College Football: Ex-Buckeye Ray Small Throws Ohio State Under the Bus

If you thought that the allegations about Ohio State and Coach Jim Tressel cheating the system would just go away, than you must be really shocked now to find out that this is not just being swept under the rug.

To be honest, how could you not see this coming?

Ohio State is arguably one of the nation’s biggest schools in terms of notoriety, and is definitely one of the best as far as athletics are concerned.

Players taking illegal benefits is not a foreign concept in NCAA football, but Tressel trying to cover it up was sure a bold move on his part, and it looks like it is going to backfire.

Ex-Buckeye receiver Ray Small's recently came out and dumped more salt on Ohio State's wounds.

Small was quoted in the school's paper, The Lantern.

All the excerpts and quotes on this come straight from their story and should be attributed to writers Zack Meisel and James Oldham.

Let’s check out what he said:

Profiting off Memorabilia

This has been the biggest accusation that has come against Ohio State, but to be honest this seems to be the most widespread problem throughout college sports. Players are saying that they don't have enough money to live a "normal" life, so they use their status as football players and the special items they may receive from the university as bargaining tools or sometimes just selling them for straight cash.

Earlier on in the year, reports came out that five of their marquee players had sold team memorabilia in exchange for tattoos.

Ray Small tells The Latern that he experienced the same while at Ohio State.

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Small told The Lantern on Wednesday he profited off of memorabilia while at Ohio State, adding that some student-athletes "don't even think about (NCAA) rules."

"I had sold my things but it was just for the money," Small said. "At that time in college, you're kind of struggling."

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Selling Big Ten Rings

This is not the first instance we have heard of a player selling a championship ring for money, but usually there is some sort of charity involved.

During his time at OSU, Smalls received four Big Ten rings that he apparently used for compensation to help him cover the costs of living. At least that is what he told The Lantern.

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"We had four Big Ten rings," he said. "There was enough to go around."

Small said he sold the rings to cover typical costs of living.

"We have apartments, car notes," he said. "So you got things like that and you look around and you're like, ‘Well I got (four) of them, I can sell one or two and get some money to pay this rent."

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Car Dealerships

I think all of us can remember—or still suffer with—the very first car that we had in college. Usually it is beat up and broken, handed down through generations of family. Allegedly for some players in college football this doesn't seem to be a problem though, at least that is what Smalls says.

From what Small tells The Lantern, it seems like the best deals that Ohio State players received was from car dealerships.

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The wheeling and dealing didn't stop with rings. The best deals came from car dealerships, Small said.

"It was definitely the deals on the cars. I don't see why it's a big deal," said Small, who identified Jack Maxton Chevrolet as the players' main resource.

The Columbus Dispatch reported on May 7 that OSU was investigating more than 50 transactions between OSU athletes and their families and Jack Maxton Chevrolet or Auto Direct.

Representatives for Jack Maxton Chevrolet did not return repeated requests for comment.

NCAA rules prohibit student-athletes from benefiting from the sale of their merchandise. Small said he wasn't the only one.

"They have a lot (of dirt) on everybody," Small said, "cause everybody was doing it."

Although he understands how athletes are easy targets for getting deals, Small said anyone can take advantage.

"(People say) ‘Oh you got a deal, it's because you're an athlete,'" Small said. "Playing for Ohio State definitely helps. But I know a lot of people that do nothing and get deals on their cars."

The Lantern obtained a police report from shortly after 2 a.m. on Sept. 18, 2007, when Small was arrested for a misdemeanor charge of driving with a suspended license. According to the report, Small was driving a 2007 Chrysler 300 that he told the officer he had just purchased. The vehicle had a dealer plate on it instead of a temporary tag.

Police then received a call from Aaron Kniffin later that morning, wanting to know why the car had been impounded. Kniffin, a salesman at Jack Maxton Chevrolet, told the officer the dealership "gives a lot of coaches and faculty cars and that Mr. Small's family is purchasing the car," according to the report. Kniffin told the officer that paperwork for the car had not yet been worked out.

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OSU'S Doghouse

Most athletes will tell you that once you are in the coach's doghouse, you have to do a whole lot of work to get yourself back out on the field.

Ray Small told The Lantern that he felt like he was in the doghouse with coach Jim Tressel, whether or not that has to do with him coming out to the paper I couldn’t tell you. This is what The Lantern reports.

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"When I was in college, in my opinion, I was the bad guy," Small said. "I mean I knew that I was being the bad guy. I had took on that role."

Small said the allure of deals and discounts overshadows the rules education that the athletic department's compliance office provides.

"They explain the rules to you, but as a kid you're not really listening to all of them rules," Small said. "You go out and you just, people show you so much love, you don't even think about the rules. You're just like ‘Ah man, it's cool.' You take it, and next thing you know the NCAA is down your back."

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Under Wraps

Now that the situation with OSU is starting to come out into the open, it seems like more ex-players are having the courage to come out and admit the reality behind college football.

Even though this is really the first big-time allegation that has come out against Ohio State, Small explained to The Lantern that obviously all the deals were kept under wraps.

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Although six players have been penalized, Small said players mostly kept their wrongdoing under wraps.

"(It) was kind of hush-hush. I mean, you tell … probably your close friend, or a close friend to your close friend," Small said. "As far as everybody just talking about it in the locker room, that wasn't really a big thing. So if somebody is giving them a deal, it was probably a situation where they kept it to themselves."

Small said players get deals just based on affiliation with the university.

"Everywhere you go, while you're in the process of playing at Ohio State," Small said, "you're going to get a deal every which way."

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More Information:

David Purdy/Getty Images

IOWA CITY, IA - NOVEMBER 20: Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Jim Tressel looks on from the sidelines during pre game warm ups at the University of Iowa Hawkeyes NCAA football game at Kinnick Stadium on November 20, 2010 in Iowa City, Iowa. Ohio State won

Obviously this is a very fluid situation and right now this is only just a report by a paper from the words of one ex-player. There is a whole lot of speculation and rumor surrounding the Ohio State situation though.

We here at Bleacher Report are dedicated to bringing you up to date and accurate information, so stay tuned as we will be continuing to bring you the latest information regarding Ohio State and these allegations.

As always, if you wanted to check out the original story from The Lantern here is the link one more time.

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