Richt on NCAA probe: ‘We’ll see what they gather’ (UPDATED)
(11:29 a.m. and 12:04 p.m. updates below)
HOOVER, Ala. – Georgia’s delegation arrived here this morning for SEC Media Days and immediately faced questions about Wednesday’s news that the NCAA will send investigators to campus for an “inquiry.”
In interviews before their formal appearances before the media later this morning, Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green said he has “never” been to Miami, where various players’ attendance at an agent’s party reportedly led to NCAA probes at three other schools, and coach Mark Richt said he doesn’t believe the NCAA inquiry will necessarily bring bad news.
“I don’t know if it is [bad news] or not, quite frankly,” Richt said. “By the way you posed the question, you’re saying it’s never good news [when the NCAA investigates]. Then you’re saying it’s bad news. I don’t necessarily think it is bad news.
“I’m sure they’re gathering information, but we’ll see what they gather.”
Richt said he does not believe the NCAA probe will be a distraction to the team, which starts preseason practice on Aug. 2.
Asked if he is worried at this point about having a player or players declared ineligible, Richt said: “I’m not going to make any comment about anything having to do with the investigation.”
Asked if the NCAA is looking into the activities of one player or more than one player, Richt said: “I don’t know at all. And actually I’m asked not to make any comment about it.”
UGA associate athletic director Claude Felton said the NCAA requested that the school’s officials, coaches and players not comment on the matter until the inquiry is completed.
Green, Georgia’s top pro prospect, has said that he was asked by a Georgia official on Tuesday if he attended the agent’s party in Miami and that he said no.
He reiterated this morning that he has “never” been to Miami.
“I’m not even focused on that,” Green said of the tumult about the NCAA probe. “I’m just focused on getting ready for the season.”
Asked if he is worried about what might come of the investigation, Green said simply: “No.”
Asked if it is a hassle, he said: “Not really. Just random stuff, but it’s not a hassle.”
UPDATE 11:25 A.M.:
Before the full media contingent, Richt’s topic turned to his team and the approaching season, of all things.
He seemed decidedly upbeat.
“Everything I’ve seen so far makes me think we’re going to have what it takes from an emotional standpoint, a physical standpoint,” he said.
Despite a turbulent off-season that has included the arrests of seven players, the arrest and resignation of the athletic director and now an NCAA inquiry, Richt said it has been a good offseason from a football standpoint.
“There is an energy we have this offseason we probably haven’t had in a while,” he said.
Richt said the team has high respect for redshirt freshman quarterback Aaron Murray and is rallying around him. Richt said he believes the offense will be improved this season with a good complement of run and pass. He said he hopes Green stays healthy all season and believes he will improve as a blocker.
And to the inevitable question of how he feels about reports putting him on the occupational “hot seat,” Richt said: “I understand the business. I understand how things go. I don’t worry about it.”
UPDATE 12:04 P.M.:
In the big ballroom before the full media contingent here, A.J. Green honored the request by Georgia officials that he not discuss the NCAA inquiry.
Asked if that frustrates him, if there are things he would like to say but can’t, he said: “It’s not my place to comment on it. I don’t feel like I have to.”
On another matter, Green confirmed that he has taken out an insurance policy to protect his future potential NFL earnings against a career-ending injury.
More to come.
Please follow @ajcuga for quick updates from Media Days.
Earlier story updated: NCAA contacts UGA, says it will launch ‘inquiry’
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247 comments Add your comment
Odell T.
July 22nd, 2010
11:38 am
Richt kept Mettenburger on the team until it became apparent that he couldn’t cover up the assault on the female charge. Evans pretended that he had just one too many beers at his press conference until the video and red panties proved him disingenuous. The emails and phone records confirmed Evans an outright liar. Expect the same kind of manipulation on the NCAA issue.
harold
July 22nd, 2010
11:40 am
A GEORGIA NIGHTMARE.
RealDawg
July 22nd, 2010
11:41 am
Only reason he is on the hot seat is because the media keeps saying “he is on the hot seat”. Heard it on talk radio in Nashville yesterday. Terrible for recruiting. Quit fn saying it. It is not even close to true.
dougdawg
July 22nd, 2010
11:42 am
no problem for tech is right. there’s no one playing on that high school team that any agent or pro team would even want to consider.
ryan
July 22nd, 2010
11:42 am
harold get off this page you jerk AJ was in SC get it through your head butt head.
Brad
July 22nd, 2010
11:42 am
Jimmytech….not as many times as you’ve been to Boise….LOL
How2fish
July 22nd, 2010
11:43 am
SSIgator hey good thing about the timing of all these NCAA probes for the Gator fans is that CUM will sure be able to get the dosage for his MEDS dialed in before the season starts…see you in Jax.
Margaret DeVille
July 22nd, 2010
11:44 am
Despite a turbulent off-season that has included the arrests of seven players, the arrest and resignation of the athletic director and now an NCAA inquiry, Richt said it has been a good offseason from a football standpoint.
Richt thinks that’s a “good offseason”?
I think he knows he’s in trouble when he spouts stupid crap like that.
The sooner this bozo is gone, the better.
Roy Wood
July 22nd, 2010
11:46 am
If CMR is ever fired at UGA he want be out of work long.Maby we could hire Ray Goff back again.You think everyone is of average intelligence but some of the stuff on this blog is crazy as Hell TEX DAWG
jimmytech
July 22nd, 2010
11:47 am
Yeah, good point dougdawg, that is why tech had two first round draft picks this year…because they are a high school team..
Katy
July 22nd, 2010
11:49 am
Note to UGAownsTech and the rest of the welfare trailer park trash:
You Dawg fans who keep repeating “30-24″ like a mantra enjoy yourselves all you want. The thing is… Tech alumni and fans have lives that don’t depend entirely on what a bunch of kids does on Saturday afternoons. College sports are fun to follow, but the biggest reason for going to college is to get an education.
UGA fans don’t seem to care about anything but football, and they don’t care if their players are enrolled in silly majors that no parents who are paying the bills would send their kids to UGA for. The very few football and basketball players who graduate have no job opportunities and end up unemployed or working in menial jobs that hardly require a college degree.
Georgia Tech is a real school with serious academic standards, and that includes scholarshipped athletes. UGA has a long history of being a party school, where parents send their kids for an easy degree, even if the degree itself is practically worthless.
Jan Kemp exposed the crap going on at UGA with athletes being enrolled in courses a ten-year-old kid could pass. That was almost three decades ago, and nothing has changed. If anything, the abuses are more blatant today. Way too many illiterate morons are being recruited, and the very high arrest rate shows clearly that Richt does not care if his players have any morals or self-discipline.
The bottom line is that most Tech fans have very good jobs and productive lives that don’t depend on Tech’s football record for their happiness in life. It would be great to beat UGA more often, but when you put scholar-athletes up against dummy-athletes, it’s usually no contest.
It’s pretty pathetic to see UGA fans who typically have never been within miles of a college classroom and who live or die with UGA’s weekly results on the football field.
So keep on posting your “30-24″ all you want, especially since you’re home with plenty of time on your hands. I wish you well, maybe you’ll get lucky and get your old job back at the Waffle House before your unemployment checks stop coming.
Lashauntavious
July 22nd, 2010
11:50 am
Don’t worry Aaron Murray IS the second coming of Joe Cox!
GT is now a 6TH RATE HIGH SCHOOL TEAM
July 22nd, 2010
11:54 am
GT fans have yellow panties but wished they were red for more excitement. hahahahahahahahahahaha
Lashauntavious
July 22nd, 2010
11:55 am
If the NCAA finds UGA guilty, then they should take away all of Georgia’s championships for the last four years! Oh yeah……….there weren’t any.
hairyuga
July 22nd, 2010
11:58 am
UGA=Yawn, #9???? you were #7 last year when we beat you! GT will quickly fall out of the polls!
SSIgator
July 22nd, 2010
11:59 am
Richt’s best shot at staying in Athens long-term is to trot on down to Adam’s office and apply for the AD job. Otherwise I don’t see him being in town much longer. The natives are restless and it is getting louder. 1980 – so long ago.
TampaGator
July 22nd, 2010
11:59 am
Will Georgia have to forfeit the victory in Shreveport….how will Georgia ever recover? Just joking folks. I really hope AJ Green is innocent….the SEC needs him this year….but I do not understand the “no comment” response…or Richt’s response. The Pounceys and Meyer infatically denied the charges against the Pouncey’s and U of F. Not saying Green is guilty…and I hope he isn’t….but I just found the approach hard to understand….
RDR
July 22nd, 2010
12:02 pm
Poor little Jimmytech doesn’t even realize that the SEC is no longer tied into Shreveport. Beginning this year it’s the ACC and some other “mickey mouse” conference.
ryan
July 22nd, 2010
12:02 pm
Margaret i don’t were you got seven players arrested from i know there was 11 players arrested at Norte Dame. Yea what kind of a mascot is a yellow jacket it a bug you can squash with your bare hands
TampaGator
July 22nd, 2010
12:03 pm
That is “emphatically”….too big a hurry with the post.
Bill W.
July 22nd, 2010
12:03 pm
@Katy
This is a UGA football newspaper blog. Why else would we be talking about football on here?!
Each school have their share of athletes that flunk out or may have trouble down the road. I’m sure UGA law or veterinarian school has really produced some unemployed folks, ha!. UGA is a fine school.
And to your comment about “menial” jobs. You ever consider that some people may enjoy their “menial” jobs? Lay off on the judgments of others and realize that this is a sports (football) blog with rivalry banter that goes on back and forth.
Oh, and by the way (30-24) HAHAHAHAHAHA!!
GATA!
jasont13
July 22nd, 2010
12:08 pm
@ Katy, do you not remember when Tech beat UGA in 2208? That is all you guys did was put up the score every where on these blogs. Heck your seniors even had rings made and put the score on there. So in my mind we (UGA Alums and fans) have every right to post a score of last years game.
Joe
July 22nd, 2010
12:08 pm
“Dude say’s that he’s never been to Miami,..case closed. Move along, nothing to see here,…..just another mediocre season on the horizon”
Every season is a mediocre season for Tech.
TampaGator
July 22nd, 2010
12:08 pm
Katy…..I believe the University of Georgia is every bit concerned about the academic progress of its student athletes as is Ga. Tech. I think you are clearly barking up the wrong tree with your comments. In fact, I believe Ga. Tech has lowered its entrance requirements somewhat so the Tech coaches can recruit more athletes and be able to compete better on the football field. Just saying…..
How2fish
July 22nd, 2010
12:11 pm
TampaGator AJ had stated he was NOT there, yesterday and again this morning…CMR was told NOT to discuss this by the school and the NCAA so he really can’t say much..and I think that made him a mite testy..as the media just keeps asking him questions he can’t answer and probably wants to..not sure if Saban or Coach Meyer were given the same marching orders or not?
TampaGator
July 22nd, 2010
12:12 pm
Joe….I don’t think going to the Orange Bowl (Tech) is considered having a mediocre season on the flats…..but I think the Independence Bowl (Georgia) would be considered such between the hedges. Watch what you say….maybe.
Tech Sucks
July 22nd, 2010
12:12 pm
Tuck Fech had the greates line of the day so far.
“I saw all the TECH players in Miami …getting Beat Down by Iowa.”
Awesome. Nearly fell out of my chair at work.
TampaGator
July 22nd, 2010
12:13 pm
How2Fish…good point. Florida had 5 weeks. Georgia had one day. Thanks.
Gatorzone
July 22nd, 2010
12:13 pm
AltamahaDawg
July 22nd, 2010
11:01 am
Well at least this is one thing the UGA fans and the GT fans can agree on. WE got the NCAA sniffing around, they got the Dept of Homeland Security sniffing around. It’s a pain.
Now that’s funny!
ryan
July 22nd, 2010
12:13 pm
TampaGator all of us SEC guys need band together and not let these jerk writers jump to conclusions because most these guys on here are ACC guys.
S FL Chapter of the Bulldog Nation
July 22nd, 2010
12:16 pm
LMAOROTF…Some of you people are just too funny! Like this Jimmytech guy…you’re an IDIOT! No clue what you are even saying! I used to have a neighbor growing up who’s name was Jimmy and he wound up going to Tech(I still have an imprint of he braces on my knuckle)…he was a F-IN PU$$, DORK, DWEEB, and more than anything else…a NERD! But even if he was going to try and talk smack…he’d probably at least know something about what he was talking about! UGA will never again go to Shreveport unless they chance conferences…you F-IN IDIOT!! DAMN IT! Sometimes when I read some of these posts…I FEEL LIKE I’M PLAYING CARDS WITH MY SISTER’S KIDS!!!!
Now, back to the subject at hand! Believe it or not…it’s not the lack of common since these retarded GT fans have. It’s the SEC Media Day, and more specifically the NCAA probe into current player/agent interaction. Which at this time happens to include, UF, UA, UGA, UNC, & USC. Now, all of these may not be necessarily related but they all are deemed to be a primary violation by the NCAA.
Poucey from UF has already come out stating that the claim against him is 100% false, and said that he provided everything that he could to prove that. AJ has made a statement that not only was he not in Mia for Memorial Day, but he’s never been to Mia. Now at this time I have to believe both of them. Now, is it possible that another player from UGA could of been down there…absolutely. We’ll just have to wait and see what comes from this. Oh and from what I heard AJ is in Hoover.
I, along with every other Dawg fan, hope that this does not prohibit any current player from competing this season, but if it comes out that one of our players did mess up then guess what?? We have someone right behind that guy who’s ready to get his chance….and we’ll move on!
The good thing is that this whole thing is coming to light now and not during the season!
There has been a lot of people from all over the grid, Dawgs, Gators, etc., saying this and that about…don’t talk smack, don’t throw stones, etc. The fact is that player issues are not a single teams issue. It’s every teams issue! No school is free of a young man’s decision coming back to haunt both him as an individual and the team as a whole. It’s an unfortunate effect of the size of the game these days. In the south football is king…bottom line. A good number of the best players in the nation come out of the southeast US. I know there are quality players all over the country, but everyone knows that there’s a very large pool of quality D1 players in the southeast.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed for all teams and players involved in this inquiry that nothing serious comes out of it, and the teams are not effected in any way. But, as someone mentioned earlier….when there’s smoke there’s usually a fire. As UGA fans we need to hope the smoke’s just coming from the surrounding states, and not from the Classic City!
Only a week and a half until the pads will be popping! Let’s not let this crap take any focus away from what needs to be done! There’s way too much work to be done in a short amount of time….the names will come out as this unfolds, and at this point I’m not sweating it too much. It does make my stomach a little uneasy, but it’s much like the feeling I get before game day. A for the majority of those it comes out alright as well! So stay the course Dawgs and Finish The Drill!!!! GO DAWGS!!!!!
UGA = Clemson = Perennial Underachievers
July 22nd, 2010
12:16 pm
Where there is smoke, there is fire…
They didn’t just randomly pick AJ Green to question. You mutts better hope, I mean HOPE, he wasn’t there and that he didn’t lie to the NCAA…..because if so, having another 5 loss season is the least of your concerns.
Flo-Ri-Duh!
July 22nd, 2010
12:18 pm
A.J. is a quiet guy – not a party type. He may have been invited to Miami but he wouldn’t be interested. He knows that he is already a 1st round draft choice. He doesn’t need to talk to any low life lawyer agents.
Flo-Ri-Duh!
July 22nd, 2010
12:19 pm
Cheating agents should be put in a cage match with the ICE MAN.
Gatorzone
July 22nd, 2010
12:20 pm
Katy, “Georgia Tech is a real school with serious academic standards, and that includes scholarshipped athletes. UGA has a long history of being a party school, where parents send their kids for an easy degree, even if the degree itself is practically worthless.”
YOU ARE DELUSIONAL!!!
TampaGator
July 22nd, 2010
12:20 pm
I am sitting in my office and watching TV (and doing a little work but don’t tell anyone)…and you got to love the new Vandy coach….I haven’t laughed so hard in a while….what a comment (not sure if it was his exact words but close….
“People don’t even know who I am…and I am a coach in the SEC…isn’t that wonderful? Heck, when I walked through the lobby this morning…people were handing me tips.”
This guy is going to be a hit on the recruiting trail. What a change from Johnson….who was Mr. Serious all the time. But a good coach.
Dawgsrunthisstate
July 22nd, 2010
12:21 pm
I just saw the ncaa on north ave. it seems they just saw Reuben Houston selling a pound of pot to Joe Hamilton and when they caught Hamilton he was drunk and Houston ran into a house with kids and pulled a gun. They said they took off cause they were scared someone would rob them while on campus. The investigation continues!
SSIgator
July 22nd, 2010
12:22 pm
S FL Chapter of the Bulldog Nation -
“It does make my stomach a little uneasy, but it’s much like the feeling I get before game day.”
Maybe that feeling will not be a often this year since Joe Cox is gone.
TampaGator
July 22nd, 2010
12:22 pm
Gatorzone….you are wrong about Georgia. There approach to student athletes is no different than Georgia Tech or Florida….
MoDawg
July 22nd, 2010
12:22 pm
To the poster noting AJs trip to Shreveport…I’ll tell you somewhere else AJ hasn’t been, and that’s Boise, Idaho on the Smurf Turf. Tech has frequent flyer miles there and still had blue stains on their knees (and backs) from the last time.
Katy, turn the mirror around and get St. Simpleton (Simons), RAMBLE ON!!! and YellowFuzz to pose with you in front of it.
If you can’t take it, go back to your “life” you and all your bumble bees supposedly have.
Gatorguy
July 22nd, 2010
12:22 pm
With all of Georgia’s football team in trouble with the law, let’s hope they have a work release program in Athens. Otherwise it will be tough to practice from the jail house-NOT that practice will help you in Gator Land!!!
TampaGator
July 22nd, 2010
12:24 pm
Dawgsrunthssatte….the Joe Hamilton situation was sad…and nothing to make jokes about. He was one of the best players in Tech history…and he hasn’t lived his life as such……too bad….and I hope he is getting things right in his life. Now Houston is another matter.
Dawgsrunthisstate
July 22nd, 2010
12:24 pm
And of course this is all alleged. Just heard it while at the varsity. HAHA!
UGA is Just Fine...
July 22nd, 2010
12:25 pm
@Katy- “The thing is… Tech alumni and fans have lives that don’t depend entirely on what a bunch of kids does on Saturday afternoons. ”
If this is the case then why is it so many of you spend so much time on a UGA FOOTBALL Blog?!
Dawgsrunthisstate
July 22nd, 2010
12:26 pm
Yeah Hamilton was a fine player and so on and so on. I’m just tired of hearing these tech people talk about Dawgs getting arrested for being kids. Especially when they have had their share of issues themselves that are pretty bad!!
DAWG07
July 22nd, 2010
12:27 pm
Any SEC team been on NCAA Probation in recent years? If so there is concern with the way they celt with USC.
S FL Chapter of the Bulldog Nation
July 22nd, 2010
12:27 pm
S SIgator…I sure hope so!! lol But, when your dealing with the guys who can do what they want when they want…kind of like getting pulled over for a tag light being out. It still makes you a little nervous. Especially not knowing what you got pulled over for at first. Your confident you didn’t do anythign wrong but he still pulled you over for something….
Nads
July 22nd, 2010
12:28 pm
I’m sick of Richt’s stupid accent. Get off my television, you hayseed clown.
How2fish
July 22nd, 2010
12:29 pm
Gatorguy really..you know its too easy..see you in Jax.
SSIgator
July 22nd, 2010
12:30 pm
Dawgsrunthisstate -
“Dawgs getting arrested for being kids”
I don’t think that would qualify as probable cause.