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re: Former USC coach Brad Lawing dropping bombs on crooked Alabama recruiting.
Posted on 9/9/21 at 11:49 am to Lonnie Utah
Posted on 9/9/21 at 11:49 am to Lonnie Utah
quote:
the coach was "selling" the kid and didn't give the kid the money promised after he got paid.
A coach from a poor high school in Memphis would never
But yes, Albert Means' coach was shopping him around to everyone. When he was questioned in federal court, he said
quote:
Lang is awaiting sentencing on a guilty plea to racketeering conspiracy. He said he took the money to convince defensive lineman Albert Means to sign with the Crimson Tide in 2000.
In testimony Tuesday in U.S. District Court, Lang said that coaches at two other Southeastern Conference schools, Kentucky and Georgia, gave him money. He also testified that Tennessee, Mississippi, Michigan State and Arkansas offered money for Means but never paid.
Under cross examination by defense lawyer James Neal on Wednesday, Lang added Memphis to the list of schools that offered him a deal, testifying that then-coach Rip Scherer said he would arrange for Lang's wife to attend law school for free at the university.
Lang also told jurors that Arkansas offered him either an
assistant coaching job worth more than $80,000 a year or $150,000 in cash if he delivered Means and another player.
Means, who has not been accused of wrongdoing, previously
testified that he let Lang choose his college. Lang said he began shopping Means around to various colleges in 1999 when he realized how many schools wanted him.
Lang testified that former Kentucky recruiting coordinator Claude Bassett gave $7,000 for work at a camp and a Means visit to campus, and that former Georgia head coach and current ESPN football analyst Jim Donnan gave $700 cash for work at a camp. He testified that Bill Harper, a Georgia booster from Memphis, gave him a $100 bill.
But he said that when he was referred to Young by former Crimson Tide assistant coach Ivy Williams, he started the bidding for Means at $50,000. Young "took to it like water," Lang said.
Lang, who made less than $30,000 at Trezevant High, said he kept upping the price until it reached $150,000, which he received in a series of payments each smaller than $10,000, the threshold at which bank transactions must be reported.
Means testified that he never took the SAT or ACT and someone else took it for him.
Kinda almost makes you feel bad for Albert Means. He ended up at Memphis, went undrafted, and never made an NFL roster.
This post was edited on 9/9/21 at 11:51 am
2
Posted on 9/9/21 at 11:52 am to lsufball19
quote:
Kinda almost makes you feel bad for Albert Means. He ended up at Memphis, went undrafted, and never made an NFL roster.
Absolutely - kid got taken advantage of, jerked around and then tossed in the trash bin when he wasn't worth anything to anyone anymore.
Posted on 9/9/21 at 12:37 pm to lsufball19
quote:I think it ended up being clear that the kid was mostly hype. Can't believe he ended up being sold for that much.
Kinda almost makes you feel bad for Albert Means. He ended up at Memphis, went undrafted, and never made an NFL roster.
There was a great deal of sketchiness surrounding CFB in general and Bama in particular those days.
I remember reading an online article about Lang's court testimony, where he said he talked about selling Means' LOI with coaches from Arky and UTee, but said "none of them were straight business like Alabama" - except that the Alabama-based reporter "accidentally" left out the word "business" in the quote (Arkansas and Tennessee media reported it verbatim).
Also, either UA compliance personnel were completely clueless, or they flat out lied to Mal Moore when he was courting Fran to take over in late 2000. Even up until the Infractions Committee released their report, Mal was saying they would only get a slap on the wrist.
This post was edited on 9/9/21 at 12:38 pm
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