by Jordan Grove
As if there wasn’t already enough excitement and anticipation built up for the first Saturday of the start of college football season between two top five teams in the country, players from LSU and Oregon have started to out-do one another off-the-field.
Oregon started off with a BANG as news broke of the Ducks involvement with Willie Lyles and his scouting service. Allegedly, the Ducks paid for Lyle’s influence with Texas-based recruits which is against NCAA rules.
Heisman trophy runner-up LaMichael James and back-up running back Lache Seastrunk are two of the most notable athletes that Lyles helped recruit to Oregon.
The Yahoo! investigation team of Charles Robinson and Dan Wetzel broke the story which led to an NCAA investigation into the Oregon football program.
Quickly on the heels of the Willie Lyles story was news that Oregon cornerback Cliff Harris was pulled over for driving his Nissan Altima rental car 118mph down the highway on a suspended license.
Oregon State Police also reported that there were three unidentified people in the car with Harris.
A 20 year old junior, Harris was Oregon’s shutdown corner last season while also serving as an explosive punt returner. He had six interceptions and set a record at Oregon with four punt returns for touchdowns.
Head coach Chip Kelly has suspended him indefinitely for the incident (he will sit for the first game of the season against LSU) but Kelly did not rule out a return to the field for Harris this season if he complies by the Oregon football rules.
After North Carolina, Ohio State, and Miami stole headlines for their involvement in major off-the-field incidents, the identity of the unidentified person in the car with Cliff Harris was revealed as Oregon starting quarterback Darron Thomas.
Not only was Thomas in a rental car being driven 118 miles per hour down the interstate but when pulled over Oregon State Police officer Ray Stallsworth questioned the occupants of the vehicle by asking “Who’s got the marijuana in the car?”
Apparently, the car smelled so much like weed that the officer was inclined to ask. Cliff Harris’ response to the question? “We smoked it all.” At least Darron Thomas has the good sense to stay quiet when asked such loaded questions.
Thomas, though, does seem to have a problem with being a passenger. As a freshman he was involved in a speed-racing crash with former Ducks safety Eddie Pleasant and Jamere Holland that sent both to the hospital.
Last year, Thomas was in the car with quarterback Jeremiah Masoli when the latter was pulled over for failing to stop at an intersection. Just like Cliff Harris, Masoli was driving with a suspended license but unlike Harris, he possessed an ounce or less of marijuana. Masoli’s second legal incident in less than six months was the straw that broke the duck’s back and he was kicked off the team.
As far as Darron Thomas’ association with Cliff Harris, coach Chip Kelly has gone on record as saying that Thomas will not be punished for being a passenger.
Most recently for the Ducks was that running back Lache Seastrunk, whose involvement with Willie Lyles helped bring an NCAA investigation to Eugene, was granted his release from the university. Citing homesickness, Seastrunk wants to be closer to his family in Texas and has plans to enroll at Baylor.
Unfortunately for Oregon, Seastrunk might be a gift that keeps on giving as the NCAA investigating revolving around Willie Lyles and his recruiting services won’t end any time soon.
Not to be outdone, LSU decided to get on the board with their own off-the-field shenanigans.
The unquestioned leader of the team, quarterback Jordan Jefferson and 15-20 players snuck out of their apartments after their 10:30pm curfew and headed to a Tigerland bar called Shady’s. Around 2am in the morning, a patron of the bar was trying to leave, honked his horn for the group of LSU players to move out from behind his vehicle, and then the information becomes clouded.
Allegedly, some LSU players including Jefferson, linebacker Josh Jones, offensive tackle Chris Davenport, and wide receiver Jarvis Landry beat the driver of the vehicle and three other people, including a former Marine, to the extent that all four had to hospitalized with minor injuries.
Jefferson, not known for being the best on-the-field decision maker, might have committed his last mistake for LSU if the Baton Rouge Police Department can prove that he kicked one of the men in the head like is alleged. Jefferson, along with the three LSU players previously mentioned, all face felony battery charges if the police can prove their involvement.
A BRPD interview with the four LSU players was scheduled for Monday, August 22nd has been moved to Tuesday, August 23rd according to the players attorney, Nathan Fisher.
Word from LSU’s campus is that Jarrett Lee and junior college transfer Zach Mettenberger were taking snaps with the first team while Jordan Jefferson watched from the sidelines. Suffice to say, it seems that Les Miles is preparing for at least game without Jefferson behind center.
Jefferson’s involvement in the incident is a complete 180 from what coaches had said about him this offseason.
Before the Spring game in April, Jefferson had won the Jimmy Taylor Award for outstanding leadership, effort and performance. He even became more of an outspoken person by giving his first ever speech to the LSU team which is reportedly to have brought some players to tears. He even invited the entire LSU football team to his house for a barbecue.
What happens to Jefferson and the other players involved is yet to be determined due to the on-going police investigation but chances are high that they will be suspended for at least the first game due to breaking team rules, being caught drinking underage (Jefferson turns 21 on Aug. 25th), and for embarrassing themselves, the coaching staff, the team, and university by getting themselves involved in a police investigation stemming from a bar fight.
The LSU/Oregon game was already the main event for the September 3rd weekend and a spotlight was already going to be placed on the two teams as they squared off in Arlington, Texas in Cowboys Stadium. Now, though, a spotlight will be placed on both universities and how they handle their respective situations.
Fans of each team and of college football in general can only hope that the game itself is as exciting as the off-the-field incidents have been for LSU and Oregon.
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