USC Tampering?

[MJSooner]

Say it ain't so.

[Thulsa Doom]

Lincoln Riley & Caleb Williams deserve each other.

[Widescreen]

USC and Riley deserve each other. As entities, they're both trash.

[Stinger_1066]

[Me And My Butt]

Say it ain't so.

You think?

[makila]

They are talking about it on College Gameday (draft) right now.

[LT-OU]

Looks like cocksucker may have really stepped in it this time.

[AppySooner]

Everybody is tampering before players enter the portal like the NCAA explicitly said not to, and everyone (including OU now) is using NIL as a recruiting/transfer inducement like the NCAA explicitly said not to, and the NCAA hasn’t done and won’t do anything about it just like they didn’t try to punish semi-open player-buying across the South. I don’t know why the NCAA exists. It’s needed by non-revenue sports but it can only serve those sports because of revenue from sports to which it is no longer relevant.

[Section31]

There's nothing anyone can do about this...period. It's the new landscape of college athletics. You dolts that pushed for this will make excuses, but this is exactly what you asked for.

[TheBorenSupremacy]

We're going to have to bring back sitting a year after transferring... or you know, punish someone for breaking the rules

[M40]

We're going to have to bring back sitting a year after transferring... or you know, punish someone for breaking the rules

Sitting a year after transferring is the best option

[tenaciOUs b]

LiaR sure likes to burn bridges. Must have been in Army Demolitions in his previous life.

[Velo Sooner]

Nothing in the story reveals why Narduzzi suspects USC other than Addison and Williams are friends from the Baltimore area. A legit reason to be concerned, but no proof of tampering. Maybe there is more smoke not mentioned in the article.

Serious question - is it considered tampering if players try to recruit each other? That has to happen all the time as many players have ties from all the camps and competitions they attend as well as offseason training.

[Socalisooner]

Nothing in the story reveals why Narduzzi suspects USC other than Addison and Williams are friends from the Baltimore area. A legit reason to be concerned, but no proof of tampering. Maybe there is more smoke not mentioned in the article.

Serious question - is it considered tampering if players try to recruit each other? That has to happen all the time as many players have ties from all the camps and competitions they attend as well as offseason training.

People here slobber all over recruits trying to recruit other recruits with a catchy slogan for the year. They are all for former players trying to recruit, current players trying to recruit yet are simply aghast and mortified that players on other teams trying to get their peers to hit the portal for a better opportunity.

[Hermit]

Nothing in the story reveals why Narduzzi suspects USC other than Addison and Williams are friends from the Baltimore area. A legit reason to be concerned, but no proof of tampering. Maybe there is more smoke not mentioned in the article.

Serious question - is it considered tampering if players try to recruit each other? That has to happen all the time as many players have ties from all the camps and competitions they attend as well as offseason training.

And there never will be proof. Its why any rule banning tampering is useless, it can't be enforced, because it can't be proven.

[LakelandSooner]

Sitting a year after transferring is the best option

This. Is that rule ever coming back?

[Velo Sooner]

And there never will be proof. Its why any rule banning tampering is useless, it can't be enforced, because it can't be proven.

That's not true. People talk all the time and can be questioned in court under threat of perjury. Cell phone records can be subpoenaed. It's really hard to keep secrets like that and the penalty for coaches can be very punitive.

A hypothetical here might be Addison talking to Pitt teammates about talking to Caleb Williams and mentioning Riley's name. Then one of those guys telling Narduzzi what he heard. If Narduzzi really is convinced there is tampering, Pitt could file suit and have Addison's phone records obtained as well as testimony from everyone involved. Not saying it's easy or anyone wants to go that far, but it's not easy keeping secrets either and coaches have to be very careful.

[Hermit]

That's not true. People talk all the time and can be questioned in court under threat of perjury. Cell phone records can be subpoenaed. It's really hard to keep secrets like that and the penalty for coaches can be very punitive.

A hypothetical here might be Addison talking to Pitt teammates about talking to Caleb Williams and mentioning Riley's name. Then one of those guys telling Narduzzi what he heard. If Narduzzi really is convinced there is tampering, Pitt could file suit and have Addison's phone records obtained as well as testimony from everyone involved. Not saying it's easy or anyone wants to go that far, but it's not easy keeping secrets either and coaches have to be very careful.

Yes, it is true, No one is going to that much trouble or expense.

Its also why most NCAA regs can't be enforced. They can't be proven. And the NCAA doesn't have a large enforcement arm or the legal authority to get proof. Its why NCAA has always relied on self enforcement.

[HighwayBill]

People here slobber all over recruits trying to recruit other recruits with a catchy slogan for the year. They are all for former players trying to recruit, current players trying to recruit yet are simply aghast and mortified that players on other teams trying to get their peers to hit the portal for a better opportunity.

False equivalency. We all know you’re a bit slow but you do understand that it’s a rules violation to contact players before they enter the portal? Of course you’re probably just being a douche, intellectual dishonesty is your forte after all.

[OUrage]

That dumbass is setting up his downfall perfectly

[Balko]

You hate to see Muleshoe bringing negative publicity to USC.

[EatLeadCommie]

Nothing can or will be done, but I'm happy to see the luster fade a bit from FULR while he gets some bad press.

[Velo Sooner]

Yes, it is true, No one is going to that much trouble or expense.

Its also why most NCAA regs can't be enforced. They can't be proven. And the NCAA doesn't have a large enforcement arm or the legal authority to get proof. Its why NCAA has always relied on self enforcement.

I already mentioned that no one would want to go that far. But it's still true that they could and it would be hard to hide if a coach is communicating directly with players outside the portal. And if a coach got a reputation for tampering, I guarantee another school would try to prove it given the level of competition for players. Yes, it's a hassle, but it's mostly a matter of paying lawyers to take on that hassle. Cell phones and social media make it really hard to keep a secret.

[Orangejello Jones]

I hate to be that guy but weren't there some butthurt people making veiled inuendo's about us when the bitch pulled in the dudes from Tennessee and the WR from Arkansas?

[Velo Sooner]

I hate to be that guy but weren't there some butthurt people making veiled inuendo's about us when the bitch pulled in the dudes from Tennessee and the WR from Arkansas?

That's completely different and you know it.

  Not Safe For Work

[DFWSooner]

They’ve got to get rules in place to keep this kind of shit from happening. I don’t care if it’s Riley or whoever, you can’t have coaches tampering with players on other team’s current rosters. There’s a reason the NFL and every other league has strict tampering rules in place. It could ruin the sport.

[RockFlagandEagle]

You hate to see Muleshoe bringing negative publicity to USC.

Who is this 'you' you are referencing?

[Jakel]

He was cheating for SC while at OU... and he started cheating day 1 @ SC. And cheated on his wife guaranteed..... Fkg kunt of a man

[Balko]

Who is this 'you' you are referencing?

No one on DB.

[kopp0e]

They’ve got to get rules in place to keep this kind of shit from happening. I don’t care if it’s Riley or whoever, you can’t have coaches tampering with players on other team’s current rosters. There’s a reason the NFL and every other league has strict tampering rules in place. It could ruin the sport.

Just wait, until SEC is pissed, (you don't wanna piss off SEC).?!

[MalibuSooner]

People keep saying that Riley has less pressure at USC.

It's true that most people in the LA-area don't pay much attention to college football, but Riley just took a ton of money on a long-term contract at a place where he is now nothing but a mercenary. He has zero connection to the school or that area, and therefore is completely disposable, just like Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian, and many others in the long string of coaches who didn't perform and were treated like trash.

The big-money donors (the people who are actually paying for his massive contract) will turn on him in a heartbeat if he doesn't win, and win soon.

So, he knows he has to deliver and fast. And he's already proven he has zero loyalty and very questionable ethics, and that's when things were going well.


It's scary to think what he'll start to do once some real heat is on him.

[BehindEnemaLines]

Pumped to read the Players Tribune article about it next week.

[LesPaul]

This is the part that made me lol…

The source said that Addison isn't looking for an NIL deal, and any move would be tied to his professional development.


Addison and CW must have the same person being their “source”.

[Velo Sooner]

People keep saying that Riley has less pressure at USC.

It's true that most people in the LA-area don't pay much attention to college football, but Riley just took a ton of money on a long-term contract at a place where he is now nothing but a mercenary. He has zero connection to the school or that area, and therefore is completely disposable, just like Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian, and many others in the long string of coaches who didn't perform and were treated like trash.

The big-money donors (the people who are actually paying for his massive contract) will turn on him in a heartbeat if he doesn't win, and win soon.

So, he knows he has to deliver and fast. And he's already proven he has zero loyalty and very questionable ethics, and that's when things were going well.


It's scary to think what he'll start to do once some real heat is on him.

Every coach is under pressure to win - just take that as a postulate. The only question is the timeline and it appears LR has a little more runway than normal due to how low the program has dipped combined with how much money USC has committed. The local sports news out here made it sound like the first priority was regaining the upper hand in recruiting in the SoCal area and the results on the field coming next. And I'm talking about big donors and the school administration here; the people that approved the big contract. Not the fans, as all fans taken as a group are fickle and have unrealistic expectations.

But this thread shows how the internet turns people into morons. There is nothing the article from the OP that had any proof of tampering. I'm not claiming there was or wasn't, I'm just reading the article verbatim. I understand "confirmation bias" and how OU fans in particular would want to believe the allegations from the Pitt coach. Maybe I'm naive, but I swear people used to have better critical thinking skills and wouldn't just believe some random statement w/o sufficient proof.

[Free Electron]

I want to see some evidence of tampering. Is this a legit story or just some head coach whining? Hear me out, I am a huge TBOW hater but this is getting pathetic. He is gone.

PS looks like him and Caleb are homeboys. This is the new reality of NCAAF; kids jumping ship for more money and exposure. Deal with it.

[Colonel O’Truth]

But this thread shows how the internet turns people into morons. There is nothing the article from the OP that had any proof of tampering. I'm not claiming there was or wasn't, I'm just reading the article verbatim. I understand "confirmation bias" and how OU fans in particular would want to believe the allegations from the Pitt coach. Maybe I'm naive, but I swear people used to have better critical thinking skills and wouldn't just believe some random statement w/o sufficient proof.

Yes, you ARE naive. This player just won the Biletnikoff Award at Pittsburgh and he all of a sudden decides he wants to move to USC… not for NIL money but for professional development. Evidently, he was getting pretty good development where he is, AND publicity, AND opportunities to succeed athletically AND financially but he wants to move across the country to an also-ran program in the PAC 12. Consider the coaching staff he wants to “develop” him. They just took a group of five star receivers at OU that were considered the best group ever recruited and turned them into the most pedestrian producers imaginable.
But you claim people have no critical thinking skills because they believe this claim “without any proof.” Granted nothing was spelled out in the article (I’m sure the investigation in still in the very early stages) but I would tend to believe the claims because of Riley’s very recent track record before I’d dismiss them completely. First, Riley and his coaching staff were clearly cheating on OU while still employed in Norman by recruiting players to USC. There is a plethora of phone records, athlete testimony, etc. to verify that. There is also evidence they tampered with players on the OU roster in a effort to get them to LA.
lt doesn’t take a giant leap of faith, nor is it sour grapes, to believe this COULD be a very brazen case of tampering on Riley’s part. If it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck, it might be a duck. Don’t say well there’s no PROOF it’s a duck.

[SoonerBurglar]

I say he's guilty. We ain't waiting around for no trial. I say we string him up now! Come'on!

[Just JK]

This sort of answers the why he left question - at least for me. He realized that NIL money was readily available in truckloads out there…he feels this is what he needs to compete with the big boys

Eventually he’ll get tired of all the rules and scrutiny and just leave for the NFL

[Velo Sooner]

Yes, you ARE naive. This player just won the Biletnikoff Award at Pittsburgh and he all of a sudden decides he wants to move to USC… not for NIL money but for professional development. Evidently, he was getting pretty good development where he is, AND publicity, AND opportunities to succeed athletically AND financially but he wants to move across the country to an also-ran program in the PAC 12. Consider the coaching staff he wants to “develop” him. They just took a group of five star receivers at OU that were considered the best group ever recruited and turned them into the most pedestrian producers imaginable.
But you claim people have no critical thinking skills because they believe this claim “without any proof.” Granted nothing was spelled out in the article (I’m sure the investigation in still in the very early stages) but I would tend to believe the claims because of Riley’s very recent track record before I’d dismiss them completely. First, Riley and his coaching staff were clearly cheating on OU while still employed in Norman by recruiting players to USC. There is a plethora of phone records, athlete testimony, etc. to verify that. There is also evidence they tampered with players on the OU roster in a effort to get them to LA.
lt doesn’t take a giant leap of faith, nor is it sour grapes, to believe this COULD be a very brazen case of tampering on Riley’s part. If it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck, it might be a duck. Don’t say well there’s no PROOF it’s a duck.

All that is true and still irrelevant. There is no definitive proof. I can counter that Pitt's first round QB is now gone and the WR wants to play with another (predicted) future first round QB. Or I can claim he's lying about the NIL money and he knows he can get a lot more in SoCal than he can in Pittsburgh. Both are plausible, but just speculation and not proof. It could also be true as the article states that Addison is only considering a transfer and has yet to determine a destination. The article says things like "according to sources" and "caught wind of" - hardly the foundation of fact. You took it as "fact" that NIL money was not a factor, yet you don't take it as fact that there is no predetermined destination? Both statements were in same paragraph from the same "sources".

I think if there's brazen tampering going on here, it will come out because as I stated before, it's hard to keep these kinds of secrets. The only thing I'll take as fact from the OP is that Narduzzi doesn't want his star player to leave (duh) and that the player is good friends with Caleb Williams so USC has come up as a destination. It could be the end of LR before his first game or it could all be a bunch of pissing in the wind that amounts to nothing.

[Section31]

I hate to be that guy but weren't there some butthurt people making veiled inuendo's about us when the bitch pulled in the dudes from Tennessee and the WR from Arkansas?

We could buy players during that time?

[Section31]

All that is true and still irrelevant. There is no definitive proof. I can counter that Pitt's first round QB is now gone and the WR wants to play with another (predicted) future first round QB. Or I can claim he's lying about the NIL money and he knows he can get a lot more in SoCal than he can in Pittsburgh. Both are plausible, but just speculation and not proof. It could also be true as the article states that Addison is only considering a transfer and has yet to determine a destination. The article says things like "according to sources" and "caught wind of" - hardly the foundation of fact. You took it as "fact" that NIL money was not a factor, yet you don't take it as fact that there is no predetermined destination? Both statements were in same paragraph from the same "sources".

I think if there's brazen tampering going on here, it will come out because as I stated before, it's hard to keep these kinds of secrets. The only thing I'll take as fact from the OP is that Narduzzi doesn't want his star player to leave (duh) and that the player is good friends with Caleb Williams so USC has come up as a destination. It could be the end of LR before his first game or it could all be a bunch of pissing in the wind that amounts to nothing.

Hell, bruh, let it play out. You don't know (nor do I) if there's any proof or not. The story LITERALLY just came out. Remember, I'm on record as saying there's really nothing that can be done, but that's different than what this story appears to show. Pretty sure it's not normal for coaches to call other coaches just willy nilly. Talk about critical thinking skills.

[Boris Badenoff]

False equivalency. We all know you’re a bit slow but you do understand that it’s a rules violation to contact players before they enter the portal? Of course you’re probably just being a douche, intellectual dishonesty is your forte after all.

He's a professional troll, you know.

[Buccaneer]

We're going to have to bring back sitting a year after transferring... or you know, punish someone for breaking the rules

Yup, this will at least slow it down some!

[JerzeySooner]

He was cheating for SC while at OU... and he started cheating day 1 @ SC. And cheated on his wife guaranteed..... Fkg kunt of a man

He was cheating at OU also, happy that he's gone.

[kopp0e]

Hey, no cheating here, Pitt dude isn't in portal yet (ahem, but he is on the shuttle).?!



If Oklahoma can meet USC in a CFP tilt, I think most would root for OU v USC eh..?

[novasooner]

Whether or not anyone can prove it's tampering (and we all know good and damn well that he's tampered), TBOW is taking quite the hit to his precious reputation. Even Texas fans on Twitter are calling him a sleazebag.

[hhsmiley]

People here slobber all over recruits trying to recruit other recruits with a catchy slogan for the year. They are all for former players trying to recruit, current players trying to recruit yet are simply aghast and mortified that players on other teams trying to get their peers to hit the portal for a better opportunity.

I think the point is those OU guys are trying to entice RECRUITS. This is a coach and current D1 player from one team actively trying to poach another current D1 player from another team.

Recruits have not made a commitment yet, whereas current/active players have, and that's the difference.

[Velo Sooner]

Hell, bruh, let it play out. You don't know (nor do I) if there's any proof or not. The story LITERALLY just came out. Remember, I'm on record as saying there's really nothing that can be done, but that's different than what this story appears to show. Pretty sure it's not normal for coaches to call other coaches just willy nilly. Talk about critical thinking skills.

Exactly let it play out. And no, I'm sure it's not normal for coaches to call other coaches - at least not make it public. But massive NIL money and 1 free transfer have no historical norms for comparison. It could be that Addison is being recruited by CW and likes what he hears about the program and the NIL money he would likely get. And if that's the case, no rules would have been broken. That's speculation as well, but it's fits with the actual statement in the article and what we know about CW. He was an active recruiter for other players to come to OU once he committed.

BTW, it's May 1 on the east coast - has the deadline passed or does it include Sunday? I searched for any updates to this story and the only recent one had no new information. Just more speculation and griping from random fans.

[S00nerJay]

They’ve got to get rules in place to keep this kind of shit from happening. I don’t care if it’s Riley or whoever, you can’t have coaches tampering with players on other team’s current rosters. There’s a reason the NFL and every other league has strict tampering rules in place. It could ruin the sport.

I think the fact that a coach/GM/owner could have his ass eaten for lunch in court due to tortuous interference keeps everyone in line more than the integrity of the game.

Could start seeing college coaches being pulled into court. Might be tough to prove though. Especially if the coach is speaking through one of his players.

[Hermit]

Has this Pitt player gone to the portal , yet ? I strongly suspect he will.