After holding it together in the immediate aftermath of NCAA-levied sanctions, it appears that the biggest fish in Lane Kiffin‘s 2010 recruiting class is slipping from his grasp.
We noted yesterday how Kiffin and three other members of the USC football program took a private jet to visit Seantrel Henderson last week after the mammoth offensive tackle did not attend freshman orientation as expected. His father has since refused to comment on his son’s status, and now so is the son.
Playing in a pro-am basketball league Tuesday night, Henderson was asked about his status with USC.
“I don’t want to talk about that,” Henderson said according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Henderson is apparently put off by the fact that, during the recruiting process, Kiffin told him that there would be no serious penalties placed on the Trojans.
If Henderson does try to transfer from USC, he would be forced to sit out a transfer year before becoming eligible to play football. Miami and Ohio State would likely be potential destinations if Henderson decides to play elsewhere.
Since when do kids hate being lied to during the recruiting process?
Oh, my god
John….thank you for posting this. There are so many possible jokes, I don’t know where to begin.
@ AldoRaine: No problem. Have fun.
I am getting tired of hearing about this guy. I realize alot of these kids dont go to college for the education but this kid is out of control. Looking back the delay in signing his LOI seems to be as much if not more about his grades than sanctions against USC.
Nobody expected USC to get hit as hard as they did so to call Kiffin a liar in this case is not accurate.
Too funny that this guy and his father would believe that a coach would not put the best possible spin on this stuff, even lying to them to get their signature. And I can’t believe that Kiffin and his possi thought they could show up at his place and try to spin that lie with other lies.
Maybe they were going to tell him that he would be sitting out a RED shirt year anyway and by the time he is starting everything will be fine. Not many bright people involved here. This guy should move on to save some face.
Actually, unless Seantrel has already registered for more than 12 hours of fall classes at USC, he has not triggered transfer regulations yet. Given that his Dad seems pretty in the loop, I would guess he hasn’t registered for classes.
He needs to be concerned about if USC will release him from his NLI. If they grant a complete release, he can go anywhere and play this fall. If they do not grant a release, the basic penalty for breaking an NLI is losing a year of eligibility AND having to sit out for the 10-11 school year- it’s actually worse than just having to serve a transfer year in residence. I would doubt they would grant Seantrel an NLI release (unless another commitment already has one) as that would set the precident for all of their other incoming recruits to ask for releases too and would spell even worse news for USC.
Actually, I would say this class has held together very well…and we also received verbals from other top recruits from the 2012 class – after sanctions were announced. The NFL will still look to USC for talent, they always have and always will…even in our “down” years.
‘Seantrel’ seemed out of place in the fancy-boy Pac 10 anyway.
With a name like ‘Seantrel’, he is more suited to play in the SEC amongst the ‘D’Brickashaw’s', ‘D’Qwell’s', ‘JaMarcuses’, ‘Quindariuses’, ‘T’Sharvan’s, ‘D’Antoine’s, ‘Barkeviouses,’ ‘Jacariouses’, and……well you get the point. I could go on.
Although, according to Shakespeare, ‘A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.’, but probably not be as funny.
For those of you unaware, the aforementioned are all previous/current players from the SEC. ‘Seantrel’ is a perfect fit.
John,
Having an “Inside the Irish” button is really taking away from the credibility of this site. Its been a long time since ND has been relevant in football. I was tempted to click the button but i just figured it would take me to a bunch of blank pages.
John,
Having an “Inside the Irish” button is really taking away from the credibility of this site. Its been a long time since ND has been relevant in football. I was tempted to click the button but i just figured it would take me to a bunch of blank pages.
“Apparently put off”??? What is “apparent”? Neither Sean nor his family have made a statement on this media-contrived issue? Yet, you think it’s “apparent”? It’s “apparent” that you make up content to fill your tabloid blog.
Sean is expected at USC this Monday along with the other recruits who did not arrive last Monday.
SOFlaTrojan,
Are you aure about that? You might need that IRISH button when they start another streak of Trojan domination like the 12 year one in the 80s and early 90s. Witnessed a couple of those Irish victories in person when good old Lou put the wood to them. Awww, memories.
I understand you are not used to sanctions because SC has stayed under the radar for a while being sly covering their tracks. But, these kids are on summer vacations, partying it up, and aren’t even thinking about school. We’ll see when August rolls around and kids realize no bowling for a while.
Too much “DRAMA” lets move on,,,he proberly would be critical of every thing in ANY program.
SoFlaTrojan: USC has still yet to prove themselves relevant playing by the rules. Let’s not forget as proven by the NCAA you guys cheated your way back in to relevance. Before your success in the 2003 and 2004, it was 1978 that you last won a championship with only one Rose bowl victory in between – that’s 25 years. You guys were as mediocre in the 80s and 90s as ND is in the 90s and 2000s.
Read the rules from the NCAA people. He must ATTEND one class to become officially committed to the school. That meams breaking the treshhold of teh classroom and be confirmed in attendance. As long as he has not attended class, he can go to any school and become immediately eligible. SH, go see Urban. We will treat you right…probably even take a few pounds off ya too!
Word of advice to any USC recruit or current player. You can not trust what comes out of Kiffin’s mouth. He’s already looking for a new job.
IF Seantreal signed his LOI, he will have to ASK to be released in order to transfer without penalty. Otherwise, general transfer rules apply. Doesn’t matter if he attended class or not. He signed his LOI. Now, USC will look really bad if they would not release a player in light of the proven deceptive practices of the program for which they are being disciplined.
Uff – not sure where I fall on this one. This kid knew the NCAA was looking heavily into USC for major rule violations and yet he signed a LOI anyway. Having said that, perhaps he was just plain lied to by USC and he believed them to the point he felt comfortable signing. Either way – USC needs to do the right thing and let this kid go if he wants to.
Isn’t this the quiet period? If so, how were they allowed to fly to see this kid?
# 1: Lane Kiffin lied? I am speechless.
# 2: If I were a coach, I’d have serious reservations about adding Henderson. From the get-go, this kid (and moreover, his dad) have seemed to have a bit of an overinflated ego. I’m always wary of players who believe their own hype – their initial star power frequently seems to fade into major headaches for a team later.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing in your own bullshit when everyone around you is telling you how great you are, but it can bite you in the ass in the end.
CleanSlaton–hilarious. But don’t forget about Conference USA, where he could play with Martevious Young.
According to the article, “Henderson, who said he’s up to 350 pounds (and appears to weigh at least that much), was surprisingly light on his feet getting up and down the floor and showed a nice touch with the ball.”
Seantrel needs to lay off the Ho Hos regardless of whether or not he stays or transfers.
CleanSlaton:
Nice try, but here are some first names currently on the USC roster: Jurrell, Omari, De’Von, Hebron, DaJohn, Travon, Tyron, Jawanza, and Shareece.
Seantrel fits right in. All he has to do is pocket a 300k$ from some booster or agent, then he will be a perfect fit.
Stay home kid, be a Gopher.
CleanSlaton, D’Brickashaw played at UVA in the ACC.
Try to get your facts straight when you’re being a racist ass.
APPEALS: APPEALING A “NO RELEASE” DECISION: When an institution does not release a student from his or her NLI obligation, the student may appeal the decision within 30 days of the institution’s “no release” by filing a petition with the NLI Policy and Review Committee or the Division II Review Committee. Petitioning students should submit the NLI Appeals form, a copy of the Release Request form and any supporting materials to the NLI office. Students are notified in writing regarding the Committee’s determination on their petition. The appeals process takes approximately six to eight weeks. Release decisions of the Committee may be reviewed by the Division I or II NLI Appeals Committee, whose decisions are final and binding. Reminder: All petitions by a student of an NLI Committee decision must be made within 30 days of the date on the decision letter sent from the NLI office. Reminder: An institution does not have the right to appeal a decision of the NLI Policy and Review Committee or Division II Review Committee. Furthermore, as a condition of membership in the NLI program, participating institutions and conferences are precluded from bringing legal action against the NLI program or the Collegiate Commissioners Association.
Sendrell has a reason to be pissed off.
I don’t think USC had any idea they were going to get hit that hard by the NCAA. Kiffen, Ogeron and Kiffin senior would not have come to USC if they knew this.
Sendrell has a binding letter of intent however.
He has two options.
1. Going to the USC and playing 13 games this year (they play at Hawaii, which does not count against the NCAA 12 game limit), and 12 the next year Division 1 competition.
2. He can go to prep school for a year and play 13 games in 2011 at Ohio State or Miami, assuming Miami makes a bowl game.
The kid is in a tough situation, but unless the reports about his academic problems are true, he appears to be far better off at this point sticking it out at USC.
Huge ego and academic problems. Why would anybody want somebody like that? Anybody remember Maurice Clarett? Come to think of it, he still has some college eligibility remaining. Maybe USC should talk to him when he is released from prison?
On June 11 Lane said “Any player who does not want to stay will get a release. We don’t want anyone who doesn’t want to play at USC.” How come he doesn’t release Henderson? He said he would. Would Lane lie? Surely not.
[...] has been the case throughout his year and a half at the Div. 1-A level, much ado was made of Miami offensive tackle Seantrel Henderson toward the [...]