Oregon Football Recruiting: What Willie Lyles Means for 2011 and Beyond

When the story first broke a few months ago about Oregon’s use of Willie Lyles’ recruiting services, there was still a lot that had to be figured out.

Now that Lyles has explained his side of the story to the country in an interview with Yahoo! that ran on July 1, things look bad for head coach Chip Kelly and his Ducks.

Nothing is official, but it is very possible that Kelly could be following in the footsteps of former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel. Although Kelly and the Oregon athletic department maintain that they did nothing wrong, the newest information coming from Lyles paints an all too familiar picture.

In his interview with Yahoo!, Lyles said that Oregon did not request a single written document until 11 months after they paid his company, Complete Scouting Services (CSS), $25,000.

When the Ducks contacted him this past February demanding scouting reports, Lyles said that Oregon seemed to be scrambling to prove that he provided them with legitimate scouting services. Prior to February, Oregon had only received verbal scouting reports from Lyles.

If Chip Kelly and the University of Oregon are being completely honest and compliant with NCAA investigators, Kelly should feel reasonably comfortable in his job. However, if Oregon did in fact pay Lyles for his influence on recruits, instead of actual scouting services, and then tried to cover it all up, it is going to get worse for the Ducks.

Jim Tressel got in big trouble at Ohio State for lying to the NCAA and then trying to cover it up, eventually leading to his resignation. If Oregon learned one thing from the tattoo shop scandal at Ohio State, it should have been to be completely honest with the NCAA. The only thing worse than lying to the NCAA is trying to cover it up.

When the NCAA investigation is complete and the dust settles it will be interesting to see how stiff Oregon’s punishment is. As an Oregon fan myself, I have come to terms with the fact that the Ducks are not getting off scot-free and will likely lose some scholarships and potentially future bowl eligibility. As damaging as the Lyles story is to Oregon’s reputation, the future NCAA sanctions are what Duck fans really need to worry about.

Oregon’s incoming freshman recruiting class is arguably the best in school history. After a trip to the National Championship last season, most people expected that upward trend to continue.

Currently the Ducks have a pretty solid 2012 recruiting class, with eight verbal commitments as of July 15. Oregon will no doubt have a great 2012 recruiting class once it’s all said and done, but it probably won't be as good as it would have been had there not been an NCAA investigation.

While most recruits are taking the wait-and-see approach, several athletes may be taking Oregon off their lists completely. High school kids choose colleges for different reasons; for players who place a high importance on winning and playing in a bowl game, Oregon may be a risky pick.

At this point in time, no one knows exactly what is going to happen to the Oregon program—although it is pretty safe to say that they will survive. Thanks in large part to Chip Kelly, Oregon has solidified itself as a contender both in the Pac-12 and nationally. Just as USC has had a great recruiting class despite their recent NCAA sanctions, Oregon should have no problem getting plenty of talent in Eugene.

The Willie Lyles scandal is bad for Oregon football, but there is little doubt that the team will survive. Unfortunately, the future of head coach Chip Kelly is not as certain.