University of North Carolina defensive tackle under NCAA investigation Aaron Wilson
There’s growing concern from University of North Carolina athletic department officials that star defensive tackle Marvin Austin will ultimately be suspended for his entire senior year due to alleged NCAA violations involving extra benefits from agents, middlemen and marketing representatives, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.
No action has been taken at this time by the NCAA as they continue to gather information.
“The next time we will see Marvin Austin is at the NFL scouting combine,” our source predicted.
Our source also predicted that Austin might not be the only North Carolina player to face NCAA punishment for alleged rule violations.
According to a source, NCAA investigators interviewed Austin, wide receiver Greg Little, safety Deunta Williams, cornerback Kendric Burney and linebackers Bruce Carter and Quan Sturdivant early last week.
The NCAA has requested phone records and asked players to detail all interaction involving agents.
Austin is close friends with University of South Carolina tight end Weslye Saunders, another NFL draft prospect who’s under investigation by NCAA officials for alleged rule violations involving agents.
We’ve been told that Austin and Saunders have been told by their respective coaches to no longer associate with each other.
A source said that Austin and Saunders have been regularly comparing notes on agents and marketing representatives throughout the recruiting process, including what inducements the various businesses are offering to try to win them over.
The players have been talking to try to obtain the best “deal” possible from agents, according to a source.
There have been rampant unconfirmed rumors about money changing hands.
The NCAA wants to know who paid for travel and lodging for multiple trips to Miami, travels which were first mentioned on Austin’s Twitter account. Austin has since taken down the Twitter account.
We’re told that Saunders was also on at least one trip to Miami as well as several other players.
The NCAA is also interested in Austin’s travel back and forth to Washington, D.C., his hometown.
Austin has been questioned by investigators about driving a car that belongs to former North Carolina defensive tackle Kentwan Balmer, a San Francisco 49ers 2008 first-round draft pick.
Balmer is represented by Gary Wichard, a longtime friend of Carolina defensive line coach John Blake.
Wichard has denied meeting with Austin.
"I've never talked to him about representing him," Wichard told the Raleigh News & Observer. "I've never gone down there, and I never will."
The North Carolina campus has become a hot spot for agents, middlemen and marketing representatives, especially after several players decided to return to school.
If the players get caught lying to NCAA investigators, they can have their eligibility revoked. That’s what happened with Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant.
Under NCAA guidelines, the governing body for college athletics has the options of either permanently revoking a player’s eligibility, suspending a player temporarily and/or having the player repay the agent
Junior defensive end Robert Quinn has emerged as a potential top 10 draft pick if he declares early for the draft.
Austin, Carter, Little, Burney, Charles Brown and several others are rising quickly on NFL draft charts.
We’re told that former North Carolina cornerback Chris Hawkins is heavily involved in the recruiting process for Burney, which has raised a few eyebrows from agents courting the players.
It’s unclear which agency Hawkins, who briefly played for the Washington Redskins and the Sasketchewan Roughriders, will wind up steering players to.
Some agents are avoiding recruiting at UNC until the situation calms down while others are intensifying their efforts as the allegations continue to surface.
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The NCAA should be looking into the other athletic programs at UNC while they are in town, it is about time they got caught for all the shady stuff going on in Chapel Hill. Players getting cars, players parents getting jobs and houses, players going on ridiculous trips with no explanation of the costs, etc, etc, etc
Burney and hawkins are not from the same hometown! Burney is from Jacksonville and Hawkins is from Kinston!
Burney is from Onslow County you dumbass. All this info is from stuff I have posted you fuckers
Let me guess Stephen - you're an NC State fan right?
Stephen, get a life. You've probably never even kissed a girl because you've been too obsessed with UNC. Valvano was dirty, deserved to get fired, and NC State will always be second-rate...because of people like you.
You must be a Dook fan Stephen.
Let me guess Stephen - you're an NC State fan right?
If this writer is incorrect on anything, I presume he will be suspended for one year without pay. Moral laws of accountability
all nc state people look for anything off the court or field to bash carolina cause they can't do shit against them athletically in the games, and as for puke, if the rat looking pussy is coaching the olimpic team again, i'll pull for europe
all nc state people look for anything off the court or field to bash carolina cause they can't do shit against them athletically in the games, and as for puke, if the rat looking pussy is coaching the olimpic team again, i'll pull for europe
Word up here at OSU is that Butch is throwing money at recruits, how else would he get such top-notch kids.
Word up here at OSU is that Butch is throwing money at recruits, how else would he get such top-notch kids.
"all nc state people look for anything off the court or field to bash carolina cause they can't do shit against them athletically in the games"
hey Mark, perhaps you can remind me, what is coach Davis' record against lowly old NC State?
UNC fans, how does it feel to finally be called out for the cheating that's been going on for decades? I know it has been a long long road of denial, and I'm sure these grapes are pretty sour currently, but hey at least you got to pretend like you were e football powerhouse, right?
Let me guess Stephen - you're an NC State fan right?
BuckEye -- this issue has absolutely nothing to do with Butch, or recruiting. He has a track record of cleaning up programs, not contributing to their delinquency. What we have here is strictly player-agent.
As to whether UNC can pull top-notch kids, you sound a bit concerned.
"Word up here at OSU is that Butch is throwing money at recruits, how else would he get such top-notch kids."
No no, Butch isn't handing out the cash, he hired Blake to handle that just ask Corey Miller...
Butch can get em bc they start right away. You NCSU jokers, aka red-headed step children, calm down and follow the sports where you can crack top 25 polls, like bass fishing and cheerleading.
Thomas, come back when UNC beats NCSU in football. Until then, shut up.
Nobody cares about Carolina football. It will always be a second rate sport compared to the big boys. Keenan is just a place for the alum to come back and feel like a kid again. Watching ACC football is a joke compared to the SEC and Big 10.
Stick to basketball.
anybody who takes the known information and inflates it to bash the integrity of the UNC football program is REACHING. this type of shit could happen at any university where pro prospects are in school. it is pathetic to see people take tiny pieces of information and turn it into an indictment of not only the UNC football program - which is laughable at this stage - but the other sports programs as well? just imagine what your lives would be like if you spent less time thinking about carolina. it is a sad and empty existence that you lead.
Butch just needs to keep his nose clean and stay away from good old Roy Boy.
Not really concerned after what Iowa did to the ACC champions and their amazing triple option. I would prefer to watch FSU, Miami or VT play.
UNC has to be the only program to ever be investigated for cheating this bad without winning anything worthwhile. What are they going to do, make you vacate those Charlotte Bowl Game appearances?
It is impossible to take the NCAA's work and use it to demean the great name and success of UNC athletics. The NCAA has become the traffic cop of college sports...doing nothing more than generating revenue and wasting time. State fans finally have a little more fuel for their backyard, trailer park fire. Must be hard not having much to hang from the rafters...poor little kids.
Butch Davis cleaning up programs...what a laugh! Ever heard of Miami?
Todd - I'll take this opportunity to use a quote from you and all state fans in every sport since 1983 - wait till next year.
Only one D1 school in the entire country hasn't won a title in a single sport since then. Care to take a guess? Nah. You all ready know.
Todd - I'll take this opportunity to use a quote from you and all state fans in every sport since 1983 - wait till next year.
Only one D1 school in the entire country hasn't won a title in a single sport since then. Care to take a guess? Nah. You all ready know.
PWilson, which is worse? Not winning anything worthwhile in football? Or not winning anything worthwhile in football WHILE cheating at the same time?
^ Charlotte bowl games, Stephen that was awesome
^ Charlotte bowl games, Stephen that was awesome
BuckEye-
You sound like a hater. This situation isn't any different than Maurice Clarett. No fault of the coaches and administration; just an individual acting on his own.
Stephen-
See, it was so easy to determine you were a State fan. You have the same thin, tired arsenal as all Pack Pride losers. All talk, no substance...just like your school and athletic department.
BuckEye-
You sound like a hater. This situation isn't any different than Maurice Clarett. No fault of the coaches and administration; just an individual acting on his own.
Stephen-
See, it was so easy to determine you were a State fan. You have the same thin, tired arsenal as all Pack Pride losers. All talk, no substance...just like your school and athletic department.
"All talk, no substance"
pffffff, says the guy with nothing to add to the conversation except personal insults on a person he doesn't know, way to bring the substance!
Jack, it was so easy to determine you were a Tarhole fan: it's different from, not different than.
Hope you enjoy your degree in pizza delivery.
"Hope you enjoy your degree in pizza delivery."
BuckEyez, come on man, that's not fair, you know he got promoted to manager of deliveries like 3 months ago!
this investigation has nothing to do with butch, the problem is not with the carolina program its with the players as individuals.... this investigation is not about the university giving benefits but about players recieveing benefits from agents......sorry having great athletes at the university and people wanting to represent them at the next level
Stephen, I'd prefer to at least appear in Bowl Games, send players to rise in stardom in the NFL and hang championship banners from rafters (including swimming, tennis, volleyball, soccer, baseball, basketball, etc.), as opposed to attending football games solely for the purpose of busting out my best cowboy boots and loading up my jacked up Silverado (which serves as my overcompensation and method of battling insecurities resulting from my rejection from UNC) with too much alcohol and unfortunate looking women...thanks for thinking of me, though.
Brett--Tell that to USC. It's called 'lack of oversight'.
Brett--Tell that to USC. It's called 'lack of oversight'.
this investigation has nothing to do with butch, the problem is not with the carolina program its with the players as individuals.... this investigation is not about the university giving benefits but about players recieveing benefits from agents......sorry having great athletes at the university and people wanting to represent them at the next level
"Stephen, I'd prefer to at least appear in Bowl Games"
So since NC State has appeared in 6 bowl games in the past 10 years compared to UNC's 4, you concede that they are the better, and obviously in light of current events, cleaner program?
Brett - Just because the details of the staff's involvement aren't public doesn't mean they won't be! There is a reason the NCAA chose to show up on UNC's campus the week that the coaches were on vacation...
USC is an entirely different scenario and reggie had a house car job and money to blow from connections to the univesity.... the NCAA was making sure no reggie bush stuff was going on and there was not... nothing was linked to the university as was the case in california.... a degree from OSU gets you no where
I don't think you can compare UNC to my Buckeyes program wise, but I must say they do put some playuhs in the pros. And I'm hoping for a great year from my fav UNC alum, Julius Peppers.
Not all of the coaches were gone contrary to popular reports, Butch Shoop Connors and Pittman I know were all still in town.... The football program is in no trouble except for not being as talented because of a few bad decisions by athletes not coaches
You couldn't rid the BS out of this post with a bulldozer... the desperation is sad
Hey - "ES" - Butch Davis came in and CLEANED UP a dirty program that had these sorts of problems in Miami. You apparently don't know anything. Thanks for shopping.
As for everyone else who is peeing their pants hoping that some UNC official gets tangled up in this mess - - you may or may not get your wish. But you have to admit, silently to yourself, how very sad it is that you want it to happen so badly.
unfortunately, my knowledge of state vs. carolina football is lacking...given that my attention is often taken by other unc sports in which we excel (which would be all of them). but you are correct, ncsu has appeared in more recently...less in total, so your statement about a "better" program is not supported by facts. at least you can go to bed tonight knowing that you were able to say one good thinig about state's footbal program. that must give you some comfort. go sit on your john deere, crack open a nice cold beverage, and consider your life complete.
and no thank you, i don't want fries with that....
"the NCAA was making sure no reggie bush stuff was going on and there was not... nothing was linked to the university as was the case in california"
Brett, you have no idea what you're talking about here. The staff is absolutely under investigation as well despite what Inside Carolina wants you to believe. Davis not only knew what was going on, he helped to facilitate it, and that's why when this is all said and done there will be more penalties than just a few players losing eligibility...
Not all of the coaches were gone contrary to popular reports, Butch Shoop Connors and Pittman I know were all still in town.... The football program is in no trouble except for not being as talented because of a few bad decisions by athletes not coaches
Brett--Tell that to USC. It's called 'lack of oversight'.
You guys have players getting paid and you can't even crack the top 25. HAHA! 3rd place in your division. Now fans want to say they are after us because we have arrived as a program. Haha. Can't even beat NC State! At least other schools that cheat win titles etc. haha! What a joke! You guys are paying 2 million a year to a coach that gets the NCAA investigating a perceived "untouchable" school. It's quite a task to get UNC in trouble with the NCAA but Butch Davis has hooked you up! Thank you Butch for 3 wins and getting UNC on probation. It's coming baby blues. Probation time! No more trips to the tire bowl to watch another loss. Hey at least you all will save some money on a wasted trip to a bowl loss. The scumbag school of the ACC! Cheat to win 8 games. How desperate can you be? Keep up the good work. The whole country is laughing at UNC! Thanks for bringing a dirty image to ACC football Heels! Bye Bye Butch!
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02:44 PM
So you're telling me that Butch Davis is still coaching in the pros?