At no point did I personally ever attempt to exonerate Oregon as safe because Lyles is legit… when the story first broke, the only answer was, all schools use recruiting services… until we see evidence that Lyles was paid to steer, there is nothing to see here…
When Lyles attempted to paint Oregon as a rogue program, while formally biting his tongue when asked about other programs, combined with Whitlocks story detailing Lyles’ TRUE motives… it became clear that Lyles was not a very believable character…
You are using some sort of…“but they spent a lot of money” to draw a darker conclusion than we currently have evidence of… all indications point to a much rosier picture… including the fact that now FIVE months in, we still have not seen a self-reported violation or self-imposed sanction take effect. We KNOW this is Glazier’s M.O. yet it has yet to happen… reading between the lines, this bodes well. Chip seemed a LOT more relaxed yesterday than most expected… that indicates he feels comfortable with what is going to happen.
To call something a “fake” national report is quite disingenuous… it was not fake, it was simply crap. As Chip mentioned yesterday, Lyles has worked with over 80 schools during his time as a scout for other services. Many people believed his information to be worthwhile… what they found out is what many people find out about a person who works for a business then thinks he can do better on his own… not all people are good businesspeople. Lyles attempted to restore his name by throwing Oregon under the bus because he felt he got screwed by them. The motives behind the Yahoo story are questionable at best… he sat down with them because he was angry… angry that he had been made out to look like a fool… angry people have agendas… he had an agenda… the further we dig, though, the less his information looks credible.
Right now we have one credible source on why Lache Seastrunk chose Oregon; Lache Seastrunk.
Portland Tribune Article: http://www.portlandtribune.com/sports/story.php?story_id=128458486268837300
With this all important quote:
“He had a vision,” Seastrunk says, of his father. “He said he had a dream one night. And he saw me in an all-white (Ducks) uniform. I was like ‘OK.’ And I kind of blew it off for a minute. But that’s when Pete Carroll left (as USC coach), and I didn’t want to go to USC anymore. And all my other schools just kind of faded away. Auburn stopped talking to me. I don’t know why.”
The night before he signed a letter-of-intent, Seastrunk asked God, “Where do you want me to go? Can you please let me know? I can’t lay it on my heart. Give me a sign.”
The school that stood out was Oregon.
“So I was like, ‘OK, I believe in you,’ ” Seastrunk says.
This is the source that, until someone shows me proof otherwise, the rest of the story is smoke and mirrors. The NCAA rep saying that there are “people who fall outside the definition of boosters and agents” and that the new legislation goes “beyond Cam [Newton]” is pretty clear in my mind that Lyles will NOT be ruled a booster… but that the definitions will be updated to weed people like him out