Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 13, 1993 TAG: 9304130020
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
TECH FOOTBALL RECRUIT WON'T BE PENALIZED
The NCAA will not penalize Virginia Tech recruit Cornell Brown for his chat with former Hokie player Calvert Jones, Tech learned Monday.Tech athletic director Dave Braine said he got a fax from Big East Football Conference associate commissioner Linda Bruno, who relayed the verdict of Erin Burke, an NCAA eligibility representative. The message was:
"Cornell Brown's eligibility has not been adversely affected by the incident reported March 2."
The message does not address whether the NCAA considers Jones' visit to Brown a violation of the rule that prohibits players from making off-campus contacts with recruits. NCAA director of eligibility Janet Justus could not be reached for comment.
"Based on the note, I'm really unsure of exactly what the outcome was," said Steve Horton, Tech's assistant athletic director for compliance. "Does it mean it's a violation and just doesn't affect his eligibility? I'd like to know that information."
An exception to the rule is if a prior friendship exists between the player and recruit, which Tech maintains is the case with Jones and Brown.
"The issue's over, and he's fine," Braine said of Brown, an All-Group AAA linebacker from E.C. Glass High School in Lynchburg. "We did not think we had a problem. Reading the rules, we did not think there was a problem because of prior friendship."
Jones said he talked to Brown, Tech's top recruit, for about a half-hour Jan. 29, five days before signing date. He said he tried to convince Brown to commit to an in-state school after hearing Brown was leaning toward signing with Maryland. Jones, who also attended E.C. Glass, transferred to Tech from Pittsburgh in 1990 and said he didn't want "the same thing to happen to him that happened to me."
The Hokie Huddler, a Tech publication, reported that Jones said he drove from Blacksburg to Lynchburg to talk to Brown at Glass. After Maryland officials read the story, Terrapins athletic director Andy Geiger called Braine. Braine said Tech decided to report the incident to the NCAA through the Big East.
"We just asked them if there was any problem," Braine said.
Brown is 6 feet 2 and 220 pounds and has been timed at 4.7 seconds in the 40-yard dash. He was rated one of the top five football prospects in the state by the Roanoke Times and World-News.
Keywords:
FOOTBALL