Well, as can be expected, the Bush family has denied any wrongdoing in the events that Yahoo! Sports began reporting on yesterday. Right now, the common perception is that Bush is still going to be drafted, paid a lot of money, and live his life with no negative effects, regardless of how this story unfolds. Well, that may not be exactly right. ESPN’s Joe Schad reported this afternoon that the Heisman Committee is meeting to discuss what possible actions needed to be taken by them depending on the outcome of this story. If there were any rules broken, it’s possible Bush may have to vacate his award.
As far as fallout for the Trojans, they would more than likely NOT have to wipe their record from last year.
Since Bush has left school, any punishment would likely involve Bush vacating school records, Schad reported. A source told Schad that because it was not an “institutional violation” and USC received no competitive advantage, it is not likely that the school would have to vacate victories. This could technically occur, however, if it is ruled Bush should not have been eligible.
You hate to see any young player make a bad decision, but you especially hate it when the bad decision they make, hurts others who had no involvement. Hopefully, the NCAA will make the right move, but then again, it IS the NCAA, and most of the time, they choose to make an example of all the wrong folks and tend to give a slight slap on the wrist to the major infractions, if that. I’ll believe it when I see the NCAA doing the right thing.
Since I am a Wolfpacker at heart, just ran across something this morning that I wanted to get out. Manny Lawson has lived in the shadows of Mario Williams for the past few seasons, but according to NFL talent scouts, his stock is rising quickly. In fact, one scout had this to say:
Both Bush and the Texans are in ongoing contract talks. The main sticking point appears to be, hold on to your seats…..MONEY. The Texans aren’t shy about ponying up the cash, but Bush’s team is letting it be known that the #1 contract should be more than the previous years contract. Last year’s #1, Alex Smith, got a $24 million deal. And like I said, the Texans WILL overpay, but they contend that they shouldn’t pay more for a player who is NOT a QB. With that in mind, the Texans have also opened up communications with Mario Williams’ camp.
The stud DE from NC State is widely acknowledged as the best defensive player in the draft, with measurables similar to and in some cases surpassing those of current NFL star Julius Peppers. If I had to put money on it, Bush is the #1 pick. This kid is going to be one of those guys who…..well, he is just going to be one of those guys. We will look back on him 15 years from now and marvel at his career. That’s not to take anything away from Williams, who I think will also have a stellar career in the NFL, but if you have that #1, you have to take someone who can take some of the pressure off D. Carr.
Most talent scouts have tabbed Leinart from USC as close to a given as you can get. With that said, Vince Young from Texas offers an extra layer of ability and skills to the QB position. In fact, the Titans may be favoring Young at this point, and that offers up the possibility of trading back, picking up a few more positions, and taking Young a little later in the draft, as it’s not expected for Young
to go to any of the teams immediately following the Titans. Of course, there are some in the Titans organization who would love to get Matt Leinart in there and team him up with Norm Chow, his former offensive coordinator from USC. Right now, the Titans could change the landscape of the first round with what it decides to do.