Bleacher Report - Les Miles

Calm Before The NCAA Storm At LSU, A Play For Pay Scandal Breaks Soon

Larry Burton — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:18:01 -0500

Since Les Miles took over many good things have happened at LSU. They won another national championship, they've hauled in great recruiting classes and Miles has has kept the program clean.

Or has he?

Today LSUreveille.com broke the news that will sadden many LSU fans and should cause them to shake in fear. Apparently a coach on Les Miles' staff has paid a player to transfer to LSU from Sacramento City Community College in California.

Junior defensive lineman Akiem Hicks is the player under focus and apparently there is enough smoking guns to warrant an immediate reaction from LSU.

This transgression and egregious violation has now also started an NCAA probe which could result in severe penalties for the LSU program.

LSU has already started damage control by saying Les Miles' job is not on the line for this violation.

While LSU coach Les Miles’ contract states he has “an obligation personally to comply with and to exercise due care that all personnel and students subject to his direct control or authority comply with governing athletic rules,” LSU Chancellor Michael Martin released a statement Tuesday saying Miles’ job will not be affected by the alleged violations.

“This situation has absolutely zero impact on the employment contract of coach Les Miles,” Martin said in the statement. “He has been highly cooperative in this matter and from the earliest stages has actively participated in the process of resolving this situation.

In other words, they are saying Les Miles had no knowledge of this until it became public to everyone else.

In a sense, it's hard to say which is worse. Having a coach paying a player to attend your school or having a head coach who has no idea that such things are being done in his program.

Following a second straight disappointing season, the news comes at a bad time for the Tigers as they prepare for the upcoming bowl game.

The good news is that the player in question has not played in any games and therefore no losses would be forfeited, however taking money makes Hicks a professional and therefore voids his status as an amateur, making him ineligible.

As for Coach D.J. McCarthy, he was already planning on jumping ship at the end of the season and going to Memphis along with LSU running back coach Larry Porter. It will be interesting to see if Porter would still want him if he's the focus of NCAA scrutiny however.

Hicks was a much sought out lineman and was also pursued by many other schools including Tennessee before landing at LSU.

Pay for play is one of the more serious charges the NCAA can level. Having it come from a coach makes it even more serious and can cause the dreaded "Lack of Institutional Control" label.

For LSU fans, this off season won't be filled with speculation over which recruits the Miles staff comes in with this year, but what penalties this staff, or at least this one coach, will bring down upon them.

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Hits Keep Coming for Les Miles: LSU AD Confirms Recruiting Investigation

Henry Ball — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 01:10:26 -0500

Jordan Blum of 2theAdvocate.com is reporting that LSU is self-investigating possible violations involving the football team.

Athletic Director Joe Alleva confirmed the investigation on Monday and indicated that the probe was focused on one assistant coach and a single student-athlete, who has not yet played during any live game action for the Tigers.

In Alleva's statement, he said, “Compliance issues are routinely monitored by our compliance staff and LSU is currently researching possible violations involving one assistant coach and one student-athlete in the sport of football. By procedure, the Southeastern Conference Office has been made aware of this circumstance.”

Alleva also noted that privacy concerns prevent him from discussing details and specific individuals at this time.

It appears that the coach in question is wide receivers coach D.J. McCarthy, who has recruited some of LSU's brightest young talent since joining the staff in 2007.

McCarthy recruits include five-stars DT Chris Davenport and WR Rueben Randle, four-stars DB Karnell Hatcher, DT Akiem Hicks, and RB Michael Ford, and several other potential impact players.

If the player in question has not yet reached the field, Tiger fans have to be wondering if Hicks, Ford, or another one of McCarthy's charges might be in jeopardy of suspension or worse.

Ford was dressed for Saturday's game in Tiger Stadium and was available to play in case of emergency, according to head coach Les Miles.

That could indicate that Ford is not expected to be implicated in the investigation.

Blum's story in The Advocate also pointed out that McCarthy was the only offensive coach that did not receive a raise this year.

This revelation comes at a precarious time for Coach Miles, who has experienced heavy scrutiny in the aftermath of the Ole Miss loss last Saturday in Oxford, MS.

One of the Internet's primary sources for LSU news and discussion, And the Valley Shook, posted the news just as the heated debate over whether or not Miles should be retained began to settle down.

One of the attributes that most Tiger fans seem to have appreciated most about Coach Miles to this point is his character and that he has run a clean program.

That character was questioned in light of his initial remarks following the Ole Miss game when some felt he was passing the buck and blaming his young quarterback for the loss.

In his weekly press conference, he clarified his remarks and accepted full responsibility for the mismanagement of the game resulting in the loss. This welcomed accountability was by and large accepted by his players, the media, and fans alike.

Now he will have to answer questions regarding yet another distraction and potential setback facing his team as they begin to turn their attention to preparing for what is likely to be a CapOne Bowl game versus Iowa or Penn State.

There is no indication at this time that this is a serious violation that could lead to major sanctions.

Nonetheless, for those Tiger fans that have already turned on Coach Miles, this will undoubtedly fuel the fire to go in another direction.

For his most ardent supporters, of which I have been and remain, this is a scary situation that must and undoubtedly will be handled properly by the athletic department and Coach Miles.

For those on the fence, the tug of war continues.

If this turns out to be worse than it seems now or is not handled properly, then the tug of war will be won by the change now crowd.

With the way things are going, they might just pull hard enough to bring along some of those that are currently firmly in the Miles camp.

By Henry Ball (Southern Man, CFB Czar) Featured Columnist, Syndicated Writer

@ Bleacher Report , College Gameday Network , and other Sports Media outlets.

Another Must Read: Is Les Miles on the Hot Seat?

Sources: 2 the Advocate, LSUsports.net, And The Valley Shook

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Notre Lamed: Irish Lose Heartbreaker at Stanford and Other Rivalry Week Tales

Alex Ferguson — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 23:25:00 -0500

We've got a lot to talk about in a little time, bearing in mind that's we've been watching football all day and we're a little tired.

This couldn't be a better rivalry week—or more's the case, rivalry evening.

At the end of it, the only coach crying was Charlie Weis (well, he probably wasn't, but there we go). On fourth-and-job, Jimmy Clausen's Hail Mary was batted down by a Stanford secondary that had done its best to hand the Irish the game, and the Cardinal beat the Catholics 45-38.

If Stanford running back superstar Toby Gerhart (dear God did I take a long time to get that name right!) doesn't go to the NFL, then we're pretty sure he'd be a good minor league baseball player, or any college should take him about as future running backs coach or head coach. He's all heart baby.

We also got to see some redemption, which is always nice on a rivalry week where smack is talked from start to finish.

So here's the list:

LSU coach Les Miles: With over a minute on the clock in regulation, needed a minute to tie to the game against Arkansas, and instead of royally screwing up like he did against Ole Miss, the Tigers coaching staff and offense managed to get its head together and force overtime.

They then played poorly in OT, but thanks to the closest 'wide right' field goal miss you'll ever see by Arkansas, the Tigers won, much to the joy of around 92,000 people, some of whom were seen (to my laughter) using the 'F' word opening in front of ESPN cameras to question Miles' coaching efforts. I only wish we'd been there.

Georgia's Reshad Jones: The talented safety missed a tackle in the 2008 home loss to Georgia Tech that essentially gave the nerds a rare victory in Good Old Fashioned Hate.

Jones was brilliant on Saturday night, making a last-gasp tackle to force a player out-of-bounds with seconds on the clock to essentially save Georgia's 30-24 victory over 15th-ranked Georgia Tech at the high school stadium known as Bobby Dodd. Best sign goes to the Tech fans though: "And The Nerds Shall Take Over The World."

South Carolina: No-one could have given South Carolina more crap than we did throughout the year—especially quarterback Stephen Garcia. Don't get me wrong, we still think he's one of the SEC's poorer quarterbacks, but he—and a tremendous defense - helped to engineer an upset of hated rival Clemson.

Georgia defensive co-ordinator Willie Martinez: He might well be out of Athens by Monday, but boy, his 'D' battled today—especially against Georgia Tech's tremendous running game, which was stifled all night long.

Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen: For all intents and purposes, Mississippi State had been a laughing matter when talked about as a possible SEC West destination for good recruits. At the start of the season, we didn't expect MSU, with their new head coach, to beat Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl this year. They did, and we can shut up now.

And a quick bit of love for Mississippi State's band, who may just get into the VFA's top ten cheerleading squads for 2009—if a band is indeed cheerleading (which we think it is). I love the copy of "Rammer Jammer." It's not been sung very often.

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