Big 12 Stuff

LOL. Just going to say LOL now because this is pretty high comedy. SI’s Ross Dellenger reports that athletic directors with boosters who have done deals with payers who have not signed with the program should be sanctioned. How this gets enforced is the laugh out loud part for me because simply do not know how this gets enforced and punished.

College leaders are strongly urging the NCAA enforcement team to begin investigating what they deem to be obvious recruiting violations, past and present. Donor-led collectives that have struck deals with players before they sign binding letters of intent are violating rules, says George, one of the leaders of an NCAA working group that will soon publicize additional NIL guidelines.

“What’s happening now—I only know what I hear—is the inducements violate rules,” Smith says. “Hopefully this passes Monday and will give more clarity and guidelines. But then, [NCAA] enforcement has to enforce. The schools need to enforce, as well. At the end of the day, you have an institutional responsibility to enforce.”

The guidelines introduce more clarity to an interim NIL policy that provided only vague guidance that boosters are now skirting. If violations are found over the past 10 months since NIL first began, those schools will be sanctioned.

“One-hundred percent they will,” George said. “We have to look at these deals. The NCAA has got to look at them, and if they are not within our guidelines, then hold them accountable and be firm.”

The enforcement staff has to be “ready to go” once the guidelines are released, says another Power 5 athletic director who requested anonymity. “They need to hit them and hit them hard and fast.”

Good luck to everyone involved, except for the attorneys. They’re just gonna get rich.

Football

Waco Tribune’s John Werner is profiling the individuals who will be inducted into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame and one Joey McGuire is set to be inducted.

“My dad coached everything in Texarkana and Crowley,” McGuire said. “When we were done, he coached everybody in the neighborhoods. When I was going to college, I helped my dad coach my cousins in baseball, and I couldn’t wait to be around those guys. I kept hearing the call to coach, so I switched majors. My mom thought I was crazy.”

After graduation, McGuire began his coaching career at Crowley in 1995 before becoming an assistant at Cedar Hill two years later. In 2003, McGuire became the head coach of a program that had historically experienced little success, and led the Longhorns to the Class 5A Division II state championship in 2006.

“We had 56 seniors that year who had been with me in our program for four years,” McGuire said. “Before that, we had guys playing basketball who didn’t play football. But we recruited them to play football too. We’d convince them that a 6-foot corner could make it to the NFL. We knew we were building a culture, and that was a special group who knew how to work hard.”

CBS Sports’ Shehan Jeyarajah with the Big 12 spring football overreactions.

Tech will lead the Big 12 in passing offense: The Red Raiders brought in Zach Kittley, architect of Bailey Zappe’s record-breaking offense at Western Kentucky, to bring the fire back to Texas Tech’s passing offense. Even in a disastrous season, Texas Tech combined to throw for more than 3,300 yards in a 7-6 year. Three different quarterbacks threw major passes. At this point, the competition remains open between quarterbacks Donovan Smith, Tyler Shough and Behren Morton. However, there’s enough talent in the room that the Red Raiders will find a dynamic option. Between an exciting system and dynamic receiver talent, Texas Tech will throw the ball with ease.

Baseball

Texas Tech has the weekend off for finals.

Basketball

Baylor usually has had terrific player retention through the years, so I find this surprising that Mayer is transferring and also considering Texas Tech.

Baylor transfer Matthew Mayer has heard from Texas Tech, UNC, USC, Memphis, Alabama, Arkansas and Illinois, among others, he told me.

Mayer is currently working out in Chicago. Still undecided whether to stay in NBA Draft or return to college.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) May 5, 2022

ClevelandBrowns.com’s Antohony Poisal on how Marcus Santos-Silva got his shot in the NFL and it started with a call from Sammy Morris, the Assistant Director for Player Support Development and then MSS took it from there.

“There was enough intrigue here, and he was worth exploring further,” Al-Khayyal said. “With basketball, you have guys who are pretty athletic but not always big enough or tough and physical enough to play football. But there’s also guys with length, ball skills and the overall foundation that’s hard to come by regardless of where you’re looking.”

Santos-Silva worked out for one hour in front of Al-Khayyal, Berry and other Browns coaches and scouts and ran a variety of drills and routes on air. His route-running looked crisp for an athlete who hadn’t played organized football in over eight years, and he also did not drop a pass.

“You could see he was obviously raw,” Al-Khayyal said, “but in talking with him and doing research, it wasn’t like this was totally foreign to him. In that workout setting, you could see he had the size, length, strength and physical traits you look for at that position, particularly in a developmental player.”