This is going to get so much worse.....
[ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5786315"]Sources: Cam and Cecil Newton talked of pay-to-play plan with recruiters - ESPN@@AMEPARAM@@http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=5786486@@AMEPARAM@@5786486[/ame]
"There he goes, one of Gods own prototypes. Some kind of high powered mutant never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die"
Two sources who recruit for Mississippi State said that Cecil Newton and his son, quarterback Cam Newton, admitted in separate phone conversations to a pay-for-play plan while Newton was being recruited late last year.
Mississippi State compliance officials relayed the alleged conversations to Southeastern Conference compliance officials in January, according to two other sources close to the football program.
Prior to Newton's commitment to Auburn, one of the recruiters said Cecil Newton told him it would take "more than a scholarship" to bring his son to Mississippi State, a request the source said the school would not meet. Cecil Newton also referred the recruiter to a third person that would provide more specifics, the source said.
After Newton committed to Auburn, another source said an emotional Cam Newton phoned another recruiter to express regret that he wouldn't be going to Mississippi State, stating that his father Cecil had chosen Auburn for him because "the money was too much."
The NCAA is investigating allegations surrounding the Newtons in regards to the recruiting process. Cam Newton, who is having a Heisman-caliber season for No. 2 Auburn, declined comment.
Cecil Newton, who previously has denied any wrongdoing, did not respond to an e-mail request for comment Tuesday night.
However, when reached late Tuesday night by phone by FoxSports.com, Cecil Newton said he had no comment.
"I'm not going to confirm nor deny nothing that has been taking place," Cecil Newton said.
He also said he knew nothing about the report when asked if he'd seen it.
"I've answered what I need to answer," Cecil Newton told FoxSports.com. "If they're out there, go with it and make the decision or determination based on whatever you've got to say."
Cecil Newton also described all of the allegations about his son as "a witch hunt," according to FoxSports.com.
"They can continue doing whatever they're doing, sir," Cecil Newton told the website. "I'm just in support of my son."
Auburn did not respond to a request for comment. The school has repeatedly said it looked into Newton's recruitment and that he remains eligible.
Earlier Tuesday, Auburn found itself defending Newton in the wake of allegations of academic cheating when he was at Florida. The Tigers' coach, Gene Chizik, dismissed a FoxSports.com report as "pure garbage" in an emotional 4-minute, 25-second rant.
"I'm standing up here on a very important week trying to defend something that's garbage," Chizik said. Auburn faces Georgia on Saturday.
FoxSports.com reported Monday that Newton was caught cheating three times and was to appear for a hearing in front of Florida's Student Committee facing possible expulsion during the spring semester of 2009.
A person with knowledge of Newton's situation confirmed Newton left Florida after the fall 2008 semester rather than face suspension or expulsion, in part due to the allegations of academic wrongdoing, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.
Newton's father said he could not confirm or deny the report, citing a gag order from his attorney, The Times reported. "I don't know what's in his personal file, but if someone is bold enough to post something like that, there will be consequences," he said.
Newton transferred to Blinn Junior College in Brenham, Texas, where he played last season. He declined to discuss the latest report, which came on the heels of former Mississippi State quarterback John Bond telling ESPN.com that someone claiming to represent the Newton family sought money during his recruitment by the school.
Sources told ESPN.com the man who said he was representing the Newtons was Kenny Rogers, who played in the 1980s for Mississippi State alongside Bond.
"I'm not going to entertain something that took place not three months, not six months, not a year but two years ago," Cam Newton said. "I'm not going to sit up here and say anything about it, whether I did or did not do it, because I don't want to beat a dead horse talking about it. It's not going to affect me any way, shape or fashion."
In Gainesville, Florida coach Urban Meyer said in a statement that neither he nor anyone on his staff leaked information on Newton's academic record, calling it a "ridiculous claim."
"For anyone to think that I or anyone on our staff may have leaked information about private student records to the media doesn't know us very well," Meyer said. "It's a ridiculous claim and simply not true."
Cam Newton said Meyer was a man of integrity.
"I would hope he wouldn't say anything like that," he said.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, who also recruited Newton out of Blinn, said he saw "nothing at all" out of the ordinary during that process.
"Our recruitment of Cameron could not have been better, or was just fine," Stoops said. "I didn't notice anything and none of our coaches did as we were recruiting him."
"There he goes, one of Gods own prototypes. Some kind of high powered mutant never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die"
Maybe there is nothing to this and he said what he said to be ridiculous. I was in sales for 14 years and sometimes I would do this(over price an account not wanting it to start with and if they agreed to ridiculous price then fine. You then got the account and got it over value which was really a double bonus). Maybe Newton didn't really want to go to MSU and did this. It would take more than a scholarship to get me to go to Mississippi St. (have you ever been to MSU) It has been down so long that they need a ladder to see first place.
"Call me crazy, but I want to buy the Dallas Cowboys end zone and have the star right at the foot of my bed. That way when I score, I can spike the ball right on the star!" -Woody Paige, Around the Horn 10.9.08
I'm not gonna sit here and say anything did or didn't happen...but, it seems these recruiters stood to gain money for landing a recruit..in this case Cam Newton. BUT, the folks involved in this seem to be more closely connected with Mississippi State than anyone else. It could possibly be a case of sour grapes cuz Stoops and Kiffin have both went on record saying money wasn't mentioned when they recruited Cam. I know he's not the most stand up guy, but he's the most dynamic player in college football..and I think it runs all over MSU, its alumni, and its fans..and I really am inclined to believe those are the folks pushing this to the media. Kinda like a ex that can't have ya and then doesn't want anyone else to have ya either.
...And if you ain't down with that, I got 2 words for ya....
While its awfully hard to totally dismiss all the allegtions, I do believe MSU has an axe to grind. All of this has came from Starkville, everybody involved saying Cecil asked for money are Miss. State alums.
But its gonna be interesting to see how things play out. the SEC commish said they have not recommended to anything to Auburn about playing him or sitting him.
[IMG]http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh111/Vic_Fontaine/sig.jpg[/IMG]
...and Cecil. CBS announced during the UT game that Cecil has admitted to asking schools for money to be able to sign his son.Originally Posted by Biggin
"There he goes, one of Gods own prototypes. Some kind of high powered mutant never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die"
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