What I Find Peculiar

[RutherfordBHayes]

I find it particularly interesting that throughout this piece are highly-detailed,direct quotes from the transcript of NCAA interviews with Leo. I mean, dozens. But when it comes to directly naming MSU of inducements Godfrey doesn't use direct quotes at all. He say this:

Additionally, new documentation submitted to the Committee on Infractions by attorneys for Ole Miss claims Lewis told NCAA enforcement he took $11,000 in benefits from his current school, Mississippi State. [Which?]

“Although the name of this other institution was redacted in the material provided to the University and other involved parties in this case, it has since come to light that the institution Mr. Lewis identified was Mississippi State University (“Mississippi State”).”
[How?]
​

And

Henderson allegedly told Farrar that she had received multiple cash offers for Lewis, including $650,000 [is this right?] from LSU and $80,000 from Mississippi State.
[Who says?]​

Why no direct quotes from the transcript there? It surely would add impact to the article if he used Leo's own words, would it not? I surely would have.

He uses direct quotes here:

“Is there anything else that you remember getting or any other payments or things that kind of ring out to you about all this?” Sheridan asked.
“From Ole Miss, I assume?” Lewis said.
“Yup, that’s what we’re talking about,” Sheridan said.
“No, sir,” Lewis said.
Sheridan also asks Lewis if he was ever “fixed up with a lady” while visiting Ole Miss.
“Never,” Lewis said.
​

Notice that the NCAA is asking direct questions about recruits being "fixed up with a lady". The NCAA suspects Ole Miss of providing recruits with escorts. That is a massive, revelation. The largest revelation in the last couple of weeks.

Having said all this, for the record, I am no brainless shill. Leo's recruitment is troublesome. If we cheated, turn it in. We have never been idiots with the NCAA; I don't expect that to change now. We have a good thing going with QB recruitment, and a level playing field with in-state recruiting.

 

[shotgunDawg]

I caught that as well with the lack of direct quotes from Leo on being paid by MSU.

Leads me to believe that Leo saying he was paid by MSU is not in the transcripts.

Could Godfrey & the OM lawyers be spreading potentially false information just to get MSU involved in this?

 

[Corliss Williamson]

Could Godfrey & the OM lawyers be spreading potentially false information just to get MSU involved in this?

I think you nailed it.

 

[muddawgs]

Godfrey is doing the same **** we did when Cam stuff was going on. Only thing is he has a little bit higher platform. We were told that cam wanted 200k to sign so we all said there is no way he signed with auburn for nothing. Nothing came of it. Ole miss knows they paid Leo 20k or so and they are saying no way he signed with state for nothing. NCAA response is the same with Cams response. Godfrey is trying to make the NCAA look bad so they are forced to investigate the Leo and State deal further. Problem is nobody outside of Mississippi gives a ****, so Godfrey's feeble attempt won't work. He just looks like another desperate Ole Miss fan.

 

[shotgunDawg]

Help me with this:

Why did the NCAA ask Leo if he was paid by another university at all?

What relevance did that have to the investigation?

That's the part of this that I don't understand. It seems like the NCAA or someone went off script with that question

 

[AlCoDog]

He looks like that because that's what he is.

 

[J-Dawg]

My thing regarding your last couple lines....

Taking into account the whole Will Redmond deal and how FAST that spiraled out of control and the measures we took to be overly-aggressive and proactive, is the fact that LL is still sitting top of our depth chart and by all indications will play. That tells me everything I need to know. And as far as we know, we don't know the specifics of the immunity deal. All of this may be 100% truth, but the kicker is..... it may not mean a darn thing.​

B/c OM could then pimp this out and whine and complain about LL and try to distract from their own doom, but at the same time it wouldn't have any bearings on LL's status.

 

[CochiseCowbell]

Hmm, spreading false information in order to sway public opinion. That didn't work so well for them the last time. Mr. Mars might be able to help.

 

[messageboardsuperhero]

Let's be real. This is college football recruiting. We know Leo got stuff from UM. Leo probably got stuff from our boosters. Leo probably got stuff from LSU boosters (remember the confidence on TD the week leading up to signing day?). I have no delusions or false reservations about what recruiting in the SEC is.

That said, will anything actually happen to us? We have asked the NCAA, more than once, if Leo is okay to play- they say he is good to go. Why? Because they love MSU and want to protect us? LOL.

The NCAA enforcement staff has a vested interest, IMO, in not bringing anything down on us because A) they want to hammer UM and B) they don't want schools to stop cooperating with immunity. Leo's eligibility is not being revoked, barring something unforeseen. The NCAA did a token investigation into us to claim they did their due diligence. But, at the end of the day, UM was dirty as hell under Freeze and everyone knew it. They want to get UM. They have more than enough to hammer UM. Let's not be hypocritical about this- we almost certainly did some below board stuff Leo, but the NCAA isn't after us and has every reason in the world to not go after us... Because it would severely hamper their ability to conduct future investigations of this magnitude if they did.

That's my hot take.

 

[RutherfordBHayes]

When "THE TAPES!!!!!" thing hit their talking points, I read Chuck Rounsaville post that 1) he heard the tapes himself where Mama Lewis said they had offers of money to sign, and 2) that Mama Lewis didn't mention any school by name. Chuck's words, not mine. Now, we are to believe Godfrey? I think this is why he doesn't use direct quotes, because there aren't any.

Also, MSU, OleMiss, and the NCAA had this information prior to last season. Leo Lewis was not and is not suspended. He played in 13 games since the NCAA had this information. MSU has not been informed that the NCAA has opened an investigation onto their football program. This seems like 2 years worth of Spirit message board drivel condensed into a well-written article. But focus on the facts, omit the conjecture, and Ole Miss booster attorney conspiracy theory and what is left?

Ole Miss paid Leo. He testified as much under immunity. MSU is not under investigation. Godfrey wrote a "'You cheated too!' article."

Again; if we cheated, expose it, punish us. We would deserve it. But I bet we won't sue kids over it.

 

[Dawgzilla]

The only thing that surprises me is that Lewis has apparently not been required to return the money he received from any school. Even with immunity, it seems like the money would jeopardize his amateur status, and he would be required to repay it, or do community service or something

 

[kired]

Leo's recruitment is troublesome. If we cheated, turn it in. We have never been idiots with the NCAA; I don't expect that to change now. We have a good thing going with QB recruitment, and a level playing field with in-state recruiting.

Do you really think Bracky would let us get away with this if there was any proof at all that we paid him?

 

[Shamoan]

pff....you think they would act that recklessly? based on what? its not like the propagandists and administrators have lied, misled, and misconstrued facts in the past.

 

[RutherfordBHayes]

...

The NCAA enforcement staff has a vested interest, IMO, in not bringing anything down on us because A) they want to hammer UM and B) they don't want schools to stop cooperating with immunity. Leo's eligibility is not being revoked, barring something unforeseen. The NCAA did a token investigation into us to claim they did their due diligence. But, at the end of the day, UM was dirty as hell under Freeze and everyone knew it. They want to get UM. They have more than enough to hammer UM. Let's not be hypocritical about this- we almost certainly did some below board stuff Leo, but the NCAA isn't after us and has every reason in the world to not go after us... Because it would severely hamper their ability to conduct future investigations of this magnitude if they did.

That's my hot take.

That is some common sense right there.

I have a couple of law enforcement buddies one is heavily involved in investigation. He says that informants are his best tool by far. And his number one rule is never jeopardize the informant.

 

[shotgunDawg]

The NCAA doesn't want to punish MSU.

You know why?

Because other schools don't turn us in. Don't think for one second that they don't look to investigate and dig on schools depending on how much complaining there is about their recruiting methods.

The NCAA could care less about us because they know that we aren't being turned in by 50 schools. OM is a know cheater

 

[dog12]

Godfrey is doing the same **** we did when Cam stuff was going on. Only thing is he has a little bit higher platform. We were told that cam wanted 200k to sign so we all said there is no way he signed with auburn for nothing. Nothing came of it. Ole miss knows they paid Leo 20k or so and they are saying no way he signed with state for nothing. NCAA response is the same with Cams response. Godfrey is trying to make the NCAA look bad so they are forced to investigate the Leo and State deal further. Problem is nobody outside of Mississippi gives a ****, so Godfrey's feeble attempt won't work. He just looks like another desperate Ole Miss fan.

Big difference in those two scenarios.

In the Cam-MState scenario, Cam asked for a payment in return for his signing with us. (Cam didn't sign with us, and there was no payment from MState to Cam.)

In the Lewis-Ole Miss scenario, Ole Miss first PAID Lewis, and then EXPECTED him to sign with Ole Miss. (Mistakes were made.)

Thus, Lewis had already been paid and could therefore afford to sign with us "for free."

 

[DawgESQ]

DING DING DING. Forde questioned his credibility, and in response, Godfrey (#madonline) cited an article that Forde wrote with similar quotes about the original NOA.

Here's the issue, Forde isn't directly saying Godfrey lacks credibility, he's saying that basing an entire article on information from Ole Miss lacks credibility.

He's got the transcript, but says,

"Lewis named the school, which was then redacted by the NCAA. In its August 16 letter to the COI, counsel for Ole Miss claims that the redacted institution is Mississippi State"

Godfrey put a lot of time into writing this, but the entire premise is that Lewis has put State into jeopardy. The article isn't about Leo Lewis, it's about State, and the only item that connects Lewis to state is a statement that Ole Miss believes that Lewis named State.

 

[BossDawg78]

Now, we are to believe Godfrey?

But, but, but Godfrey is a credible source who gets ALLL the best, juiciest info from the Rebels "in the know".

(Accidental downvote on your post. Sorry)

 

[RutherfordBHayes]

For the record, $10,000 type money was simply to visit during a big recruiting weekend.

Signing was a separate transaction.

 

[gptdawg]

I'm confused on the timeline. I understand these interviews with Sheriden took place several months or longer ago, well before the hooker allegations came to light. Why then, would Skeriden ,out of the blue,even ask Leo if he had been provided with escorts?

 

[blacklistedbully]

There was a big difference. Can had ties to Mullen, and was pretty obvious about his desire to attend MSU. We also knew Cam's dad was looking for a payoff. The only logical reason for Cam to go to AU was money.

With Leo, we were his favored school in the beginning. We have a great reputation for putting LB's in-the-league lately. Makes a lot more sense that Leo could have taken the money from UNM knowing full well he was signing with us.

And consider this, why would Leo feel the need to shake is down too, when he could pretty much get what he wanted from UNM? Makes for a lot less stressful situation coming in.

 

[amcdan2000]

I'm sure LSU is wondering if they offered more, why is Lewis at State. LSU pissed I'm sure. I also believe Ogre could reveal alot if he was made mad enough.

 

[RutherfordBHayes]

I'm confused on the timeline. I understand these interviews with Sheriden took place several months or longer ago, well before the hooker allegations came to light. Why then, would Skeriden ,out of the blue,even ask Leo if he had been provided with escorts?

These interviews all took place prior to the 2016 season. I believe that August was the last one. Leo has played in 13 games since then. I have a hard time believing anything comes of this.

And let's be clear, we're not like OleMiss. We have always cooperated with the NCAA. If we cheated, let's not blame reporters and rival schools. Let's pay up.

 

[MaroonNation]

Godfrey is doing the same **** we did when Cam stuff was going on. Only thing is he has a little bit higher platform. We were told that cam wanted 200k to sign so we all said there is no way he signed with auburn for nothing. Nothing came of it. Ole miss knows they paid Leo 20k or so and they are saying no way he signed with state for nothing. NCAA response is the same with Cams response. Godfrey is trying to make the NCAA look bad so they are forced to investigate the Leo and State deal further. Problem is nobody outside of Mississippi gives a ****, so Godfrey's feeble attempt won't work. He just looks like another desperate Ole Miss fan.

Except we didn't even try to pay sCam kNewton. We turned it in to the SEC the minute it happened. OM already admitted to paying Leo.

 

[bruiser.sixpack]

Let's be real. This is college football recruiting. We know Leo got stuff from UM. Leo probably got stuff from our boosters. Leo probably got stuff from LSU boosters (remember the confidence on TD the week leading up to signing day?). I have no delusions or false reservations about what recruiting in the SEC is.

That said, will anything actually happen to us? We have asked the NCAA, more than once, if Leo is okay to play- they say he is good to go. Why? Because they love MSU and want to protect us? LOL.

The NCAA enforcement staff has a vested interest, IMO, in not bringing anything down on us because A) they want to hammer UM and B) they don't want schools to stop cooperating with immunity. Leo's eligibility is not being revoked, barring something unforeseen. The NCAA did a token investigation into us to claim they did their due diligence. But, at the end of the day, UM was dirty as hell under Freeze and everyone knew it. They want to get UM. They have more than enough to hammer UM. Let's not be hypocritical about this- we almost certainly did some below board stuff Leo, but the NCAA isn't after us and has every reason in the world to not go after us... Because it would severely hamper their ability to conduct future investigations of this magnitude if they did.

That's my hot take.

If you have information about improper benefits, please contact Bracky Brett at MSU Compliance Office. If not, please don't slander these young men or this fine institution of higher learning.

 

[QuadrupleOption]

Another thing to consider here - why would Godfrey even throw a quote about hookers into an article about cash payments?

I mean, it doesn't really seem to even fit the narrative of the article. I'm just totally SURE Godfrey, being the totally professional and impartial journalist he is, would NEVER use his position to advance the OM agenda.

Naw. I mean, it's not like he's ever written an article about OM bagmen and all the tactics they've used over the years ..... oh wait.

 

[Sam Adams Dog]

I'm confused on the timeline. I understand these interviews with Sheriden took place several months or longer ago, well before the hooker allegations came to light. Why then, would Skeriden ,out of the blue,even ask Leo if he had been provided with escorts?

Great question - LL interviewed in mid '16, hookers come up july17- Anyone?

 

[UpTheMiddlex3Punt]

I think they're trying to play the "we don't want to taint the jury pool" type of game. As if this is a criminal trial and they have a key piece of evidence that will be deemed inadmissable if revealed prior to the trial.

If anything, the revelation of the transcript from the NCAA shows that there is no worry about "inadmissability" in the NCAA case.

 

[kb549]

We did a horrible job of setting the media straight about the $Cam situation. There is still misleading and outright wrong info on it. I'm convinced when sanctions are handed down, some dipstick at ESPN will equate LL and $Cam to us paying players.

Cam would have probably played here if Cecil would have done one thing different. He screwed up by asking our assistant coaches for money. When he did, they immediately went "Whoa, whoa, whoa." And then left.

Everyone knows players are paid by "rogue" boosters. There is a deep disconnection between the coaches and the boosters so they can't be found in any way to know about it. The coaches tell the players not to accept anything that will jeopardize their status. They also know 17 and 18 year olds generally can't make good decisions.

Where the Bears screwed up is the coaching staff thought they needed to be involved. Is it because Danny Hugh got upset when someone in The Network told him that THEY brought in the '13 class, not him? I could really see something like that pushing him to the point of interjecting his staff into it so he could legitimately (in his mind) say it was because of him and his staff.

The NCAA knows people QUITELY pay players. They know it can't be stopped. They don't really want it to stop because that will be the first thing that leads to their demise. They just don't want the school directly involved.

The Bears only have themselves to blame over this. If the NCAA is camped out in your backyard, you tell everyone to STOP everything until they leave. The NCAA has deep pockets. You don't think they could afford to have Private Investigators follow high profile recruits around the day before, the day of, and the day after NSD? If a bagman is going to flip or confirm someone, that's your most likely time to catch them in the act.

Remember Takion Reed throwing the hat? Go back and watch it again. Watch the mom or grandmother. When he picks up the State hat, she almost faints. She sees her payday promise going out the window.

 

[LandArchDawg]

Throwing shade is all they have left at this point.

 

[MedDawg]

.

 

[thf24]

Remember Takion Reed throwing the hat? Go back and watch it again. Watch the mom or grandmother. When he picks up the State hat, she almost faints. She sees her payday promise going out the window.

Wasn't that the kid who ended up arrested for armed burglary while living with an OM booster? Talk about karma and foreshadowing.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Yep. We learned that from the forfeits of forty years ago. And maybe Ole Miss will be educated similarly.

 

[sandwolf.sixpack]

The only thing that surprises me is that Lewis has apparently not been required to return the money he received from any school. Even with immunity, it seems like the money would jeopardize his amateur status, and he would be required to repay it, or do community service or something

Players aren't going to cooperate if it is going to cost them a bunch of money.