Heard about this last fall but didn't say anything here...

[sup-rbeast]

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.

[Biggin]

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.

[Ironlung]

everybody involved saying Cecil asked for money are Miss. State alums.

...and Cecil. CBS announced during the UT game that Cecil has admitted to asking schools for money to be able to sign his son.

[Biggin]

so this means Cam is not eligible?
the NCAA rules are that if a person solicits money on your behalf, regardless of if you take it you are ineligble, from what I understand.

i gotta leave and wont be online, but im curious to know the rules surrounding this.

[Ironlung]

Don't know. They were saying that Cecil didn't say whether or not that Cameron knew he was doing it. Of course from what MSU said he called them and told them he'd rather play there but the decision had been made and it was too much money to turn down.

[sup-rbeast]

Still, it's all coming out of Starkville..until something comes from somewhere else there isn't much credibility to it IMO. It's not like Auburn and Mississippi State were the only schools recruiting Cam..and it's awfully strange that MSU is the only school with allegations.

[starbuck]

Still, it's all coming out of Starkville..until something comes from somewhere else there isn't much credibility to it IMO. It's not like Auburn and Mississippi State were the only schools recruiting Cam..and it's awfully strange that MSU is the only school with allegations.

but the big issue with that is that "you don't throw stones in a glass house". If all these other schools come out and say they were told the same thing and didn't cut ties with the recruitment process right then and there, all they are going to do is bring more attention to their program. Do we really think there is a top program that is totaly on the up and up? I don't. I'm sure these schools are thinking "why stick our noses into this and bring unwanted attention on ourselves".

just my thinking anyway.

[VOL61]

Of course it is coming out of starkville. I mean Auburn isn't going to be bringing this up? Where else would it come from? Mississippi St. coaches said that they where told he would come to Mississippi St for $180,000 even though Auburn offered $200,000. That is the story Joe Schad had.

There is only one way for this to go away. How did Cecil Newton get the Money to fix his church? If he didn't take money where did that money come from? Because to me that is the one thing that really makes the guy look guilty.... The money didn't come from Mississippi St. That is pretty clear. Someone either paid him or he got it from somewhere else. Cam went to Auburn and his church got fixed. So tell me how?

[Ironlung]

The how is by receiving money. That's not saying that Gene Chizik handed Cecil a check for $200k, a booster or someone else could have but someone did. Either way, Auburn is going to end up in a ****storm of trouble.

One other thing, now the FBI is involved and trying to figure out how Cecil got the money to fix his church too.

The FBI is investigating pay-for-play claims levied against Auburn quarterback Cam Newton, TMZ Sports reports.
Federal agents want to speak to John Bond, a former Mississippi State football player, after he claimed someone representing the Heisman hopeful contacted him in 2009 saying it would take $180,000 for Newton to sign with MSU.
An attorney for Bond confirms to TMZ Sports that the FBI has requested a meeting with his client.
This latest blow to Newton comes after an ESPN.com report claims that he and his father each had a separate phone conversation with an MSU recruiter about a pay-for-play arrangement.
According to the ESPN report, one of the recruiters said Cecil Newton told him before Cam Newton committed to Auburn that it would take "more than a scholarship" for his son to attend Mississippi State. An unidentified source told ESPN that another recruiter received a phone call from an emotional Cam Newton after he committed to the Tigers, when he said his father selected Auburn for him because "the money was too much."
ESPN, citing two other unidentified sources close to the football program, also reported Mississippi State compliance officials relayed the alleged conversations to Southeastern Conference compliance officials in January.
FoxSports.com reported Monday that Newton was caught cheating three times while he was at the University of Florida and was to appear for a hearing in front of Florida's Student Committee facing possible expulsion during the spring semester of 2009.
Tigers coach Gene Chizik dismissed the academic cheating 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. The second-ranked Tigers face rival Georgia on Saturday, and that's where Newton insists his focus lies.
Newton transferred from Florida to Blinn Junior College in Brenham, Texas, where he played last season. He declined to discuss the FoxSports.com report, which came on the heels of Bond saying someone claiming to represent the Newton family sought money during his recruitment by the school.
"I'm not going to entertain something that took place not three months, not six months, not a year but two years ago," 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."
Newton has denied doing anything wrong in his recruitment. A person familiar with the situation has told The Associated Press that the university has received no letter of inquiry from the NCAA and that an internal review of phone and e-mail records showed no contact with Kenny Rogers, whom ESPN.com cited as the man who approached Bond.
The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to publicly discuss the matter, said the university also found nothing improper in the personal and church bank records of Newton's father, an Atlanta pastor.
Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs also defended Newton from the latest accusation in a strongly worded statement. He reiterated that the quarterback is eligible.
"These allegations and rumors about Cam Newton are unfortunate and sad because they seem intent on tearing down the reputation of a young man who has done everything we've asked him to do," Jacobs said. "Cam has been and continues to be completely honest with us. Cam is, by all accounts, a great kid."
FoxSports.com reported that Newton turned in another student's paper with his name on it and handed in another paper that was later found to have been purchased off the Internet.
Jacobs said he couldn't talk about Newton's academic records because that would violate privacy laws.
"We will not go down that path or stoop to that level as others have apparently done," he said, adding "emphatically" that he remains eligible.
Newton was arrested at Florida in November 2008 for having a stolen laptop. The charges were dropped last December when he completed a pretrial intervention program for first-time offenders.

[VOL61]

I wouldn't site TMZ sports as a very credible news source.... I have heard the FBI a few times but I honestly don't know why they would be involved. I had heard it maybe because his church was a non profit or something like that but I am not sure and I don't think TMZ is either. They seem to like to throw enough stuff against the wall that at least some will stick.

I personally think the whole thing kind of sucks... The kid is an absolutely awesome talent. His game fits the college game and I think him getting teamed up with Malzahn and that offense was the best move for him. So part of me says this is a witch hunt by Mississippi St. because he choose Auburn. Auburn would have been the best fit for the kid and I want to believe he made his choice based on that.

But if you sit back and look at what has been said , To me the one thing is how did the church get fixed? And no one has attempted to answer that and that makes him look guilty. And honestly if you are Cecil Newton that is the first thing I would be trying to explain if I didn't take money from someone connected to Auburn. But he hasn't.....

If he took Money from someone connected to Auburn I think Auburn is going to get hammered. Mississippi St reported this to the SEC/NCAA in Jan. before Newton even signed with Aurburn. You can't tell me the SEC hasn't contacted Auburn and they haven't looked into this. And it all goes back to one simple question. How did the church get fixed? If Cecil can't answer that Auburn fans better be prepared for some trouble IMO....