Brian Butler costs Vols; will he hurt OU?
Published: 8/24/2009 8:43 PM
Last Modified: 8/24/2009 8:43 PM
Last February, I wrote a blog entitled, "A recruiting postscript that may turn heads, stomachs." It was about Brian Butler, the shady handler of two of the nation's top high school football players, Wichita brothers Bryce and Arthur Brown. Bryce wound up at Tennessee and Arthur, after showing interest in Oklahoma, at Miami. I called Butler a "sycophant" after reading a New York Times profile of him, predicted "this isn't going to end well," and declared the Sooners "will be glad to have dropped out of this filthy game."
As it turns out, however, they hadn't completely dropped out.
The NCAA, which began investigating Butler in the aftermath of the Times' story last February, looked into a recruiting trip that Butler sponsored in the summer of 2007. He took 10 Wichita-area prospects on a tour of several colleges, including OU, after raising some money himself and receiving private donations to cover the bulk of the costs.
Butler has said he checked with the NCAA to ensure everything was on the level, and he even deemed the trip an "academic tour." That, however, didn't keep the NCAA from sniffing around long enough to question Bryce Brown's eligibility at Tennessee, stemming from that "academic tour" in which extra benefits may or may not have been at issue.
So what does this have to do with the Sooners? One of the 10 prospects on that trip was Jaydan Bird, a freshman linebacker currently in his first preseason camp at OU. Is it possible the Sooners have NCAA issues with another linebacker besides Mike Balogun?
It doesn't appear so.
Last week, OU coach Bob Stoops was asked if he was aware of Brown's situation, and whether there might be any connection to Bird. "I've not heard any of that," he replied. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
The World filed an open records request with OU's legal division to see if there had been any correspondence between or documentation concerning the NCAA and university players, coaches or athletic representatives regarding Butler or Bird. OU replied that no such documentation existed.
Monday, the World reached Lelin George, Bird's coach at Conway Springs (Kan.) High School. He confirmed that he had not been contacted by NCAA representatives, and knew nothing of any investigation.
Bird is unavailable for comment; Stoops doesn't allow players to interview until they have played in a game.
Meanwhile, the Wichita Eagle reported that the three other Division I players on that trip besides Bird and Bryce Brown (Arthur Brown, Kansas State's Chris Harper and TCU's Blaize Foltz) have not come under NCAA scrutiny, either.
So perhaps the NCAA's interest lies solely in Bryce Brown. It appears that's the case for the time being.
The Sooners, who have already been sideswiped by Balogun's eligibility issues and Tom Wort's knee injury this month, can only hope that remains the case.
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
