News "BIG press conference today at noon. The news will be substantial"

Here is my hope.

I hope every team we face this year look at the mismatches Alabama utilized against TM in the BCS game and that every team assumes TM was the best cover DB we had depth-wise to put on the field. That way, when they start throwing to TM's former spot on the field (under the assumption that there will be a drop off in talent), they'll be shocked that the new "bullet in the chamber" just blew a hole in their QB's "chest".

 

You're aren't mistaken.

You can look at the official NCAA site and it specifically spells out school administered drug tests "are not governed" by the NCAA. In fact, if a kid pops positive on a drug test the school isn't under obligation to report said finding to the NCAA.

Now, if the NCAA happens to run a battery of test and a kid tests positive for a street drug? The NCAA can and will step in and their rules mirror that of PED's.

All that said, schools have a certain amount of leeway with how test are administered and what disciplinary actions are taken. There's ample evidence if a person has some psychological problems things like marijuana can be psychologically addictive. When you start talking about abuse of street drugs like the ol' "purple drank" a school is certainly going to take a different stance on the steps they follow.

Yesterday, there was a guy from "NFL Spin Zone" who said TM had failed seven drug tests. He could have just as easily only failed two IF this is indeed the entire story regarding his dismissal. Either way, neither fall under a specific NCAA policy on how the administration at LSU was supposed to handle TM.

On a somewhat related note, a key phrase Miles said yesterday is the one that caught my attention. When asked if it was a team rule or a school rule, he said both. To have an Associate Ath. Dir. who also is a Chancellor announce the the press conference instead of the SIDept. adds a little intrigue to the story as well.

 

You know the first time this happened, A very dear Gump friend of mine called me up and said, "What the hell are you guys drug testing players for? Don't you guys know better than that???"

He was just messing with me, but I bet Saban and all good coaches drug test so that they can know who to help turn around before the NCAA finds out. Heck Trent Richardson might have flunked 20 in house drug tests, but never an NCAA one !!

 

It doesn't matter what Saban does. The rules were spelled out for the entire team. I also think there are additional drug tests once you test positive at LSU. So it was very likely he would test positive again. That makes the situation even more insane for TM. He thought they would not throw a superstar like him off the team. The JJ fiasco could be his rational behind that type of thinking.

 

He threw RP off the team--caused a pretty big impact, too.

 

I wonder what the NCAA limits on coaches' contact with players over the summer had? Can someone who knows tell us if Les could counsel TM during no contact periods? It seems ridiculous if that is the case but the NCAA has done worse.

 

It limits practice observations and direct coaching over the summer.

Players are meeting with coaches quite often during the summer months.

I can say on very good authority that the coach with the most lenient disciplinary actions involving failed drug tests was fired in the last few months. What's crazy about that is him letting kids slide who weren't what we'd call contributors, but back-ups at best.

 

Why would he cut back-ups slack and not a star player? Must be more to it than failed drug tests.

 

I believe you have missed the point. He was slack on everyone, including kids that would not have contributed to their team in any significant manner this upcoming season. Weigh that against the notions offered that a lot of coaches will treat kids that contribute a lot differently than those who happened to ride the pine. Ol' Bobby didn't come down on anyone.

One of the reasons I believe there will be issues with Arkansas this season goes back to his days at Louisville. The new coach and AD made several mentions about the state of that program when he left for ATL.