The past week found many Ole Miss football fans having a little extra reading. It came in the form of individual responses by subjects within the Ole Miss football/NCAA investigation. As much as it’s a part of official protocol within the NCAA ‘process’, it’s also a part of Ole Miss football and the next 60 days.
Four official responses were made public last friday in the NCAA case against Ole Miss football. Among the four responses were those of former Ole Miss coaches Chris Kiffin and Maurice Harris. Of course, this is simply a part of the response process and was expected.
First, Chris Kiffin and Maurice Harris are both fine coaches and good men. Ole Miss football is better in every facet because of them. Just think about the ‘Landshark D’ and the players who played up front. Coach Kiffin was a huge part of the success we saw on the defense in the past.
Maurice Harris was also an important part of Ole Miss football as TE coach and recruiting coordinator for the offense. Think of the talent which Coach Harris is responsible for bring to the Ole Miss offense.
Of course, when we first heard the official response for the University of Mississippi, we knew these two coaches were tied to allegations which were not disputed. Knowing there was wrongdoing of any kind is never good, however ‘impermissible benefits’ makes it sound much worse than it actually is.
If you’ve tried to read through any of the responses you know it can be tedious. Also, we’ve had a lot to read so I want to break it down to specific points. Let’s start with the Kiffin response.
The Kiffin Response
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Chris Kiffin’s official response to the NCAA NOA is 22 pages in length and focuses on allegations 8, 9, 10 and 13. Kiffin agrees with allegation 8 however he disagrees with the allegation being characterized as a Level II violation. Kiffin contends it should only be a Level III violation.
Allegation 8 focuses on impermissible benefits in the form of free lodging and meals for family members of a recruit. Kiffin’s response doesn’t dispute the allegation, but cites a large number of cases which were characterized as Level III violations.
Kiffin completely denies Allegation 9 which contends Kiffin and Barney Farrar provided inducements in the form of free merchandise from a Oxford business, Rebel Rags.
Kiffin’s response insists because of issues with the credibility of certain individuals within the investigation, the COI should reject Allegation 9 in it’s entirety. Allegation 9 is considered a Level I violation.
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Kiffin agrees with the allegations 10 and 13. Allegation 10 references the fact that Chris Kiffin provided free lodging within his residence to a recruit. This is considered to be a Level III violation. Allegation 13 references impermissible contact with a recruit. This allegation is also considered to be a Level III violation.
The Harris Response
Maurice Harris’s official response to the NCAA NOA is 15 pages and focuses on Allegation 5 in it’s entirety. Of course, Allegation 5 is broken down into several segments which detail certain impermissible benefits in the form of free transportation and lodging for recruits and their family members.
The Harris response states neither the University of Mississippi nor Maurice Harris dispute the allegations however there is a request for clarification on several parts of Allegation 5. The University and Harris acknowledge these were not isolated incidents and because of this Allegation 5 is characterized as a Level I violation.
One particularly interesting portion of the Harris response is within the very first sentence of the introduction. The response states,
"As stated by the enforcement staff, Coach Harris seems to be a genuinely good and honest man."
Of course Harris is a good man. Harris also cooperated fully with the investigation, was very forthcoming and handed over all documents and evidence requested by the enforcement staff during the investigation.
So What It All Means
What can be taken away from the responses? As I stated before, the response process is protocol within a NCAA investigation. From the initial update from the University of Mississippi we were able to ascertain this would happen. This is no smoking gun directed towards Ole Miss. On the contrary, it shows the University of Mississippi’s full cooperation within the NCAA investigation.
Despite what you may hear from TSBU, you can be certain there has been no nefarious effort by Ole Miss coaches to manipulate or impede the NCAA investigation. However, the same cannot be said for MSU staff according to the official responses. At the very least we know both MSU and head coach Dan Mullen impeded an official NCAA investigation by denying Ole Miss proper interviews with MSU LB Leo Lewis. But why? I mean if there is nothing to hide.
It should be noted the NCAA barred Ole Miss representatives from one interview and did not require S-A No.39 to answer specific questions in another interview. I’m guessing this was after the point where a high-level booster had instructed MSU head coach Dan Mullen to not allow Leo Lewis to answer anymore questions.
From the very beginning many Rebel fans have had a suspicion of deceitfulness from TSBU and their staff and players. We all know where the money trail leads. It leads back to Starkvegas.
For Ole Miss football fans we can be sure of a few things. One, this NCAA case stinks to high heaven as I’ve openly stated before. Two, MSU is a known and verified cheater in NCAA terms. Hence, the Jackie Sherrill years and the forfeited games from the Bob Bryant era. And three, this NCAA case has paw prints all over it, even down to the SEC Commissioners office.