Great thread. Buc, I believe you are right. I really believe we are opening up mess with this Newton situation. I hope and believe that we have done our recruiting honestly and correctly. I believe Richt is a man of character. I would say that he has probably violated his fair share of secondary violation, but I do believe he would not do anything to put our University in a situation like Auburn is going to be in.
If AU gets into trouble, I believe we are going to see everyone telling on everyone. We just have to hope that we stay in compliance with the rules. Like I said, I am sure we have violated some of the secondary rules, but I would almost guarantee we won't find ourselves in a situation like AU. I am thankful that we will not.
I also dont think that this is something that has just started happening. Unfortunately, players have been getting paid for quite sometime. When I moved to Tenn, it was the era of Tee Martin, who was supposedly the poorest kid to ever come out of Alabama. Heard all kinds of stories that he lived in a one room house with numerous brothers and sisters. Not saying that's false, but I had a hard time figuring out how he drove a brand new Tahoe, with rims on it that cost more than my truck. Just don't see how he, or his family could afford that.
I keep seeing post wondering about our recruiting. Maybe, we don't get some the kids everyone is going after becuase we refuse to offer anything outside of playing ball and getting an education. I don't know, but right now, that could be a very realistic view.
If AU is caught of providing benefits, probation will soon follow. However, they have won a lot of football games and made a lot of noise this year for their play on the field. Brings me to my next question, Would we rather be a team that is willing to win at all cost? Or, would we rather be a team that follows the rules first, and tries to win second?
Slive is hot garbage. That is all I have to say about him. I think it goes farther than protecting Fairley. I think he will find a way to protect Newton and AU. I guarantee he will do everything in his power to protect them regardless of what they have done.
GO DAWGS