As first reported by The State, the NCAA has spoken to South Carolina tight end Weslye Saunders regarding his relationship with an unnamed player agent.
The NCAA’s tentacles stretching from Chapel Hill to Columbia is apparently tied to the governing body’s investigation into the North Carolina football program, where reportedly several Tar Heels have been questioned regarding their relationships with agents. Saunders himself has admitted that he’s best friends with UNC defensive tackle Marvin Austin, one of the central figures in the NCAA’s probe into the program.
This evening, South Carolina has released a statement from athletic director Eric Hyman regarding the NCAA’s interest in one member of his football program.
“The NCAA has been in contact with us regarding possible rules violations in one of our programs. We have and will continue to cooperate fully with their inquiry. We have confidence in our compliance program and will work with the NCAA to bring this matter to a resolution in a timely fashion.”
Thus far, it’s student-athletes from North Carolina and South Carolina who have publicly been fingered as being of interest to the NCAA; according to a source, there’s the possibility that the names of at least two more prominent Div. 1-A schools could be made public over the next few days/weeks in relation to an NCAA investigation that has the potential to reach much, much further than its limited public scope right now.
Suffice to say, this is not the last we’ll hear about a probe that’s been described as “deep and far-reaching” by someone with knowledge of the situation.