Actually, I read about it last night, but still. It seems it's never going to end, yet...maybe this last revelation of Cecil admitting he discussed money with MSU will at least calm things down.
Assuming he doesn't, with his own mouth, deny making this admission to this "source," then what's next?
Much as I hate what he does, Finebaum predicted something like this yesterday, saying "expect to see Cecil Newton trying to distance himself from Cam and Auburn" though I'm not sure he expected a full admission. Well, Cecil says his boy's hands are clean. It's plausible. Is it believable after all the previous water under the bridge? That will be a big question with the SEC and NCAA. Know this: The SEC knows more about all this than the public knows, as does the NCAA, and Cam has been playing. If Cam plays today, you can damn well bet Auburn still has a high degree of confidence, OR that they've just decided to take the risk because the whole season could be lost either way.
So what's next? Well before the "The NCAA said a solicitation is against the rules, therefore Cam is ineligible, period" start their mantra...consider the past cases. There's been numerous cases in the past of players actually taking extra benefits, and still being eligible after they sat a game or 2, and/or paid benefits back. In this case the difference is, hopefully, that no money ever changed hands. Nothing to pay back. And as Donald Jackson cited, there's been cases he worked on where the player actually requested a benefit, was turned down, properly reported, and remained eligible. Then we've seen cases where the player was simply disallowed to go t a school, or a school told they couldn't sign a player, but that player still eligible to play for other institutions.
What happened here? My hypothesis is, and I have always had a bit of suspicion about Cecil, is that Cecil discussed money with MSU. It would appear that maybe he initiated these talks, but make no mistake, the Newtons didn't meet Kenny Rogers by mistake. Whether someone at MSU guided the Newtons to Rogers, or Rogers to the Netwons...it was done with the intent to secure Cam for MSU. This is where it gets muddy. The timeline doesn't work well for Auburn, because if you believe Cam was for sale and that MSU was trying to buy him, you have to wonder why the transaction didn't take place at MSU, but it doesn't mean Auburn paid either. Maybe it was revealed by someone at MSU that they weren't going to pay, and that it would be reported. Maybe that caused all parties to just say "fuck it" and nothing happened beyond talks. It's entirely possible that MSU believed that it would get out, and reported just enough to cover their ass, but held back on what would get them in a bind, and then when it all blew up, they tried to cast all the blame on Cam and Cecil. MSU was trying to buy Cam. I firmly believe that, and they would have. What stopped them?
My guess is that with Cecil's admission, they're, and hopefully Auburn's confident there's no money trail anywhere, from anybody connected to Auburn, to anybody connected with the Newtons.
All is not lost if Cecil's "admission" stands. I have to believe that there's a reason he's admitting this, but claiming Cam's hands are clean. Someone has advised him to do this.
War Eagle. Beat the Dawgs.
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