems fruitless. Many assistants also fear they will ruin their job prospects with another coach if they snitch.
"I just call coaches. If I feel like it's happening to us, I call them," Pittman said. "However, once you make that call, it's already too late, because the kids are already gone. I don't know how you stop that, either."
So, how can a seemingly wild issue be tamed? Auburn coach Hugh Freeze believes rules should revert to their pre-2021 language, even though he admits it's an impossible request. Players in the portal should not be immediately eligible at their new school unless their coach was recently fired or if they are classified as a graduate student, the first-year Auburn coach said.
"That eliminates tampering," he explained. "People are not gonna come take players if they have to sit out. ... But I don't think that will ever happen again. Outside of that, I don't know how you really stop some of the discussions that will take place."
A more realistic possibility is the removal of the IAWP rule (individual associated with a prospect), which bars schools from hiring high school coaches and staffers with direct links to a player who signs with that college. Such practices could be interpreted as an enticement for transfers to leave for another school.
"When it was put in place, it made sense, because that's how people were recruiting, but in this day of NIL they don't care if somebody's grandma is getting hired," said Todd Berry, executive director of the American Football Coaches Association. "It's all about the $100,000 they're getting paid. It's antiquated now and we need to get rid of it because it's become burdensome for everybody. Everybody has to prove relationships, and you can't prove relationships. It's hard to do."
Stiffer penalties for tampering could also be a solution. "The NFL deals with it, don't they?" Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher offered.
The NFL's anti-tampering policy carries harsh penalties, including hefty fines and loss of draft picks. The Miami Dolphins were penalized in August with a $1.5 million fine, the removal of two draft picks (including a first-round selection) and owner Stephen Ross was suspended after an investigation uncovered the Dolphins' front office had conversations with quarterback Tom Brady and then-New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton. The Eagles and Cardinals recently settled a tampering probe that involved defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, who the Cardinals hired away as head coach.
Still, the NCAA isn't the NFL and the NCAA is notoriously slow with their investigations. The NCAA can levy show-cause penalties and deduct scholarships if tampering is discovered, but the organization has not yet dropped the hammer on one of its members. Try as they might, coaches' brainstorming sessions may do little to improve their plight. Tampering is here and it's not going anywhere.
"I don't know that there's one thing," Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said. "At the end of the day, the integrity of people that are hired and the integrity of the staff is how you solve that problem."
In the meantime, schools have re-focused efforts on blocking outside influences and offering more one-on-one time with players on their rosters.
"We spend a lot of time on connections and having conversations," said Smart, who signed only four players from the portal this offseason. "Where are you? Are you happy with where you are? If you're not, what can we do to improve that and improve you as a player? ... It's a lot more energy now in terms of spending (time) with your own roster, and just trying to maintain it."
Wake Forest utilized a similar approach during spring practices and the Deacons did not lose a player to the portal after their nightmare in December.
"To me that was a win, a huge win," Clawson said. "Whatever tampering happened, hopefully, our players are enjoying their Wake Forest experience enough as a student and as an athlete that they don't want to leave.
"And then next December, I'll worry about it all again."
Topics: Louisiana State University, Academia, Football