Former Thibodaux coach Dennis Lorio says Auburn didn't break recruiting rulesPublished: Sunday, February 20, 2011, 5:05 AM By Kevin Scarbinsky, Birmingham News Dennis Lorio has learned a few things about recruiting during his long career as a high school football coach in Louisiana.Certain conditions naturally lead to questions.When a high-profile player leaves a state, people in the home state get suspicious. Of course, when the home-state school signs someone from out of state, he said, the locals think "that's great."When there's a national-caliber recruit, wherever he signs, Lorio said, "everything's going to be looked at."When a college program wins a national championship - "when you're at the top," as Lorio said - "people question things."When all of those conditions come together, such as Auburn signing Trovon Reed in 2010 and Greg Robinson in 2011 out of Thibodaux (La.) High school, it's no surprise that NCAA investigators come around.Lorio, who resigned as Thibodaux's coach in November, coached Reed and Robinson. The NCAA interviewed Lorio and others in Thibodaux last week. In a phone conversation Saturday, Lorio wanted to clear up some misconceptions about his NCAA interview.According to Lorio:The NCAA asked him about two players only, Reed and Robinson. The NCAA asked him about one college only, Auburn.The NCAA asked him only one question about Reed, the wide receiver Rivals.com rated the top prospect in Louisiana in the 2010 signing class, who sat out most of last season as a medical redshirt. Did Lorio know of any NCAA violations Auburn may have committed in recruiting Reed?Lorio's answer: "No."The NCAA asked him more questions about Robinson, rated by Rivals as the No. 2 guard in the nation and No. 4 prospect in Louisiana. Lorio's bottom-line answer on Robinson: "To my knowledge, there was nothing illegal in his recruitment."Early in their conversation, Lorio said, the NCAA investigator said to him, "I see you think Auburn did something illegal in recruiting."Lorio said he told the investigator, "No. I didn't say that. You inferred that."Perhaps from a January article on FoxSports.com that included a suspicious quote attributed to the high school coach that appeared to accuse Auburn of something without specifically accusing Auburn of anything."That's the problem," Lorio said. "People try to figure out and sometimes invent what happened."Lorio also said Saturday that the NCAA asked him a number of questions about 7-on-7 tournaments and combines. He said he didn't have much information on those events, but summer football is starting to resemble summer basketball."There are a lot of concerns about that," Lorio said, "because it's an unregulated area in the summertime."Back to Auburn. It's not hard to figure out that people are suspicious of the program's climb from 5-7 in 2008 to 14-0 in 2010. In two years under Gene Chizik, the Tigers have competed nationally both in recruiting and on the field better than they have in years.The perception of the program has been hurt because Heisman-winning quarterback Cam Newton was declared ineligible and reinstated without conditions the week of the SEC Championship Game. The NCAA ruled his father and a former Mississippi State player had discussed a pay-for-play plan to send him to State.I reported Wednesday that, according to well-informed sources, the NCAA continues to investigate Auburn's recruitment of Newton but so far has not uncovered any bombshell information that would jeopardize the program's championship season.News of the NCAA interviews in Thibodaux, first broken by SportsbyBrooks.com, provides further evidence that Auburn is under the microscope. That's not news to Auburn, but there's little its officials can do to defend themselves publicly during any kind of investigation.When the NCAA tells you to keep quiet, you keep quiet. That's been Auburn's policy on unresolved NCAA issues since Georgia week in November.Witness Chizik's radio interview Friday morning with WJOX in Birmingham. Al Del Greco asked the Auburn coach if he could "clarify" where the Thibodaux inquiry stands."I'm not at liberty to talk through any of that situation at this time," Chizik said, though he did say that, as far as he knows, Auburn has not received a letter of inquiry from the NCAA.That last fact doesn't mean Auburn is in the clear but neither does it mean the program is headed toward trouble. Drawing conclusions now would be premature and irresponsible.It's always unsettling when the NCAA starts asking questions about your signees, but Lorio's personal observations about Reed and Robinson should make Auburn feel better."They went (to Auburn) because it's a rising program, because of the academic opportunities and both of them said it was a chance to see something different," Lorio said.Lorio also noted that Reed and Robinson grew up in the same neighborhood."I'll say this: Trovon Reed is good as gold," Lorio said. "Whatever he says, you can count on it. I have total confidence in Trovon. It probably affected Greg that a guy we think so highly of chose Auburn. Trovon's one of those kids all the kids look up to and follow."
People try to figure out and sometimes invent what happened.
"Drawing conclusions now would be premature and irresponsible."Or, par for the course if you want to start shouting the lies early and often like bammers.
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