College football notebook

Report: Former agent admits paying players

Associated Press / October 13, 2010

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A former sports agent told Sports Illustrated he paid college football players early in his career, and several of them confirmed it to the magazine.

In the Oct. 18 edition, Josh Luchs said he paid more than 30 players from 1990-96, including many who didn’t sign with him.

He said quarterback Ryan Leaf, the second pick in the 1998 draft who flopped in the pros, took more than $10,000, most of which he voluntarily paid back after signing with another agent. Leaf declined to comment on specific allegations.

Luchs told the magazine he also paid first-round picks Jamir Miller and Chris Mims. Miller, a linebacker from UCLA taken 10th by the Cardinals in 1994, declined comment. Mims, a defensive lineman from Tennessee taken 23d by the Chargers in 1992, died in 2008.

The former agent also said while he was recruiting Ohio State receiver Santonio Holmes in 2005, Holmes said he had been taking money from an agent for a couple of years. Holmes, now with the Jets, told the magazine the story was untrue.

Luchs was suspended for a year by the NFL Players Association in 2007 over the handling of a commission check. He said he’s telling his story because “I don’t want my career to be defined by that suspension.’’

Luchs said he didn’t pay players while working with Gary Wichard, the agent linked to the investigation of NCAA violations at North Carolina. But he said Wichard and John Blake, the Tar Heels assistant who resigned amid the investigation, worked together in violation of NCAA rules in 2002.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league has talked to college coaches and agents about reports that a coach was on an agent’s payroll.

“We had a report today from our college relations committee on our relationship with agents and college coaches. This is an area of great concern by the coaches on the college level, and we want to be responsive to that,’’ Goodell said in Chicago, site of the NFL’s fall meetings. “I think there is going to be an effort with college coaches and the agent community itself, possibly the NFL and NFLPA and to work together to bring a solution.’’

Luchs also told SI that ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper also helped Wichard recruit players, describing a 2000 meeting with Stanford defensive lineman Willie Howard in which Wichard had arranged for Kiper to call as he talked with the player.

Kiper told SI that he “would never promote Gary or another agent to a player’’ and denied the call was prearranged.

ND’s Rudolph out

Notre Dame’s Kyle Rudolph, a 6-foot-6-inch, 265-pound junior tight end, needs surgery after severely injuring his hamstring Saturday against Pittsburgh. His recovery could take six months. Rudolph, a starter since his freshman season, was a Mackey Award semifinalist last season . . . North Carolina receiver Greg Little apologized for his actions that led to the NCAA declaring him “permanently ineligible’’ amid an investigation into agent-related benefits. Little released a statement through the school, apologizing to teammates, coaches, alumni, and fans for “letting them down’’ and said he was “terribly remorseful.’’ On Monday, the NCAA said Little and defensive end Robert Quinn each received gifts and travel accommodations, then lied about it in three separate interviews. The ruling came the same day the school kicked defensive tackle Marvin Austin off the team for similar reasons . . . Florida receiver Chris Rainey was partially reinstated, a month after the junior was suspended following his arrest on an aggravated stalking charge . . . Georgia tailback Caleb King has been suspended two games following his arrest Monday. He was charged with failure to appear at a court date for a speeding ticket . . . UCLA suspended receiver Josh Smith and F-back Morrell Presley for the Oct. 21 game at Oregon for violating team rules.