UGA has to report NCAA secondary violation due to comments on Harvey-Clemons
ATHENS — Georgia will have to report an NCAA secondary violation regarding its recruitment of Josh Harvey-Clemons. But as far as secondary violations go, they don’t get much more secondary than this one.
Jim Booz, UGA’s senior associate athletic director for compliance, confirmed to The AJC Thursday that coach Mark Richt ran afoul of NCAA bylaws when he commented on Harvey-Clemons shortly after the highly-touted prospect announced on national television his decision to sign with the Bulldogs on Wednesday. Harvey-Clemons’ signing ceremony at Lowndes High School in Valdosta was televised live by ESPN and the sports network also had a reporter and camera crew with Georgia coaches in Athens.
Shortly after Harvey-Clemons made his announcement in Valdosta, ESPN reporter Cara Capuano asked Richt for his reaction and for his thoughts on prospect’s athletic abilities. Turns out that violates NCAA bylaw 13.10.2, which states that no one from a member institution can comment on a prospective student-athlete until his or her signed letter-of-intent has been received. As has been well-documented now, Harvey-Clemons’ letter-of-intent was not received by UGA until Thursday morning.
“It is something we’re having to deal with,” Booz said. “It’s not a significant issue. It’s not one that’s going to impact any of the individuals involved. It’s going to be considered a Level II secondary violation. Because of how everything transpired yesterday — it was a very, very odd and very unique situation — it just kind of caught everybody off guard.”
Booz said Athletic Director Greg McGarity will send a letter to the Southeastern Conference informing them of the mistake. But he said was highly unlikely any enforcement would result.
“In my opinion there was certainly no advantage gained by any stretch from what transpired yesterday,” said Booz, who came to UGA from Virginia last month. “It is a violation of a technical nature. But the way we’re going to operate is, if something creeps up, even something like this, we’re going to comply and report violations to the SEC if necessary and do it the right way. It’s just one of those things.”
Richt was in Louisville Thursday to attend the Paul Hornung Award banquet honoring 2012 recipient for Georgia senior cornerback Brandon Boykin and could not be reached for comment.
For what it’s worth, here’s how the NCAA bylaw reads:
NCAA Bylaw 13.10.2: Comments Before Signing.
Before the signing of a prospective student-athlete to a National Letter of Intent or an institution’s written offer of admission and/or financial aid, a member institution may comment publicly only to the extent of confirming its recruitment of the prospective student-athlete. The institution may not comment generally about the prospective student-athlete’s ability or the contribution that the prospective student-athlete might make to the institution’s team; further, the institution is precluded from commenting in any manner as to the likelihood of the prospective student-athlete’s signing with that institution. Violations of this bylaw do not affect a prospective student-athlete’s eligibility and are considered institutional violations per Constitution 2.8.1.
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288 comments Add your comment
UGA Golfer
February 2nd, 2012
9:20 pm
This isn’t even secondary or thirdary. More like fifthary! What a waste of time.
JB
February 2nd, 2012
9:20 pm
Van Gordor helps AU I’m afraid.
TuckyDawg
February 2nd, 2012
9:22 pm
Hey UGA Goler what the h— is fithary, sounds like sushi
General Mills
February 2nd, 2012
9:22 pm
And ?
We Rule this STATE
February 2nd, 2012
9:23 pm
Cheating DWAGS…looks like coach sun tan is a cheater!!!!!!!!!!!
OkieDawg
February 2nd, 2012
9:25 pm
It’s all good..just keep beating the Techerheads like a rented mule and slap those jort wearing silly Gay-turds again just like last year. No stopp’in us now.
It’s good to be a Georgia Bulldawg…It’s good to be a Georgia Bulldawg…
GADawg92
February 2nd, 2012
9:25 pm
Heard a couple of freshmen got kicked off the team? What happened?
CasualObserver
February 2nd, 2012
9:28 pm
niquePhotog: Nothing to show for it, but about 10 wins over Tech in the past 11 years. Admittedly not much, but what does Tech have that is better? On the other hand, 10 years of sold out stadiums and one of the richest athletic departments in the country, with millions of dollars put into the coffers…enough to fund an engineering school that will likely pull away a good percentage of the few American kids Tech still gets.
RxDawg
February 2nd, 2012
9:28 pm
eyeroll
LizellaDawg
February 2nd, 2012
9:28 pm
Richt kicked 2 players off the team this morning for stealing from other players yet there is no mention by the ajc. Whats up with that? I guess they are waiting for someone else to report it so they can copy and paste.
You want FRIES with that?
February 2nd, 2012
9:34 pm
Co-Tech fans….Who ya texting now?
OkieDawg
February 2nd, 2012
9:39 pm
GADawg92, another site is reporting that two were kicked off team for stealing from teammates. I will not repeat names but one was a defensive back with big credentials and the other is a WR that came with very little credentials. But I leave it up to you to find out who the names are. Hoping it’s rumors.
Big Crimson 75
February 2nd, 2012
9:44 pm
Van Gorder needs to help somebody – cause he sure as hell did the Falcons no favors.
Omnipotent One
February 2nd, 2012
9:54 pm
Nick Marshall is gone.
GTBob
February 2nd, 2012
9:58 pm
When again was it that Georgia tek was # 9 in the nation in Rushing Defense beating 7 teams who finished in the top 25 ?
You seem to think that having a decent rushing defense means you team is good defensively. It doesn’t. I think we can all agree that GT had an awful defense in 2010. Here is how they compared defensively:
Total Defense – Aub: 60th, GT 64th
Rushing Defense – Aub: 9th, GT 78th
Passing Defense – Aub: 108th, GT 34th
Scoring Defense – Aub: 53rd, GT 57th
Red zone defense – Aub 78th, GT 22nd
Pretty comparable wouldn’t you say? Im not saying Auburn wasn’t great that year. Cam Newton worked miracles for them but they were awful defensively just like GT was.
Vampire Bill
February 2nd, 2012
9:58 pm
I’m hearing the Nick Marshall story too but cant find any credible reference. Let’s hope its a bad joke?
Omnipotent One
February 2nd, 2012
10:02 pm
Sanford Seay is gone as well.
@gtbob
February 2nd, 2012
10:05 pm
you should really stop trying to compare anything ACC vs SEC, its the like comparing the instructional leagues to major leagues , they only thing they have in common is they play the same game.
You want FRIES with that?
February 2nd, 2012
10:07 pm
Copy & Paste, sounds like my Homework from back in the day!!!!!
OkieDawg
February 2nd, 2012
10:09 pm
If rumors of theft are true, the perps can join Dieon Bonner at Tennessee. Dooley gives thieves a second chance.
GTBob
February 2nd, 2012
10:09 pm
you should really stop trying to compare anything ACC vs SEC
That’s true. There are a few ACC teams that at least attempt to play offense so GT actually had to try when they played defense.
Dawghater
February 2nd, 2012
10:11 pm
surprise
OkieDawg
February 2nd, 2012
10:13 pm
GTBob…did you have a point? Attempt to play offense?
As Spurrier said...
February 2nd, 2012
10:29 pm
Another top 5 class, another mediocre season.
SE GA Fan
February 2nd, 2012
10:35 pm
This is THE most stupid junk I have ever heard, and these few comments I have read really show the mentality of Tech fans. Totally finished with reading any more AJC sports blogs. So absolutely stupid…
coondawg_69
February 2nd, 2012
10:42 pm
GT(neal and) Bob is correct. Clemson had a great offense and a stellar defense. It is the rare combination that led them to the ACC Championship. Clemson can play with anyone in the nation.
You want FRIES with that?
February 2nd, 2012
10:46 pm
Mediocre Season…….Did Spurrier happen to mention who the SEC East Champion was in 2011?
boykin
February 2nd, 2012
10:50 pm
GTBob, you enjoy trolling on the “only team in GA’s” articles.
The Factor
February 2nd, 2012
11:01 pm
@As Spurrier says..
He also said after this years game in Athens, ” Give Georgia credit, they beat us on both sides of the ball……..”. Funny how the SEC East team (SC)with zero SEC titles, run their months against the team that is #3 (UGA) in all time SEC titles…Get this SC fans, Georgia Tech left the SEC 40+ years ago and they have 6 more SEC titles than you have and will ever have….
Reddog
February 2nd, 2012
11:15 pm
If Paw Paw would have signed the letter and got it faxed in instead of disappearing off the map for a day maybe none of this would have ever happened. I guess he thought he had to return the money to FSU before he signed the letter of intent. Oh well. Go Dawgs!
@gtbob
February 2nd, 2012
11:31 pm
Gtbob, Funny rhe SEC offense don’t have any problem scoring on ACC defenses but ACC ofense don’t score much on SEC defenses. vandy 41- wake 7 Sc 33 clemson 14 , ga 31- tech 17 , miss state 24 wake 17 , auburn 48 virginia 24.
flo-ri-duh
February 2nd, 2012
11:53 pm
Who cares? Over signing and then lying to commits about not having a scholarship for them is much worse and should b a violation.
drweb
February 2nd, 2012
11:56 pm
There shouldn’t be any punishment for an honest mistake. Richt just wasn’t thinking.
However had this been Nick Saban this had happened to a lot of you same UGA fans would be calling for his head on a platter.
Terry
February 3rd, 2012
12:18 am
drweb, I guess you didn’t here about the Alabama Kid, that was going to sign with Bama, to have his scholarship pull at the last minute, so they could give it to Dalvin Tomlinson, the kid looked like he had been stab in the back. Saban’s going to screw the wrong person one of these days, man has no respect for others feeling, can you imagine how that kid felt, had it been my kid, he would be toting a butt whooping, that he would never get over. Saban’s a great football coach, but he is a worthless piece of trash of a human being.
GTBob
February 3rd, 2012
12:21 am
Gtbob, Funny rhe SEC offense don’t have any problem scoring on ACC defenses but ACC ofense don’t score much on SEC defenses.
Nice, aside from Clemson you picked out the worst teams in the ACC. And you conveniently left out the Clemson/Auburn game. But even using the worst teams in the ACC they still didn’t do that bad against the big bad SEC defenses.
L.A. BULLDAWG
February 3rd, 2012
12:30 am
HO-HUM! THE NCAA HAS BETTER THINGS TO DO THAN SWEAT UP COACH RICHT! PLEASE! GET A LIFE!
GT is a 4th rate high school team
February 3rd, 2012
1:40 am
GT FANS should go and protest the cheating of Evil Richt at the NCAA HQ at INDIANAPOLIS this Sunday during the Pre Superbowl Show by hanging themselves upside down. LOL
GTraisedadawg
February 3rd, 2012
2:00 am
It’s funny reading both sides of these GT-UGA arguments. The ACC isn’t a power football conference and the SEC its just a fact. That being said us Tech fans get under your skin even though yall win all these games. Yall get bashed for being stupid 365 and the last few years have been awful playing in conference since 07 until this year, so you inferiority complex shows when our does too. Grown men yelling at each other is pathetic because both sides are stuck in the past. Congrats you have an eastern crown…you don’t get a trophy for it. Congrats you won the 09 acc championship…but its taken away. When’s the last time any of them won the nc? Tech in 90…UGA in 80. I was 5 days old for Techs……next time talk discuss how your team can build off the year before. yeesh
13-1
February 3rd, 2012
2:05 am
How in the name of heaven can one pick out the worst team in the ACC ?
That is like picking out the best team in the ACC, also impossible, right ?
This is akin to picking out the best Georgia tek fan.
Or, the largest crowd at any ACC game.
gtBOB, do you really think that anyone came onto this blog to discuss with you :
“GT had an awful defense in 2010. Here is how they compared defensively:
Rushing Defense – Aub: 9th, GT 78th
Pretty comparable wouldn’t you say?”
_________________________________________________________
Er uh, No. 1st off, Georgia last year was # 66 in rushing defense, while Auburn the year before 1 of 6 Consecutive SEC National Championships, was # 9. And, you think these are comparable, when for the NC title game, Auburn was assigned by the BCS to beat Oregon, a team who ONLY runs the football. That is all Oregon has done is to run the football. You are having the same argument tonight with this blog about how awful Auburn’s defense was when winning their NC, that Oregon fans tried to have BEFORE the game. I tried to point out to them that they could not face a worse match-up with Auburn, because the 1 area on defense Auburn was GREAT in 2010, was the rush defense. Then, you put up a bogus stat about Georgia tek 2011 and compare it to what I had already provided to you about Auburn rush Defense # 9 in the nation winning 7 games against teams who ended up in the top 25, with 2 of them scoring only 14 points, 2 more of them only scoring 17 points and another, the BCS title game opponent Oregon scoring only 19 points.
Hugh
February 3rd, 2012
4:01 am
Come on Mark. Last year it was the Crowell missing man stunt, and now this? Do we need to pin a note to your shirt? Handcuff you the compliance guy? This is not rocket science. How about a double team next year. Let Booz play bump and run and bring MCGarity over from his safety position?
dmr
February 3rd, 2012
6:37 am
All I know is Signing Day is 2 days past. Today and headed into next year. Georgia needs to focus on targeting and early offering to two main groups…OFFENSIVE LINEMEN and DEFENSIVE BACKS. Georgia signed at least 6 – 7 shy of a full class this year + some early defections + whoever leaves after 2012. NEXT YEAR WE SHOULD NOT BE HEARING ABOUT HOW GEORGIA WAS LATE ON CERTAIN TARGETS, when we all know as good as the recruits are in quality this year, WE DID NOT ADDRESS ENOUGH OF THE DEPTH ISSUES ON THE O-LINE AGAIN.
Marshall, Gurley, and Crowell may one day be the best trio in college football. It won’t matter if they DON’T GET BLOCKING FROM A DEPTH OF O-LINE.
JacketBuzz1968
February 3rd, 2012
6:44 am
This is so stupid, making a comment shouldn’t be a violation. Did anything actually happen? NO! The NCAA needs to quiet trying to micro manage everything.
MC
February 3rd, 2012
6:46 am
GTBob
February 2nd, 2012
4:42 pm
Since defenses win championships
No they don’t. SEC fans really need to quit saying this over and over again in an attempt to excuse their terrible offenses.
Amazing a comment like this when most of the teams in the ACC can’t come close to stopping one of these “terrible offenses”.
Friday morning buffet | Get The Picture
February 3rd, 2012
7:01 am
[...] they ever give out an award for different ways to earn a secondary recruiting violation, Mark Richt is going to [...]
jim
February 3rd, 2012
7:20 am
most high schools have higher ranked teams than GT,
BigGAdawg
February 3rd, 2012
7:49 am
This a Giant Steaming Pile of NCAA secondary BS. There was obviously NO intent to do wrong, any more than accidentally butt dialing a recruit at the wrong time has an intent to do wrong. JHC had already made a public, ESPNU broadcast, announcement of his committment. When asked by a reporter how he felt about the announcement, CMR made his statement about how happy he was that this was JHC’s decision.
Anyone who thinks that this is some horrible shrugging off of the rules and regulations and that this in anyway reflects negatively on the program or the behavior or character of the coaches is a complete MORON, and/or a techie-gnat-from-the-hood.
GT Bob
February 3rd, 2012
8:04 am
cpj is cute
UGA Insider
February 3rd, 2012
8:12 am
Hearing Nick Marshall out at UGA.
UGA Insider
February 3rd, 2012
8:20 am
Sanford Seay aswell. Stole money from teammates
bartender
February 3rd, 2012
8:31 am
who cares !!! he will be in athens jail in june …..they can talk during visiting hours then……