I actually caught this past Sunday morning “Outside the Lines” story on text messaging and recruiting. Nothing that was completely revealing. Text messaging has been a fairly well-known recruiting tool by coaches for the last couple of years. Though, I did not know about the prohibitions on texting freshmen and sophomores.

In recent weeks, ESPN contacted several highly recruited high school athletes who receive text messages, as well as their coaches and their parents. They describe an atmosphere where college coaches frequently text message recruits during their freshman and sophomore years. That has the attention of those who enforce the NCAA’s rules, because the same rules that allow text messages to high school juniors and seniors, prohibit text messaging to freshmen and sophomores.

Benn specifically told us he received text messages on several occasions from Penn State, Virginia, and Maryland as a sophomore. While Virginia and Penn State denied any improper activity regarding Benn’s recruitment, a Maryland associate athletic director told us she’s “spoken with the coaches involved with the recruitment of this young man. Each indicated they had not contacted Arrelious Benn at an inappropriate time.” Shortly after ESPN asked the schools about potential violations related to text messaging, Benn contacted us and changed his story saying he was never text messaged by those schools as a sophomore.

Ohio basketball standout Delvon Roe, a 6-7 sophomore forward who plays on the same AAU team as Kosta Koufos, said the text messages from college coaches started his freshman year in high school. Roe appeared taken aback when he recounted that he received a text message from Michigan on his second day of his freshman year: “Is this a joke or something?”

…

When the University of Michigan was contacted about what Roe told ESPN, the school admitted he had been sent a text message too early and started an internal investigation. “This appears to be a secondary violation,” Michigan said in a prepared statement. “We are still reviewing the matter before a final report is sent to the NCAA.”

“They have the obligation to report that to the enforcement staff of the NCAA and to be handled by that appropriate group to see what type of penalties would be placed on that institution and or coach,” Lyons said.

But text messaging freshmen and sophomore prospects is not the only recruiting violation that has become a common practice. At a recent Charlottesville, Va., AAU tournament, Middletown (Del.) sophomore Jarrett Mann told us recruiters from several schools, specifically the University of Delaware and Georgetown University, text message him and his family.

“Georgetown University texts my mom, I want to say every day, every single day,” Mann said. I don’t see a problem with that because I have high interest in the school.”

But even text messaging the parent of a sophomore is against NCAA rules. Mann’s mother later told us in a phone call that Georgetown text messages her once or twice a week, not every day. Neither Georgetown nor Delaware would respond to our requests for interviews about Mann’s recruitment.

The interesting part of the televised story was the panel discussion that included some reporter from Indianapolis, Jamie Newberg of Scout.com and Memphis B-Ball Head Coach John Calipari.

I may distrust Calipari and his snake-oil charm, but the guy is so good with media appearances. He not only sucked up much of the airtime discussion, but actually directed some of the questions for Bob Ley. He dominated and impressed in the panel. This incredible mix of disarming frankness while being at ease and mixing in absolute bulls**t. While pretending to be tech ignorant with crap claims like barely being able to check his e-mail or turn on his computer, he openly said that his assistants use text messaging all the time.

He expressed surprise that the NCAA hasn’t policed it yet, and thought that they would eventually. The reason he said, is that coaches are simply not capable of moderating their own behavior without a rule against it. They are all, always looking for that edge in recruiting. It’s hard to disagree with that viewpoint. Coaches are always trying to push as far as they can.

When asked what he thought about texting he said it was a nice tool, but that a far more effective recruiting is still getting face-to-face with the kid, or doing shows like this “where I can be your sidekick, Bob.”

He’s good. Real good.

Expect texting restrictions that limit the when they can text more than the quantity. Limits that say not during school, practice and games. An effort to reduce the total volume sent because of limited hours. Of course, any smart assistant will still prepare the text messages throughout the day, but put them in a draft box to send at the right time.

Well, it does make some sense.

When word spread that track star Mycaiah Clemons was transferring from Virginia Tech to Pitt, it didn’t take long for Internet message boards to do the mathematics.

That means Toney Clemons now has two sisters at Pitt (Mycah Clemons will be a senior) and puts the Panthers in the lead for the Valley stud receiver. Right?

“Everyone keeps asking me about him coming to Pitt,” Mycah Clemons said. “I can’t influence him. He has a lot of options. He’s got to make his own decisions.”

Clemons, who won the PIAA Class AA long jump and 110-meter high hurdles titles Saturday, said he has scholarship offers from Pitt, Akron, Cincinnati, Colorado, Connecticut, Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue.

I hear other schools are close,” Toney Clemons said, “but the ones that offer early, those are the ones who want you.”

As for his family influence, Clemons doesn’t deny that he comes from a tight-knit family, but added that Michigan receiver Steve Breaston (Woodland Hills) is a cousin.

That helps explain the Michigan Breaston jersey at a camp. Family-wise that makes it Pitt or Michigan, but Clemons seems interested in exploring the entire recruiting process. I wouldn’t be surprised if he holds off until at least November.

I’ve previously mentioned how the NCAA/College football coaches are going to do their best to shut down the appeal of all the combines and camps by banning the presence of coaches and prohibiting them from taking place at a school facility.

The reasoning is to prevent football from ending up too much like basketball recruiting with more emphasis on the AAU teams and the tournaments. In this case, the recruiting sites and apparel companies that sponsor the overwhelming and ever growing majority of them.

It is also ostensibly a quality of life thing for the coaches by keeping them from having to attend less events on the recruiting trail. It is also about trying to keep the recruiting sites from connecting with the kids and getting information about the recruitment — reducing the knowledge of who’s recruiting him, how hard and often

The last couple of weeks, there have been articles about the Metro Index Camp run out of Western PA by Joe Butler for some 26 years.

“The big conflict of interest is the weekend combines and how they’ve got coaches on the road 10 weeks out of the year,” Iowa assistant Ken O’Keefe said. “Guys with young families aren’t even getting back home. I think it’s a giant sacrifice. It’s putting an undue strain on a lot of people. We need to get the whole environment under control.”

O’Keefe noted that he has been a subscriber to the Metro Index scouting service since 1986, when he was an assistant at Allegheny College, and values the ability to watch prospects perform on a weeknight instead of sitting in a hotel room.

“Metro Index is not the reason they’re looking at this rule,” O’Keefe said. “Joe does things the right way.”

Although combines can draw hundreds of players, they often are slowed by testing in the 40-yard dash and pro shuttle times, of vertical leaps and in the bench press. Metro Index camps are more football-oriented, testing only in the 40 and pro shuttle and spending more time on drills. While major-college programs can discover a gem – former Blackhawk star Jeremy Bruce received an offer from West Virginia after a standout performance at the Nike camp in 2004 – coaches view some camps as a waste of their time.

“There’s a lot very well run, like this one, but there’s a lot of others that are just money markets,” said Rodriguez, who attended Metro Index with assistant Tony Gibson. “You get 600 guys and no true evaluations. Coaches become obligated to go to them, but you don’t really get anything out of it. It’s out of control.”

Metro Index stands to be collateral damage. The legislation can’t really exempt certain camps, and they definitely get kids to come because the college coaches attend and watch. Metro in addition to running football skill drills, also runs a subscription service coaches subscribe to for the information and charges kids to attend. Something the recruiting/apparel camps don’t do.

The other thing is the coaches quality of life argument. That the coaches have to attend because of every other coach attending. Even if they aren’t seeing anything new. It’s about staying even/competitive with other schools in recruiting.

“Coaches only have so many months to be home on the weekends and enjoy their families,” said Grant Teaff, executive director of the American Football Coaches Association. “We’ve said enough is enough. There are so many of these camps now that coaches feel obligated to try and get to every one of them in order to remain competitive. The quality of life for our coaches is the primary concern. This is America, if someone wants to host a combine that’s their right and we won’t stop them. What we’re saying is coaches won’t be there.”

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt echoed the sentiments of Teaff and many of the coaches who attended Metro Index in early May. He said coaches can arrive at the same conclusions about players without wasting time traveling to combines all over the country.

“This is the smartest thing the NCAA has ever done,” Wannstedt said. “We can’t coach at these camps, we can’t talk to the kids or their families, so all we do is stand there and watch a bunch of guys in shorts run over bags for two hours. There is no reason for us to be there. We could get the same info without being there.”

Other coaches like WVU’s Rich Rodriguez are not wild about the whole combine camps because they are hosted at campuses not named WVU. Pitt has hosted these camps from Metro, Scout.com and Rivals.com. You have Ohio St. and Penn St. both hosting Nike camps. The major competition all get to have the kids come to their campus for a visit that doesn’t count as a recruiting trip. Another perceived competitive disadvantage.

All the camps and their sponsors point to how some kids get noticed at the camps that they otherwise would have slipped past. How the kids would have ended up at a smaller school or in a lower division. Mind you, still on scholarship but at IUP instead of Iowa is the argument. Because, you know, it’s for the children.

Remember last summer, there were some hints that Tyler Palko could be a darkhorse Heisman candidate? As College Football News.com tries to find things to discuss during the dim time counted down their 100 most likely Heisman candidates. Here’s where Palko clocked in.

47. QB Tyler Palko, Pittsburgh — With protection, Palko showed in 2004 that he can be quite the sharpshooter. However, he spent most of 2005 ducking for cover a few seconds after dropping back to pass. And the early exit of Greg Lee means he’ll be without a reliable deep threat for the first time since becoming a starter.

The issue is still the line. Even with no protection and a bad start, Palko still threw for 3000 yards. The potential is there with the receivers. The question still remains as to whether he’ll get any protection and time to throw.

Not affiliated with the Pittsburgh Steelers, so that argument won’t really fly in the area.

This is just too good.

West Virginia men’s basketball coach John Beilein was cited Tuesday for disorderly conduct at Pittsburgh International Airport after he refused a police officer’s command to move his vehicle and berated the officer, authorities said.

Beilein, 53, also was issued a parking ticket for leaving his vehicle in a “No Parking” area outside the terminal, said Allegheny County police Superintendent Charles Moffatt.

The coach was allowed to leave after being cited, Moffatt said.

…

An officer spotted Beilein’s vehicle parked illegally about 1:35 p.m. and told him he had to move, Moffatt said.

Beilein refused and started berating the officer, saying that he didn’t have to move the vehicle because he was the West Virginia basketball coach, Moffatt said.

The disturbance drew a crowd, and Beilein was given the citation and parking ticket, Moffatt said.

Beilein disputed the police account.

“The information contained in the citation is an inaccurate representation of the events at the Pittsburgh airport,” he said in a statement released through the university.

[Emphasis added.]

Lies! Lies! Lies!