Tennessee plans to self-report another NCAA secondary violation after a high school recruit was mentioned by name Tuesday on Lane Kiffin's Twitter page.
Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton said it wasn't actually Kiffin who penned the post in question but an employee in the football office who was updating Kiffin's Twitter page for him. The post was up for about an hour during the afternoon before being removed by Tennessee officials. It read: "It's a beautiful day in Knoxville, Tennessee today. I was so exited to hear that J.C. Copeland committed to play for the Vols today!"
NCAA rules prohibit coaches and athletic department employees from commenting about unsigned prospects or publicizing them in any way.
Copeland, a 6-foot-1, 245-pound defensive end from LaGrange, Ga., is an ESPNU 150 Watch List member. He chose Tennessee over Auburn, Ole Miss, Maryland, UAB, Central Florida, East Carolina and Southern Miss.
"It was one of Lane's personal assistants, and it was his first day on the job," Hamilton explained. "He posted the message on Lane's Twitter account without asking compliance. It was an inadvertent error, but it's still a violation and one of those things where you've got to know what the deal is. We'll report it." [more at ESPN.com]
Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton said it wasn't actually Kiffin who penned the post in question but an employee in the football office who was updating Kiffin's Twitter page for him. The post was up for about an hour during the afternoon before being removed by Tennessee officials. It read: "It's a beautiful day in Knoxville, Tennessee today. I was so exited to hear that J.C. Copeland committed to play for the Vols today!"
NCAA rules prohibit coaches and athletic department employees from commenting about unsigned prospects or publicizing them in any way.
Copeland, a 6-foot-1, 245-pound defensive end from LaGrange, Ga., is an ESPNU 150 Watch List member. He chose Tennessee over Auburn, Ole Miss, Maryland, UAB, Central Florida, East Carolina and Southern Miss.
"It was one of Lane's personal assistants, and it was his first day on the job," Hamilton explained. "He posted the message on Lane's Twitter account without asking compliance. It was an inadvertent error, but it's still a violation and one of those things where you've got to know what the deal is. We'll report it." [more at ESPN.com]
