NY Times article about the recruiting of Jamarkus Mcfarland

[King Crimson]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/26/sport ... ref=sports

interest free loans, drug and stripper parties for underage recruits, big payoffs for Mom from Texas unofficial sources. gotta love the UT self-myth that "everyone else cheats to keep up with Texas". Mack has flat screens on the OUTSIDE of his house, what a playa.

anyhoo, typical of the NY Times when it deigns fit to report on life in the provinces.....the whole article is dumbed up to make life west of the Mississippi "make sense" for the Upper East Side.


LUFKIN, Tex. — This college football season ended with Oklahoma and Texas once again demonstrating the intensity of their rivalry. The teams and their fans lobbied hard for the precious Bowl Championship Series points that would ultimately clear a path for the Sooners to compete for the national title against Florida.

The process often divided Jamarkus McFarland and his mother, Kashemeyia Adams, who received offers to influence her son.
The New York Times

But there is one place where the tension between these programs has long run even deeper: on the recruiting trail. And while the debate unfolded over the teams, another battle quietly raged in this quaint East Texas town.

The fight was over Jamarkus McFarland, a 6-foot-3, 290-pound defensive tackle from Lufkin High School who is considered the state’s best defensive prospect this year and one of the nation’s most promising players. He is also a top student and the president of his class.

The effort to recruit him took a turn at precisely 12:01 a.m. on Christmas, when McFarland, 18, decided to commit to Oklahoma. On Thursday, he called the Sooners’ defensive line coach, Jackie Shipp.

“I want you to coach me for the next four years,” McFarland told him.

“What did you say?” Shipp said.

“I want you to coach me for the next four years,” McFarland repeated. “Isn’t that what you wanted for Christmas?”

Shipp told McFarland to hold on, then he began screaming. McFarland’s decision ended a grueling recruiting process, although he cannot sign a letter of intent with the Sooners until Feb. 4. Coaches from Oklahoma and Texas are not allowed to comment on McFarland until then.

Since July, he and his family have provided a reporter for The New York Times with exclusive access to his recruitment, a journey that often divided McFarland and his mother. They endured frequent telephone calls and e-mail messages from reporters and coaches, tears of frustration, restless nights and Internet rumors suggesting impropriety.

McFarland’s mother, Kashemeyia Adams, said she received numerous offers, including one for an interest-free loan for a former classmate, if her son were to choose Texas. She said she did not believe the offers were affiliated with the Texas football staff.

Along the way, McFarland was wined and dined. He visited the house of the president of Oklahoma, where he was promised a spot in the prestigious President’s Leadership Class. He rode in a Hummer stretch limousine in Los Angeles. He attended parties, including one in Dallas, where he said there was free alcohol, drugs and young women taking off their clothes.

In the end, his decision came down to trusting his mother and his grandmother, Bobbie Jean Adams.

“I’ve followed my mother and grandmother’s advice for all my life,” McFarland said. “I know they don’t want bad for me.”

Mother Knows Best

At the start, Kashemeyia Adams was unimpressed with Oklahoma. As she and her son wrapped up a visit to its campus in April, she departed with terse words for Shipp.

“I am never setting foot in Norman, Oklahoma, again,” she recalled telling him. “I didn’t like it. I’m not going to deal with it.”

Shipp, a former N.F.L. player and one of the country’s top recruiters, appeared unfazed. He smiled, leaned into her tan sport utility vehicle and promised to e-mail her daily, which is allowed under N.C.A.A. rules.

“Give us an opportunity to prove why O.U. is best for your son,” she said Shipp told her. “Let us prove it. Make colleges prove it.”

The proving process for McFarland broke down into three steps, typical of the courtship of a top high school athlete. It started with unofficial visits, like the April trip to Oklahoma, for which recruits and their families pay their own way. Those are followed by official campus visits paid for by universities. Finally, coaches make in-home visits.

Shipp appeared to understand soon after that trip that McFarland’s recruitment would have as much to do with wooing his mother as it would with persuading him to choose Oklahoma.

Adams initially favored Texas because of its prestige and because of what she perceived as its stronger academic offerings. But Shipp delivered on his promise. He sent her e-mail messages every day, building the foundation for what would become a friendship.

When Adams did not reply, Shipp sent follow-up messages. In one, he wrote, “Ms. Adams, Haven’t heard from you in a few days.” She liked his persistence, his no-nonsense attitude and the idea that he could be a black male role model for her son.

Adams, meanwhile, received only occasional letters and e-mail messages from Texas coaches.

“Texas went to sleep in the summertime in recruiting J-Mac,” she said. “When they went to sleep, Oklahoma woke up.”

But as Oklahoma began rising in her mind, her son was not sold. Beyond his athleticism and academic achievement, McFarland also works a part-time job at Kmart. He plans to study kinesiology and hopes to become a physical therapist or a strength coach.

He has an older brother in prison for conspiracy to commit murder and for tampering with evidence in the shooting death of a man in September 2006. Three uncles also spent time in prison. His mother is a follower of the Pentecostal faith who does not attend his football games.

Growing up, McFarland said, he always listened to his mother and his grandmother, an Oklahoma fan. But he initially had his heart set on Texas.

“I’ve been brought up listening to them and obeying by their rules,” McFarland said. “To go against them is hard to do.”

Unforgettable Trips

McFarland made four official visits during his recruitment — to Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana State and Southern California.

He said he saw everything from flat-screen televisions in Texas Coach Mack Brown’s bathrooms to L.S.U.’s recruiting hostesses sitting on the laps of prospects.

But the best summation of his experience might have come from a paper he wrote for his English class comparing Oklahoma and Texas. The paper, “Red River Rivals Recruit,” includes a description of a wild party hosted by Longhorns fans at an upscale hotel in Dallas after the Oklahoma-Texas game on Oct. 11.

“I will never forget the excitement amongst all participants,” McFarland wrote. “Alcohol was all you can drink, money was not an option. Girls were acting wild by taking off their tops, and pulling down their pants. Girls were also romancing each other. Some guys loved every minute of the freakiness some girls demonstrated. I have never attended a party of this magnitude.”

He continued: “The attitude of the people at the party was that everyone should drink or not come to the party. Drugs were prevalent with no price attached.”

He compared that with a house party hosted by a sorority at Oklahoma.

“Drinks were plentiful, but not to the extent they were” at the Dallas party, he wrote. “Some people were tipsy, but in control of themselves.”

He described the atmosphere as pleasant and added: “Some people who attend the University of Oklahoma seem to represent different values than some people who attend the University of Texas.”

In his paper, McFarland also sized up the strength and conditioning programs. At Texas, he noted, groups of players worked out with one coach in the weight room.

“In my opinion, this kind of coaching leaves many players without supervision and the proper training needed to excel in this sport,” he wrote.

At Oklahoma, McFarland wrote, players had serious one-on-one training with a coach. He described the workouts as inspiring and intimidating.

Oklahoma also made an impression by stressing academics. McFarland and his mother joined Shipp and Oklahoma’s head coach, Bob Stoops, at the home of the university’s president, David Boren, a former governor and senator from the state. Boren offered McFarland a spot in the President’s Leadership Class, a selective scholarship group for freshmen.

“Just imagine the recommendation that President Boren would give you,” Adams said.

Of the four universities, L.S.U. made the worst impression. After the Tigers lost to Georgia, 52-38, on Oct. 25, McFarland, his mother and his grandmother attended a catered meal at the home of Tigers Coach Les Miles.

“He was very dry,” Adams said of Miles.

Adams was further turned off by L.S.U., she said, when she saw hostesses sitting on the laps of recruits.

McFarland had his official visit to Texas scheduled for two weeks later, the weekend of Nov. 8. Just days before, a false Internet report surfaced that he and his mother might not make the trip. The Longhorns began calling both of them so much that they almost did cancel the visit.

“Mama, I don’t even feeling like going,” McFarland told his mother. “I don’t want to do it.”

Before the visit, Adams called Texas and asked to speak with Brown. The associate head coach, Mac McWhorter, told her that she could talk only to him.

That bothered her because she had wanted to talk to Brown and commend him for the Longhorns’ dismissal of a player who had posted a racial slur on his Facebook page about President-elect Barack Obama.

During the trip, Adams said, she asked Brown about the Obama slur, and was told that the player had to be dismissed because the F.B.I. had become involved.

After Texas beat Baylor that weekend, McFarland and his mother ate dinner at Brown’s home. Flat-screen televisions were in every room, and there were two outside.

“Whose house do you like better, Bob Stoops’s, Les Miles’s or mine?” Adams recalled Brown saying.

That opulence did not touch what McFarland saw on a visit to U.S.C. the weekend after Thanksgiving. After beating Notre Dame, U.S.C. players rented a stretch Hummer and took him to a party. It worried Adams that her son might become enthralled with such luxury.

Upon returning to Lufkin, McFarland wanted to commit to the Trojans. But by week’s end, he had eliminated them.

“After going to U.S.C., he was talking about he has to grow up and can’t just depend on his Mama,” Adams said.

Talking Things Through

In mid-November, McFarland and his mother had their first extensive sit-down conversation about his future. The two-hour discussion opened with McFarland asking her to pretend that Shipp was not coaching at Oklahoma.

“It’s the best overall opportunity,” Adams said.

McFarland acknowledged that Shipp was the best coach for him, but he wondered whether Shipp would be at Oklahoma for his entire career. He also felt that his best chance of making the N.F.L. would come by playing for the Sooners.

Yet he worried what an Oklahoma degree would mean for landing a job in Texas. He also thought that the Longhorns offered him the best education and that Austin had the most entertainment.

“There ain’t nothing to do at Oklahoma except football,” McFarland said.

Adams presented her son with a list of pros and cons for Louisiana State, Oklahoma and Texas. One of her dislikes about Louisiana State was that a maid would clean her son’s dorm room weekly. She also emphasized that the recent recruiting efforts by Texas had happened through Lufkin High Coach John Outlaw. She believed Outlaw wanted her son to attend Texas.

“John Outlaw is not your parent,” Adams said. “When you leave Lufkin High School, what is he going to do for you? If there’s a problem with you, I will have to take care of it.”

By the end of the talk, McFarland decided to eliminate Louisiana State, leaving only Oklahoma and Texas on the table.

“I love you,” Adams said. “I want to see the best for you. It’s important to me to be able to trust somebody. It’s important to me to be able to have somebody there for you, because it’s just what I want.”

Down to the Rivals

In the first week of December, as Oklahoma prepared to play Missouri for the Big 12 championship, Texas sent several assistant coaches to visit McFarland at school. They did not visit with Adams.

Around the same time, McFarland nearly committed to Texas after a conversation with his mother, who told him to call and inform coaches at each university.

Minutes later, McWhorter called Adams. Adams asked him if her son had committed to his Longhorns. He had not. Instead, her son had called Texas to ask whom he would talk to if he ever had a problem involving race. Within minutes, the Longhorns’ defensive ends coach, Oscar Giles, who is black, called Adams for the first time.

By this point, Adams had already called Shipp to inform him that McFarland would not play for Oklahoma. During that conversation, however, Shipp did not panic.

“Well, it’s not over,” she said Shipp told her. “If I knew and he looked me in my eyes and told me that, there’s nothing I can do but back off.”

Later that night, McFarland and Shipp talked on the telephone for an hour.

With Oklahoma winning the Big 12 championship and Shipp scheduled to visit the next week, Texas furiously tried to arrange an in-home visit with McFarland and his mother.

Will Muschamp, the team’s defensive coordinator and designated head coach-in-waiting, called until Adams finally talked to him at her son’s request. He tried to patch things up about the earlier phone call in which she was told she could not talk to Brown. He also explained that Texas had probably sent more letters and e-mail messages to her than to any other recruit’s parent.

“He was acting like he was doing me a favor,” Adams said. “You’re recruiting my son. I feel sorry for them if they’re saying they haven’t had that much interaction with any other recruit’s family. I feel sorry for those families. I really do.”

Texas made another visit to McFarland’s school, but again, they did not see Adams.

After the visit, Adams received an e-mail message from Brown. “It is obvious that the recruiting has put a strain on your relationship,” the message said. “JaMac wants Texas, and Mom wants OU. We want you to still come to Texas, but we are going to slow our process down because you two need some time to get on the same page. We do not want players at Texas if everyone isn’t on the same page.”

In the same message, Brown wrote that Texas would not visit again unless requested.

McFarland’s mother and grandmother were offended.

“That’s tacky to me,” Adams said. “You’re basically telling my kid to just go against his parents.”

On Dec. 17, Stoops and Shipp visited McFarland on behalf of Oklahoma. They flew on a private plane that Sooners and Longhorns fans anxiously tracked on the Internet.

While at McFarland’s house, Stoops offered to set the table for dinner and helped carry in ribs and potato salad. After a second serving of ribs and some peach cobbler, he sat on the couch with McFarland and his grandmother and watched the movie “Beauty Shop,” starring Queen Latifah and Alicia Silverstone.

Stoops occasionally chuckled while watching the film before talking to McFarland about Oklahoma. He dismissed talk that McFarland would not be able to get a job in Texas with an Oklahoma degree.

When Stoops’s departing flight from Lufkin was delayed by more than two hours, there was rampant Internet speculation that McFarland had committed and that Stoops had stayed late to celebrate.

But that was not the case. He had taken off without a commitment.

Two days later, another Internet report surfaced, this time suggesting that McFarland and his mother had been offered extra inducements by universities and had then reported the transgressions to Texas. The report also said Texas responded by backing away from its recruitment of McFarland to document its own handling of the process.

The posting angered Adams, who said she suspected that Texas coaches were behind it. She flatly denied the report.

“This isn’t about J-Mac anymore,” Adams said. “It’s about O.U. versus Texas. It shouldn’t be that way.”

Allegations from the report upset her because she said she had received numerous offers of gifts in exchange for her son to attend Texas. She said she did not believe that Brown or anyone officially with Texas was involved or had any knowledge of the enticements.

“It’s been made known that enough income would flow through where I would be good for a while,” Adams said.

Earlier this month, a former classmate called Adams and asked if she would coax her son into attending Texas. If so, a banker had promised the former classmate any type of loan.

At one point, McFarland cried while discussing with his mother whether to attend Oklahoma or Texas.

“I hate this now,” his mother recalled him saying. “I really do, simply because of the pressure.”

After the visit by Stoops, Adams said she received a message from a Longhorns assistant, who wrote, “I hope that Texas is still in your mind.”

A week later, McFarland’s mind was made up.

“I’m pretty glad it’s over,” he said by Thursday. “This is a good thing to have out of the way. Everyone’s satisfied.”

Especially Oklahoma, which received a Texas-size Christmas gift.

Pete Thamel contributed reporting.

[indyfrisco]

Jamarkus....Kashemeyia

Pray for them.

[RumpleForeskin]

After the visit, Adams received an e-mail message from Brown. “It is obvious that the recruiting has put a strain on your relationship,” the message said. “JaMac wants Texas, and Mom wants OU. We want you to still come to Texas, but we are going to slow our process down because you two need some time to get on the same page. We do not want players at Texas if everyone isn’t on the same page.”

In the same message, Brown wrote that Texas would not visit again unless requested.

McFarland’s mother and grandmother were offended.

“That’s tacky to me,” Adams said. “You’re basically telling my kid to just go against his parents.”

I'm a little perplexed by her interpretation of Brown's email. Where is the line that suggests that Mac wants Jamarkus to go ahead and commit to Texas wihtout her input?

[King Crimson]

After the visit, Adams received an e-mail message from Brown. “It is obvious that the recruiting has put a strain on your relationship,” the message said. “JaMac wants Texas, and Mom wants OU. We want you to still come to Texas, but we are going to slow our process down because you two need some time to get on the same page. We do not want players at Texas if everyone isn’t on the same page.”

In the same message, Brown wrote that Texas would not visit again unless requested.

McFarland’s mother and grandmother were offended.

“That’s tacky to me,” Adams said. “You’re basically telling my kid to just go against his parents.”

I'm a little perplexed by her interpretation of Brown's email. Where is the line that suggests that Mac wants Jamarkus to go ahead and commit to Texas wihtout her input?

i also found that sequence of Mack email and Mom's interp a little strange.

[Harvdog]

There is so much about this article that is bullshit. First off, the guy who wrote it is obviously an OU fan. On his blog, 16 of the last 20 entries had to do with OU football. Seems a little strange that the NYT would care that much about football in Oklahoma. But, then again, we all know that the NYT has the best and most honest authors working for them.......sup Jayson Blair?

There are a few things that do not make sense about this article:

"McFarland's mother, Kashemeyia Adams, said she received numerous offers, including one for an interest-free loan for a former classmate, if her son were to choose Texas. She said she did not believe the offers were affiliated with the Texas football staff."

If this is the case, then this is a major issue and it needs to be brought to the table. Since your possession errrr son is going to OU, then tell us the names of who offered it to you. If you open up this can of worms then you need to be able to defend it. This is a serious allegation you are waving around. I think this smells more like the finger in the chili at Wendy's. Total bullshit.

Adams, meanwhile, received only occasional letters and e-mail messages from Texas coaches.

"Texas went to sleep in the summertime in recruiting J-Mac," she said. "When they went to sleep, Oklahoma woke up."

I got this from Orangebloods......

Wow, just wow.

Talk about revised history. First, it's important to note that based on our sources, the Longhorns wrote/emailed to the McFarland family just about every day for close to two years. Period.

It's also important to note that the Longhorns did back off a bit this summer, but only out of respect to McFarland and his family. They understood how overwhelming the process was and they tried to give his as much space as possible.

I can tell you that from our conversations with Jamarkus, he always told us that he appreciated the fact that the Texas staff gave him his space, while everyone else seemed to swarm him. In his opinion, that separated Texas from the pack a bit and he really respected the Texas staff for it.

Apparently, it makes for a convenient excuse six months later because his mom cited it as a prime reason for the Longhorns losing ground with them. The McFarland's also left out the part where Jamarkus nearly committed to the Longhorns in the first month of his senior season, but the Texas staff advised him to take a step back and take his time, assuring him that if he were injured, he would still have a full ride. No other school had ever made that commitment to him, at least not until McFarland was forced to ask each school recruiting him about the possibility of him getting hurt and whether he would still have an offer. When the Longhorns approached him with that security, no other school did, at least until they were asked to do so.

That was Geoff Ketchum. He obviously has a better relationship with JM than any of us.

ut the best summation of his experience might have come from a paper he wrote for his English class comparing Oklahoma and Texas. The paper, "Red River Rivals Recruit," includes a description of a wild party hosted by Longhorns fans at an upscale hotel in Dallas after the Oklahoma-Texas game on Oct. 11.

"I will never forget the excitement amongst all participants," McFarland wrote. "Alcohol was all you can drink, money was not an option. Girls were acting wild by taking off their tops, and pulling down their pants. Girls were also romancing each other. Some guys loved every minute of the freakiness some girls demonstrated. I have never attended a party of this magnitude."

He continued: "The attitude of the people at the party was that everyone should drink or not come to the party. Drugs were prevalent with no price attached."

This is also from Ketchum......

First, let's make sure everyone understands that if McFarland was at this party, there were zero Texas players, coaches or officials at the event. We know that because the entire team headed back to Austin as soon as the game was over on chartered buses.

Second, where was McFarland's mom on this night? Where was his supervision? If this event actually existed (you know, the scene out of the movie Bachelor Party) why was a 17-year old kid let out of proper supervision in the first place?

Although our sources couldn't recall with 100 percent certainty, it was believed that McFarland traveled to Dallas on that weekend with his mother.

Finally, I hate to ask this again, but where in the world are the details of this alleged salacious event? What hotel? Who hosted it? What kind of drugs?

This is VERY serious stuff that is being alleged and it paints The University of Texas in such a terrible light that there must be details because it's a huge piece of intentional or unintentional slander against the school otherwise.

Were there no other witnesses? Are we supposed to believe that this kid entered a scene from Eyes Wide Shut and nobody else can verify the story? For the author to report this story so cavalierly without any detail brings up some serious questions about the motives involved by all parties, in my opinion.

more from Ketchum.......

He compared that with a house party hosted by a sorority at Oklahoma.
"Drinks were plentiful, but not to the extent they were" at the Dallas party, he wrote.
"Some people were tipsy, but in control of themselves."

He described the atmosphere as pleasant and added: "Some people who attend the University of Oklahoma seem to represent different values than some people who attend the University of Texas."

In his paper, McFarland also sized up the strength and conditioning programs. At Texas, he noted, groups of players worked out with one coach in the weight room.

"In my opinion, this kind of coaching leaves many players without supervision and the proper training needed to excel in this sport," he wrote.

At Oklahoma, McFarland wrote, players had serious one-on-one training with a coach. He described the workouts as inspiring and intimidating.

Oklahoma also made an impression by stressing academics. McFarland and his mother joined Shipp and Oklahoma's head coach, Bob Stoops, at the home of the university's president, David Boren, a former governor and senator from the state. Boren offered McFarland a spot in the President's Leadership Class, a selective scholarship group for freshmen.

Again, the University of Oklahoma is portrayed by everyone involved (the family and author) as one thing, while the University of Texas is portrayed as something completely different?

They are questioning the values of the people at UT and calling into question their moral integrity. That's real stuff and it cuts right to the bone.

I'm at a loss how there was even a decision that needed to be made if these allegations are true. Why would his mom allow him to take an official visit if there was this much going against Texas? Are we really being asked to believe that McFarland's mother allowed her son to visit Austin after attending a drug-filled victory party in Dallas that he wrote about in his English class?

Also, as we pointed out earlier, there's a long explanation of the things that Oklahoma did to showcase their "academics," while there's no mention of any efforts that Texas might have made?

more....from Ketch

"Whose house do you like better, Bob Stoops's, Les Miles's or mine?" Adams recalled Brown saying.

I don't have any problem with saying that I consider this a flat out fabrication. I have known Texas head coach Mack Brown for 10 years and I'm not even sure that he likes me, but I can tell you one thing – that is so outside of his character that I cannot believe it to be true.

Seriously, can anyone imagine Mack Brown saying something like this? We're talking about a guy that says the right thing at the right time, all the time, and we're supposed to believe in this moment of privacy he bragged about the size of his house in front of a woman who doesn't have the same financial advantages?

Honestly, the assertion that Brown made that comment is one of the silliest claims made in an article that's full of them.


Adams presented her son with a list of pros and cons for Louisiana State, Oklahoma and Texas. One of her dislikes about Louisiana State was that a maid would clean her son's dorm room weekly. She also emphasized that the recent recruiting efforts by Texas had happened through Lufkin High Coach John Outlaw. She believed Outlaw wanted her son to attend Texas.

"John Outlaw is not your parent," Adams said. "When you leave Lufkin High School, what is he going to do for you? If there's a problem with you, I will have to take care of it."

The article does not explain why the Texas coaches would feel the need to go through the high school coach or why that's actually a very customary practice, especially at an East Texas 5A school like Lufkin.

It also does not include any quotes from Outlaw in the entire article? Why? As a matter of fact, why are there only two people quoted in the entire story?

Stop and think about this for a moment. The University of Texas is being accused of a lot of things and there are no comments from a coaching legend like Outlaw in the entire article. In fact, if you believe any of the allegations, as well as the point where she believed that Outlaw wanted her kid at Texas, then you'd have to believe that he was knee-deep in some of the muck being thrown around by Texas.

It's also terribly ironic to point out that Mack Brown hasn't signed a single prospect from Lufkin in the last 10 years, but in this instance, the mother believes that the coach was steering her son to Satan's Alley.

Perhaps he simply wanted to let the kid do what he wanted to do. Of course, we know there's often very little room for that in some households.

Again, we'll never know because there are not any comments from Outlaw or any explanation by the author as to why the omissions exist.

That's great reporting, let me tell you.

Will Muschamp, the team's defensive coordinator and designated head coach-in-waiting, called until Adams finally talked to him at her son's request. He tried to patch things up about the earlier phone call in which she was told she could not talk to Brown. He also explained that Texas had probably sent more letters and e-mail messages to her than to any other recruit's parent.

"He was acting like he was doing me a favor," Adams said. "You're recruiting my son. I feel sorry for them if they're saying they haven't had that much interaction with any other recruit's family. I feel sorry for those families. I really do."

Texas made another visit to McFarland's school, but again, they did not see Adams.
After the visit, Adams received an e-mail message from Brown. "It is obvious that the recruiting has put a strain on your relationship," the message said. "JaMac wants Texas, and Mom wants OU. We want you to still come to Texas, but we are going to slow our process down because you two need some time to get on the same page. We do not want players at Texas if everyone isn't on the same page."

In the same message, Brown wrote that Texas would not visit again unless requested.
McFarland's mother and grandmother were offended.

"That's tacky to me," Adams said. "You're basically telling my kid to just go against his parents."

We're back to the insults aimed at the Texas coaches, with absolutely zero attention to the detail that might have led them to take their actions.

For instance, there's no mention that the mom did not invite the Texas staff into her home for an official visit, while offering to host the Sooners staff with glee.

Let me repeat this – McFarland's mother reportedly would not invite the Texas coaches into her home. A visit with Jamarkus and the Lufkin coaches could take place at the school, but not in her home.

I have to tell you that in the decade-plus that I've been in this business, I've never heard of this happening. I have never heard of any coach being insulted in such a manner, especially not the Texas staff.

Insulting? Yes, VERY. We're talking about a staff that had spent more than two years building this relationship that included visits to Austin, Lufkin and Mack's very own home. Yet, they were not invited to the McFarland house according to multiple sources.

That is when the Longhorns decided to notify the McFarland's that they were going to take a step back from the recruitment because it was obvious that there were real problems in their relationship and they didn't want to add any further duress to anyone, especially Jamarkus.

Yet the women of the McFarland family were offended?

Does anyone actually believe this?

Also, there's nothing in the story that explains why exactly McFarland's mom was having a hard time reaching Brown. Sources have told Orangebloods that she had Brown's personal cell phone number in her possession for quite some time and that she spoke with Brown quite a bit over the last two years, so much so that Brown took a large leadership role in the overall courtship process of McFarland.

Yet, when the stuff started to hit the fan, we're supposed to believe that a man that has built a legend out of the detail he puts towards recruiting made it impossible for McFarland's mother to reach him.

Did he change his cell phone number and refuse to give out the new number? Did she forget that they had Brown's cell number and email address?

Are we supposed to believe the worst about a man of Brown's integrity because of these shaky assertions?


Two days later, another Internet report surfaced, this time suggesting that McFarland and his mother had been offered extra inducements by universities and had then reported the transgressions to Texas. The report also said Texas responded by backing away from its recruitment of McFarland to document its own handling of the process.

The posting angered Adams, who said she suspected that Texas coaches were behind it.

She flatly denied the report.

"This isn't about J-Mac anymore," Adams said. "It's about O.U. versus Texas. It shouldn't be that way."

I have to admit that this is my favorite part of the article because it seems to include reports from sites like Orangebloods.com in the commentary (the blog was written by a fan and actually posted on another Longhorn site), but as is this case with the rest of the article, there are zero specifics.

The article essentially accuses the Texas staff of some sort of nuclear sabotage act, aimed at smearing the good name of the McFarland family.

I'm not really sure what McFarland's mother believes, but I personally enjoy a version that has Mack Brown calling a secret poster on secret sites (maybe OB!) and going through a five-point plan to dismantle McFarland and the Oklahoma program.

It's so funny to think to imagine this because as someone that has owned the largest web-based Longhorn community website for the last eight years, I can tell you that Mack Brown would probably let me have his home (complete with the plasma TV's in the bathroom) before he'd associate and conspire with anyone affiliated with this site or any other like it.

This is more Boogie Man stuff and if you believe it, you probably still wet your pants.

Allegations from the report upset her because she said she had received numerous offers of gifts in exchange for her son to attend Texas. She said she did not believe that Brown or anyone officially with Texas was involved or had any knowledge of the enticements.

"It's been made known that enough income would flow through where I would be good for a while," Adams said.

Earlier this month, a former classmate called Adams and asked if she would coax her son into attending Texas. If so, a banker had promised the former classmate any type of loan.

I repeat, "Numerous offers of gifts."

I'm going to say this one final time and I hope McFarland's mom, the author of the story and the editorial board of the New York Times reads this …

These are allegations of serious NCAA rules violations. You cannot make claims like this and think that people are not going to ask for details of exactly what is being alleged.

Overall, I think by now everyone can see what has happened here. This is fairy tale stuff, complete with magic pixie dust. No details. No facts. No witnesses. No comments from anyone else.

Just a pile of garbage and it stinks to high heaven.

this pretty much sums it up. I think that there is a ton of unsubstantiated evidence. Where is the proof? There is none. You have a biased hack who is out to make a name for him self and is taking on the University of Texas.

Cmments?

[Vito Corleone]

I can't remember but wasn't Oklahoma the home team for the RRS this year? Anyone invited to the RRS is there on a unofficial stance and should be there with their parents or other guardian. Now with that said I have no idea what happens after the game when it comes to the recruits. Like Ketch said as soon as the game was over the team and coaches left and are not allowed to take the recruits with them so he might have been left on his own.

Still it doesn't surprise me if he ended up in some hotel with a bunch of partying Horn fans where who knows what kind of crap is going to happen. Texas is not BYU.

I laughed when he described the Oklahoma weight program vs Texas I guess he never met Brian Orakpo or some of the other noted Texas players like Hampton Rodgers and Leonard Davis.

Not that I really care, the guy who wrote the article is a Oklahoma blogger educated in some small Oklahoma school, he resides in Oklahoma and is a free lace writer for the NYT. I just think the whole article smells more like a mom who just wanted to get in some shots because she felt her kid was snubbed by Texas.

BTW how is it that the week before his unofficial visit to Texas the coaches were badgering her but Coach Shipp from Oklahoma can spam her every day and that is somehow ok.

In the end I am beginning to think Texas just dodged another bullet.

[Vito Corleone]

The one part of this article I failed to address was the interest free loan.

Mom claims it came from someone she knew.
Mom also claims that she didn't think the Texas coaches knew anything about it.

Oklahoma fan has been using the Big Red Motors argument that the coaches can't police everyone everywhere.

If the incident happened and Mack knew about it
Why did we pull out, and two we would probably get what we deserve. Then again no one seems to get what they deserve when it comes to the NCAA.

Under the assumption that it happened and the Texas coaches didn't know
Mack was very smart to pull out of the recruiting of JM.
I can guarantee that if it happened then Texas is going to find out if this guy has any affiliation with the University and if he does he is gone, second Texas will report it to the NCAA that they have broken all ties to them or that they never had ties to that person.

Under the assumption that it happened and Mack knew
This is the first time any allegations like this have come up, I know for a fact that Mack pulled out of the Albert Means recruitment when his coach came to Texas looking for a deal.
Texas has pulled out of the recruitment of a lot of kids that have been looking for this kind of deal.

If it didn't happen then I truly hope the University call out momma McFarland.

I guarantee this one is going to be continued

[Vito Corleone]

OU got over.

Only time will tell, from this side I've seen too many kids whose parents think the recruiting process is about them (sup papa Bomar) and when that happens the best thing is to back away and let someone else have the kid.

Texas has commitment from two highly ranked DTs so its not a real need for us. We shall see how this is going to work out but I highly doubt we will miss him.

[King Crimson]

when that happens the best thing is to back away and let someone else have the kid.

so, this is now the official horn gloss on Ryan Perreliuox, Rhett Bomar, MacFarland and Darrell Scott? that UT backed off because of character issues? mmmkay, no revisionist history there.

has it been a year since "where there's smoke there's fire", and some shady quotes from an opportunist assistant high school coach was enough for UT fans to huff and puff about Darrell Scott being bought by CU? Cushy bank job in Boulder? and you Vito, never shy to cast aspersions and slander about an OU player with no evidence whatsoever (the infamous AD crack ring the most notable)....now it's CSI: Austin such that without "evidence" no accusations of Holy Texas can be admitted in the court of public opinion...but Colorado was fair game last year?

nice 180 hornfans.

[SunCoastSooner]

when that happens the best thing is to back away and let someone else have the kid.

so, this is now the official horn gloss on Ryan Perreliuox, Rhett Bomar, MacFarland and Darrell Scott? that UT backed off because of character issues? mmmkay, no revisionist history there.

has it been a year since "where there's smoke there's fire", and some shady quotes from an opportunist assistant high school coach was enough for UT fans to huff and puff about Darrell Scott being bought by CU? Cushy bank job in Boulder? and you Vito, never shy to cast aspersions and slander about an OU player with no evidence whatsoever (the infamous AD crack ring the most notable)....now it's CSI: Austin such that without "evidence" no accusations of Holy Texas can be admitted in the court of public opinion...but Colorado was fair game last year?

nice 180 hornfans.

Did you expect anything less?

[SoCalTrjn]

A Stretched Hummer and the team telling him to stop being such a mama's boy? that's it, that's all USC gave him? What about the 300 thousand dollars, free apartment in Bel Air, free cars and rap contract that all the other USC recruits get? No wonder the Trojans missed out on the guy, they didn't give him the Platinum Recruit Trip, i better get out my check book and start filling it out to make sure the team doesnt lose out on any more 5 stars.

[Vito Corleone]

when that happens the best thing is to back away and let someone else have the kid.

so, this is now the official horn gloss on Ryan Perreliuox, Rhett Bomar, MacFarland and Darrell Scott? that UT backed off because of character issues? mmmkay, no revisionist history there.

has it been a year since "where there's smoke there's fire", and some shady quotes from an opportunist assistant high school coach was enough for UT fans to huff and puff about Darrell Scott being bought by CU? Cushy bank job in Boulder? and you Vito, never shy to cast aspersions and slander about an OU player with no evidence whatsoever (the infamous AD crack ring the most notable)....now it's CSI: Austin such that without "evidence" no accusations of Holy Texas can be admitted in the court of public opinion...but Colorado was fair game last year?

nice 180 hornfans.

I think we pretty much established through a sooner writer in the NYT that Texas backed off, I filled in the rest when I compared him to guys with overbearing parents like Perrloser, Bomar, Scott, and even Mustang.

BTW it looks like the whole article is falling apart, did you notice that JM just came out and said that the party details were made up.

From the Chicago Sun Times


Jamarkus McFarland: Oklahoma recruit's English paper was a work of fiction, not fit to print in NYT
By
Kevin Allen
on December 28, 2008 7:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
For a guy who's never played a single down of college football, Oklahoma Sooner signee Jamarkus McFarland is sure making a lot of headlines.

A couple days ago, we praised an article by New York York Times freelancer Thayer Evans that detailed the recruiting process that McFarland and his mother endured. Rivals.com is reporting today that McFarland is denying pieces of the NYT article that were lifted from a paper he wrote for his English class.

From the NYT article:

But the best summation of his experience might have come from a paper he wrote for his English class comparing Oklahoma and Texas. The paper, "Red River Rivals Recruit," includes a description of a wild party hosted by Longhorns fans at an upscale hotel in Dallas after the Oklahoma-Texas game on Oct. 11.


"I will never forget the excitement amongst all participants," McFarland wrote. "Alcohol was all you can drink, money was not an option. Girls were acting wild by taking off their tops, and pulling down their pants. Girls were also romancing each other. Some guys loved every minute of the freakiness some girls demonstrated. I have never attended a party of this magnitude."


The rebuke comes from Rivals.com:

McFarland said he embellished a passage taken from the English paper detailing free alcohol and drugs and topless women at a party of Texas fans in Dallas.


"Some things we knew were kind of mixed up because (the reporter) got a paper of mine," McFarland said. "The paper I wrote for an English class - it was spiced up a little bit for class. But a majority of it was correct.


McFarland tells Rivals.com that he and his mother stand by the rest of the article and that the majority of the English paper was not embellished.

Still, I admit that my previous praise of Evans' work was a bit premature if the "best summation of his experience" is, in fact, fictionalized or "spiced up" as McFarland puts it.

I'd be interested to speak with Evans directly about this, but until that happens I can only speak for myself. As a journalist who has covered a broad range of topics, I would never quote pieces of an unpublished document without first confirming its veracity with the author. That's J-105 stuff for you fellow Missouri Tigers out there. While nothing in the article explicitly says so, the reader gets the impression that the English paper is something that McFarland shared with the reporter and was aware the reporter would be making public. That it wasn't (and he didn't) is irresponsible and shady. The English paper is presented as fact in the article. To not have verified it as the legitimate claim of a source is lazy journalism.

It's a shame Evans didn't do his due diligence on this piece. Without this glaring and inexcusable flaw, it's a great piece of journalism and a compelling story

[King Crimson]

McFarland tells Rivals.com that he and his mother stand by the rest of the article and that the majority of the English paper was not embellished.

some great rebuttal there, Vito. did you hope the rest of us wouldn't read that? Darrell Scott? am i going to have to search for you posting last year: "where there's smoke there's fire"?

it doesn't even matter with you. citing Ketchum is hardly a "source"...a biased player in the D Scott thing, and career writer for UT fan sites.

[Vito Corleone]

McFarland tells Rivals.com that he and his mother stand by the rest of the article and that the majority of the English paper was not embellished.

some great rebuttal there, Vito. did you hope the rest of us wouldn't read that? Darrell Scott? am i going to have to search for you posting last year: "where there's smoke there's fire"?

it doesn't even matter with you. citing Ketchum is hardly a "source"...a biased player in the D Scott thing, and career writer for UT fan sites.

You can say what you want about Ketch, most is probably true, but that was a direct quote from McFarland big difference between a direct quote and quoting a kids English paper.

I still think Scott's mom was a big reason for much of the BS, I also fault Ketch for his over the top coverage but his mom stepped in and made that situation incredibly horrible. After reading some of his quotes this year he has a lot of growing up to do.

As far as the rest of the article goes, we shall see, the local papers are now getting into this and I already commented on how I feel if it actually did happen or not. The JM's mom cited a thread on the Orangeblood free board as a reason why she would not allow Texas coaches to do an in-home visit. Give me a break, Texas has been working with this kid for 2 years now building a relationship with him, she has had Mack Brown's personal cell phone number.

Yea I call BS to the whole article, or Texas is really really bad at offering incentives to recruits.

[SunCoastSooner]

McFarland tells Rivals.com that he and his mother stand by the rest of the article and that the majority of the English paper was not embellished.

some great rebuttal there, Vito. did you hope the rest of us wouldn't read that? Darrell Scott? am i going to have to search for you posting last year: "where there's smoke there's fire"?

it doesn't even matter with you. citing Ketchum is hardly a "source"...a biased player in the D Scott thing, and career writer for UT fan sites.

You can say what you want about Ketch, most is probably true, but that was a direct quote from McFarland big difference between a direct quote and quoting a kids English paper.

I still think Scott's mom was a big reason for much of the BS, I also fault Ketch for his over the top coverage but his mom stepped in and made that situation incredibly horrible. After reading some of his quotes this year he has a lot of growing up to do.

As far as the rest of the article goes, we shall see, the local papers are now getting into this and I already commented on how I feel if it actually did happen or not. The JM's mom cited a thread on the Orangeblood free board as a reason why she would not allow Texas coaches to do an in-home visit. Give me a break, Texas has been working with this kid for 2 years now building a relationship with him, she has had Mack Brown's personal cell phone number.

Yea I call BS to the whole article, or Texas is really really bad at offering incentives to recruits.

Yeah Texas is the model of citizenship for a team... what are you two years removed now from a stretch where there were 23 arrests and about twice as many charges pressed against members of the Texass football program... that sound you hear is the football world laughing at your holier than thou attitude and double speak.

[Harvdog]

McFarland tells Rivals.com that he and his mother stand by the rest of the article and that the majority of the English paper was not embellished.

some great rebuttal there, Vito. did you hope the rest of us wouldn't read that? Darrell Scott? am i going to have to search for you posting last year: "where there's smoke there's fire"?

it doesn't even matter with you. citing Ketchum is hardly a "source"...a biased player in the D Scott thing, and career writer for UT fan sites.

You can say what you want about Ketch, most is probably true, but that was a direct quote from McFarland big difference between a direct quote and quoting a kids English paper.

I still think Scott's mom was a big reason for much of the BS, I also fault Ketch for his over the top coverage but his mom stepped in and made that situation incredibly horrible. After reading some of his quotes this year he has a lot of growing up to do.

As far as the rest of the article goes, we shall see, the local papers are now getting into this and I already commented on how I feel if it actually did happen or not. The JM's mom cited a thread on the Orangeblood free board as a reason why she would not allow Texas coaches to do an in-home visit. Give me a break, Texas has been working with this kid for 2 years now building a relationship with him, she has had Mack Brown's personal cell phone number.

Yea I call BS to the whole article, or Texas is really really bad at offering incentives to recruits.

Yeah Texas is the model of citizenship for a team... what are you two years removed now from a stretch where there were 23 arrests and about twice as many charges pressed against members of the Texass football program... that sound you hear is the football world laughing at your holier than thou attitude and double speak.

Dude.....seriously......do not throw rocks. You may end up breaking all the windows in your house.

Here is the other side of the story:

Orangebloods did an extensive story with quotes from McFarlands coach, his uncle and three sources that were at the "party" with him in Dallas. Needless to say, the NY Times story has been blown to shreds. It is on the free board I believe, but I will post a couple quotes here.



In reply to:
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"I really believe that Jamarkus had his heart set on playing at Texas," Tony McFarland, Jamarkus' uncle, who lives in Houston told Orangebloods.com. "And he even said that. He wanted to go to Texas, and somehow, or someway his mind got changed and he wasn't going to go against his mother. His mother wanted him to go to Oklahoma and something happened with her and Texas."



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In reply to:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"At first she was headstrong on Texas," Tony McFarland said. "For some reason, and I don't know why, she turned against Texas. When I asked, the thing was because the recruiter wouldn't let her talk to Mack Brown."

Sources close to McFarland's recruitment said Adams had Mack Brown's cell phone number and used it regularly this year and only recently stated she couldn't get through to Brown.

Adams did not return phone calls to comment for this story.



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In reply to:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

But Lufkin coach John Outlaw told Orangebloods.com Texas appeared to handle itself professionally throughout McFarland's recruitment.

"Texas started recruiting JaMarkus when he was a 10th grader and conducted itself absolutely in a professional manner through the whole process, in my opinion," Outlaw said. "They didn't do anything wrong. They did everything the way you would want it done from what I saw. And I just want it clear that never in 30 years of coaching have I encouraged a kid to go anywhere other than where he wanted to go. That's all I'm going to say about it."



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




In reply to:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The incident where they wrote the email to Jamarkus about leaving him alone for the time being, we talked before they did that," Tony McFarland said. "(Will Muschamp) let me know what they were going to do. I told him I thought that was best because of the way she was going off on Texas.

"But he did say he wanted Jamarkus to have a scholarship, he was still welcome at Texas, Texas still wanted him but they were going to back off because they didn't want to break up the family."


McFarland is the nation's second-ranked defensive tackle prospect.
A highly-placed source in Lufkin that talked to McFarland shortly after the email was sent by Texas indicated that McFarland, like his uncle, approved of Texas taking a step back.

"Jamarkus said he was really relieved and he thought it was a really classy thing that Texas did that," the Lufkin source said.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




In reply to:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sources, who agreed to talk on condition of anonymity, said McFarland spent most of the night with Texas fans at the Dyer Street Bar near the Sheraton Hotel in Dallas, where McFarland was staying.

"There were no girls there taking off their clothes like it was alleged. I also didn't see any drugs. This was just a regular bar," said one source with McFarland that night.

"The whole night he was there and he just stood against the wall and watched everyone. One of his friends was dancing with some girls, but he stayed really calm and didn't do anything the entire night."

A second source with McFarland that night said, "We were at the Dyer Street Bar and that's where we saw him for most of the night. I was pretty pissed off when I read the article because there wasn't any drug use and, as nice as it would have been to see girls all over each other, there wasn't any of that either."

A third source with McFarland that night said, "I was with him at various times throughout the night and there were not any drugs or women that took their clothes off. We were all in a couple of bars, but there really never was a party. There was just a lot of people drinking and having a good time. I was shocked to read what was reported."

When asked if there was any chance that McFarland could have left the bar and gone to a wild party before he eventually checked back into his room at the Sheraton Hotel, the third source said, "No, none of that happened. After we left the bar, he was back in the hotel room sleeping when I saw him again. That wasn't long after we left the bar and returned back to the hotel that we were all staying at."



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




In reply to:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tony McFarland simply hopes Jamarkus McFarland is following his heart.

"What I told Marcus was, 'At some point and time, you have to make a decision for you and do what's best for Marcus.' What he came out saying was basically, 'I'm not going to go against mom and I'm going to go to Oklahoma.'

"The thing that I want to convey is that I believe that Marcus really wanted to go to Texas. I believe he had a change of heart due to his mom and the recruiting process. That's the way things happen. That's the way things go. I'm not here to say anything bad about her, Texas or Oklahoma. Both programs are great programs and I think they handled Jamarkus the way that they saw fit.

"Jamarkus still loves Texas. I think if it was totally up to him, he would be at Texas. But it came down to a decision of what his mom liked, and that's which way he went. At first, Jamarkus loved Texas. Due to his mom, he had a change of heart. He didn't want to go against his mother and that's basically the way the story went."



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[King Crimson]

that's some awesome stuff Harv. not even a citation or source (as usual), except an uncle and a "third source"....outside Orangebloods (yet again)...when YOU are calling for evidence in earlier posts. some heavy Woodward and Bernstein type shit.

again did you have a lot of evidence when you posted about Darrell Scott last year?

you guys are hilarious.

[Harvdog]

that's some awesome stuff Harv. not even a citation or source, except an uncle and a "third source"....outside Orangebloods (again)...when YOU are calling for evidence in earlier posts. some heavy Woodward and Berstein type shit.

again did you have a lot of evidence when you posted about Darrell Scott last year?

and who was the sourse for all the drugs, alcohol, and naked chicks? He already said that he spiced up the paper. Since Evans did not quote anyone other than his momma and him I thought it would be nice to hear from his uncles and HS coach. Why were they not in the times article? I can name that tune in one note....because they would have contradicted everything he wrote about Texas. Dude is a homer and a liar plain and simple.

Generally when you write an article, journalistic integraity tells you to tell both sides of the story. Hard for me to believe that the NYT's would not check facts before they published this bullshit. Momma is full of shit and you know it. I got this from another site and it makes sense:

In the article, McFarland's mom is quoted as saying that she called Mac McWhorter, the point person in Jamarkus' recruitment, and asked to speak to head coach, Mack Brown, b/c she was concerned about who her son should speak with if he ever had a race related issue. Then, she claims McWhorter refused to let her speak to Coach Brown, instead telling her she had to speak to him and only him. This doesn't make sense Kevin! Why? B/c Mack Brown has been personally recruiting Jamarkus since he was in 10th grade. Kashemeyia Adams, Jamarkus' mother, has been in direct contact with Mack for over 2 years and had his cell phone, work phone and home phone. In fact, every recruit who has been offered a scholarship in writing is provided with Mack's contact info in their offer letter, in case they ever have questions or want to talk. So, now we're to believe that despite direct contact with Mack Brown for over 2 years, Adams didn't have his contact info AND that the point person in McFarland's recruitment thumbed his nose at their #1 target's mother?

Adams also claims that Texas dropped the ball during the summer by not writing J-Mac as much as Oklahoma. Yet, in an article written by Rivals in August, McFarland talked about how Texas, OU and LSU were writing and e-mailing him regularly, but none called very much. Adams also articulates in Evans’ article how offended she was by Texas’ lack of contact. Maybe I'm just out of the loop, but do kids and parents pick schools based on the amount of mail they get these days or how much "love" they're shown? When I was a senior in HS in 1994-95, every D1-A athlete I knew picked their school based on the coach, the system that was run, the depth chart, the academics, and the alumni network. But, despite McFarland talking about the importance of academics, proximity to home, relationship w/ the coaches, and the system used, now it all boils down to how many letters he received?

Also troubling is the fact that Evans made no attempt to contact McFarland’s HS coach or any of the coaches at Texas, LSU or USC for comments or to verify McFarland and Adams’ accounts. I wasn’t a journalism major, but I’ve long been under the assumption that a “good” journalist attempts to verify and expand upon claims made by sources…..especially if the claims are potentially damaging to other parties. If Evans had attempted to contact any of the aforementioned, he'd have learned that the reason Texas began recruiting through Coach Outlaw, the Lufkin HC, is b/c Adams refused to allow Texas to come to her house under any circumstances (the same goes for LSU). She also stopped answering and returning calls from Texas in November, after they notified her via letter that they had been advised to document the improprieties that were on going in McFarland's recruitment. At the same time, the NCAA was alerted by Texas via letter that Adams had inquired about what benefits or perks were available to her and her son should he choose Texas. Unless the NCAA is investigating the claims, they can verify the receipt of the letter in mid-November. How damaging would that be to Adams’ claims of inducements made by a rogue Texas fan?

Unfortunately, Evans doesn’t attempt to verify any of the claims in his article. Instead, he chooses to cast Texas in a bad light by ignoring the context of Texas’ actions and refusing to verify or corroborate Adams & McFarland’s claims. I repeat, HE CHOSE TO CAST TEXAS IN A BAD LIGHT BY REFUSING TO VERIFY OR CORROBORATE ADAMS & MCFARLAND’S CLAIMS! You don’t write for the New York Times and Houston Chronicle without knowing the importance of fact finding and checking. He intentionally ignored that journalistic obligation. Any claim to the contrary is foolhardy.

So, now we have a mother who refuses to host any school not named OU in her house, who doesn’t return phone calls or e-mails, and who has inquired about “perks”. It makes a little more sense that Mack (a) began initiating all contact with McFarland through his HS HC, and (b) sent Adams an e-mail saying that he feared their continued recruitment of McFarland was creating a strain on their relationship, doesn’t it? Of course, as only Hollywood could script it, Adams is quoted as being offended that Mack sent her an e-mail saying that Texas was going to back off McFarland’s recruitment, and would only visit HER HOUSE if invited.

Most implausible of all is Adam's contention that Mack Brown asked her whose house she liked more amongst the head coaches recruiting her son, as if to imply that he is a braggart. This is the same coach that Joe Paterno - Mr. Do Things The Right Way - has said on numerous occasions is one of the few coaches in D1-A that embodies everything he's spent his career trying to uphold. He's also the same coach that doesn't allow cussing by coaches, never hesitates to suspend or sit down a kid who's getting too big for his britches, and who's never had a single NCAA violation in his 2+ decades as a head coach…..something Bob Stoops can’t claim. If you've met Mack Brown, believing that he'd ask a question like that is as plausible as believing that McDonalds promotes healthy living.

Seriously, answer all those questions and tell me that this is not bullshit.

You guys can have him. If he is that beaten by his momma that he cannot make his own decision, then he needs to grow up and maybe he will in Norman. I wish him well. I just wish he would have handled himself in a more mature manner.

[King Crimson]

my name is not Kevin, you horns need to get over the cut and paste from your own boards thing. whether it's the BCS (which you did out the wazoo) or McFarland.

have a take and don't suck.

[Harvdog]

Right, as opposed to a self serving rant about how we are a team with major arrests and bitter abhout losing a recruit to the bible reading, no drinking, family first Sooners. Right.

Can you even answer these questions? No. You cannot and that's why you respond with utter crap.

[King Crimson]

Right, as opposed to a self serving rant about how we are a team with major arrests and bitter abhout losing a recruit to the bible reading, no drinking, family first Sooners. Right.

Can you even answer these questions? No. You cannot and that's why you respond with utter crap.

i don't see any questions....? you are posting stuff that is cut and paste from the horn rivals boards and calling it the truth about the situation...you've been doing it about the BCS, the loss to Tech.....talk about utter crap.

[SunCoastSooner]

Right, as opposed to a self serving rant about how we are a team with major arrests and bitter abhout losing a recruit to the bible reading, no drinking, family first Sooners. Right.

Can you even answer these questions? No. You cannot and that's why you respond with utter crap.

i don't see any questions....? you are posting stuff that is cut and paste from the horn rivals boards and calling it the truth about the situation...you've been doing it about the BCS, the loss to Tech.....talk about utter crap.

Exactly... Vito acts as though nobody surfs the internet and none of the Sooners on the board have ever read Orangebloods. In the last few weeks I've rarely read a single snippet that appeared under Vito's name that wasn't a C&P job from the Texas Rivals site.

Have a take don't suck.

[Harvdog]

I guess the article from yahoo.rivals was a cut an paste job. You know, the report where the guy admitted he fabricated events to spice up a paper that was quoted by the NYT as a factual detail of the ebvents when he was at the RRS as a guest of OU.

Or the part where Texas has been recruiting the kid since he was in the 10th grade and his mother has Mack's personnal cell phone and e-mail and direct office number...yet she "conveniently" misplaced it when she needed to embellish her story. Funny, why was that not brought up in all the updates? If she didn't have his information, then why was it down to Texas and OU?

[SunCoastSooner]

I guess the article from yahoo.rivals was a cut an paste job. You know, the report where the guy admitted he fabricated events to spice up a paper that was quoted by the NYT as a factual detail of the ebvents when he was at the RRS as a guest of OU.

Or the part where Texas has been recruiting the kid since he was in the 10th grade and his mother has Mack's personnal cell phone and e-mail and direct office number...yet she "conveniently" misplaced it when she needed to embellish her story. Funny, why was that not brought up in all the updates? If she didn't have his information, then why was it down to Texas and OU?

He wasn't a guest of OU at the Cotton Bowl... His family paid their own way to the game. He wasn't a guest of either team. He was free to attend whatever social events or extracurricular activities he so chose.

They said spiced up not fabricated.

Orangebloods cites a coach who is a UT grad and an uncle who lives as close to me, residing in Houston, as he does his nephew. I'm sure his uncle has as much insight on the recruiting process as his mother and grandmother who actually live with him.

Continue with your damage control though. All I see are sour grapes.

[Harvdog]

Wow. Now I see someone in complete denial of the facts. His coach is a UT grad yet it has been over 10 years since we signed someone from Lufkin. Reggie McNeal, Javorskie Lane (his half brother went to Texas but is is from Diboll), Dez Bryant.....all went elsewhere. That argument holds no water. His uncles were his male role models since he did not have a father in his life....but I am sure you knew that.

Sour grapes? Not at all. I just hate that we have to answer to shotty reporting and made up accusations that have no merit. I hate that his mother is such a control freak and glory hound that she needs to create all this drama to make herself feel good. She should step back and let him make his own decision on what he wants.

Spiced up is not changing? Ok, so if you have a recipe and you follow it but the food tastes bland you realize that you need to spice it up to make it better. JaMarcus may have gone to a party and there may have been fans of Texas present but in no makes it the orgy he "spiced" it up to be. Also, OU was the home team for the RRS so Texas could have no contact with him.

[SunCoastSooner]

Wow. Now I see someone in complete denial of the facts. His coach is a UT grad yet it has been over 10 years since we signed someone from Lufkin. Reggie McNeal, Javorskie Lane (his half brother went to Texas but is is from Diboll), Dez Bryant.....all went elsewhere. That argument holds no water. His uncles were his male role models since he did not have a father in his life....but I am sure you knew that.

Role Models who live six hours away and he saw only once or twice a year... that's rich. The only one quoted in the rebuttal is the uncle in Houston... shockingggggg.

Spiced up is not changing? Ok, so if you have a recipe and you follow it but the food tastes bland you realize that you need to spice it up to make it better. JaMarcus may have gone to a party and there may have been fans of Texas present but in no makes it the orgy he "spiced" it up to be. Also, OU was the home team for the RRS so Texas could have no contact with him.

No where does it state it was an official of Texas, not in his paper, not in the NYT article. Your damage control is failing.

[Harvdog]

Wow. Now I see someone in complete denial of the facts. His coach is a UT grad yet it has been over 10 years since we signed someone from Lufkin. Reggie McNeal, Javorskie Lane (his half brother went to Texas but is is from Diboll), Dez Bryant.....all went elsewhere. That argument holds no water. His uncles were his male role models since he did not have a father in his life....but I am sure you knew that.

Role Models who live six hours away and he saw only once or twice a year... that's rich. The only one quoted in the rebuttal is the uncle in Houston... shockingggggg.

Spiced up is not changing? Ok, so if you have a recipe and you follow it but the food tastes bland you realize that you need to spice it up to make it better. JaMarcus may have gone to a party and there may have been fans of Texas present but in no makes it the orgy he "spiced" it up to be. Also, OU was the home team for the RRS so Texas could have no contact with him.

No where does it state it was an official of Texas, not in his paper, not in the NYT article. Your damage control is failing.

First off, Lufkin is about 100 miles from Houston. If you walk, it may take 6 hours but it is less than 2 by car. Secondly, in the article, it alludes to the fact that the party was run by the University of Texas. That is an all out lie. Nowhere in the article did he have quotes from anyone other than JaMarcus and his mama, thus making the story one sided. Even you with your Okie education should be able to see that.

[Vito Corleone]

Right, as opposed to a self serving rant about how we are a team with major arrests and bitter abhout losing a recruit to the bible reading, no drinking, family first Sooners. Right.

Can you even answer these questions? No. You cannot and that's why you respond with utter crap.

i don't see any questions....? you are posting stuff that is cut and paste from the horn rivals boards and calling it the truth about the situation...you've been doing it about the BCS, the loss to Tech.....talk about utter crap.

Exactly... Vito acts as though nobody surfs the internet and none of the Sooners on the board have ever read Orangebloods. In the last few weeks I've rarely read a single snippet that appeared under Vito's name that wasn't a C&P job from the Texas Rivals site.

Have a take don't suck.

No I just understand how you work. If I didn't quote the source of my information then I must have made it up. Who made the comment ripping Harv because he didn't provide a link?

I love how we have presented facts and you guys have tried hard to divert attention to something else. You want to talk about all these arrests that happened 2 or 3 years ago, but how many of those guys stayed on the team? Answer: None. Do I need to point out that you still have two criminals on your roster.

If you don't like what I say or what I post then STFU and worry about your own shitty takes.

[Harvdog]

It seems that the editor realized this guy was full of shit. Sort of a back handed apology but vindication none the less.

[Vito Corleone]

The NYT is full of shit for taking so long to come clean. it was obvious from the beginning the article was crap, the only people who took it serious was sooner fans.

Now momma McFarland is claiming her son is receiving racial slurs from Texas fans.

Lots of kids don't go to Texas and I have yet to hear them claiming Texas fans (most liberal school in Texas) are racially attacking them. And we all know how many Texas fans live in Lufkin, a known Aggsy hot spot for as long as I can remember.

This is coming across as a racist woman who is trying to make her son's recruiting about her.

[indyfrisco]

This is coming across as a racist woman who is trying to make her son's recruiting about her.

Dude, she's black. She can't be a racist. Dats only fo us white folk.

[SunCoastSooner]

The NYT is full of shit for taking so long to come clean. it was obvious from the beginning the article was crap, the only people who took it serious was sooner fans.

Now momma McFarland is claiming her son is receiving racial slurs from Texas fans.

Lots of kids don't go to Texas and I have yet to hear them claiming Texas fans (most liberal school in Texas) are racially attacking them. And we all know how many Texas fans live in Lufkin, a known Aggsy hot spot for as long as I can remember.

This is coming across as a racist woman who is trying to make her son's recruiting about her.

Yeah I never seen a racist in Texas... Kerrville doesn't have a sign that reads "Don't let the sun set on you black ass" right off the interstate.

Not like the only other states with more active KKK groups and members of the organization than Texas are only Tennessee and Louisiana or anything; with two of the groups using their headquarters in Texas.

Not as though only California has more card carrying registered members of Neo-Nazi movements than Texas.

I mean who would think that the last school currently in the Big 12 to integrate either academically or athletically while having been beat out by the all the schools north of the Red river in the conference by almost a full generation on the front, would have any racist fans...

[Moby Dick]

Ketchum

[Vito Corleone]

The NYT is full of shit for taking so long to come clean. it was obvious from the beginning the article was crap, the only people who took it serious was sooner fans.

Now momma McFarland is claiming her son is receiving racial slurs from Texas fans.

Lots of kids don't go to Texas and I have yet to hear them claiming Texas fans (most liberal school in Texas) are racially attacking them. And we all know how many Texas fans live in Lufkin, a known Aggsy hot spot for as long as I can remember.

This is coming across as a racist woman who is trying to make her son's recruiting about her.

Yeah I never seen a racist in Texas... Kerrville doesn't have a sign that reads "Don't let the sun set on you black ass" right off the interstate.

Not like the only other states with more active KKK groups and members of the organization than Texas are only Tennessee and Louisiana or anything; with two of the groups using their headquarters in Texas.

Not as though only California has more card carrying registered members of Neo-Nazi movements than Texas.

I mean who would think that the last school currently in the Big 12 to integrate either academically or athletically while having been beat out by the all the schools north of the Red river in the conference by almost a full generation on the front, would have any racist fans...

Your full of shit, show me a link proving that.

[King Crimson]

i love the new "evidence", CSI vito. the guy who makes his board name with "his sources" and the Adrian Peterson crack ring.

i'm not going to search for it, but the whole "UT=innocence and virtue always everytime" is too much homerism. UT had a player booted last fall for his facebook comments related to race. walk right into that one vito. gotta have that "evidence" when UT is accused, but throw out wild accusations and "where there's smoke there's fire" a year ago with Darrell Scott?

i'm the guy who questioned Harv not posting a source....why? because he posted a response to one of my posts referring to me as "Kevin". it was a cut and paste from somewhere else. and a lot of the "well-researched info" on the BCS, Big XII tie breaker stuff WAS cut and paste.

there's a lot of racism in Oklahoma and Texas. less with younger people i think, but AB is out of his mind with homerism with this.

edit: and no, i'm not calling Vito a racist, just a homer who thinks "facts" come from Greg Ketchum (a guy who makes a living writing for UT fan sites) and is unable to make the distinction between "what he agrees with" and "the truth".

[SunCoastSooner]

The NYT is full of shit for taking so long to come clean. it was obvious from the beginning the article was crap, the only people who took it serious was sooner fans.

Now momma McFarland is claiming her son is receiving racial slurs from Texas fans.

Lots of kids don't go to Texas and I have yet to hear them claiming Texas fans (most liberal school in Texas) are racially attacking them. And we all know how many Texas fans live in Lufkin, a known Aggsy hot spot for as long as I can remember.

This is coming across as a racist woman who is trying to make her son's recruiting about her.

Yeah I never seen a racist in Texas... Kerrville doesn't have a sign that reads "Don't let the sun set on you black ass" right off the interstate.

Not like the only other states with more active KKK groups and members of the organization than Texas are only Tennessee and Louisiana or anything; with two of the groups using their headquarters in Texas.

Not as though only California has more card carrying registered members of Neo-Nazi movements than Texas.

I mean who would think that the last school currently in the Big 12 to integrate either academically or athletically while having been beat out by the all the schools north of the Red river in the conference by almost a full generation on the front, would have any racist fans...

Your full of shit, show me a link proving that.

I'm not going to post a bunch of hate spewed racist backassward Texans links to show you but suffice it to say...

Camelia Knights of the KKK is based out of Clevland Texas.

The Bayou Knights of the KKK boast more chapters in Texas than any other state they are associated in (including their 5th largest in Lufkin, Texas).

American White Knights of the KKK, National Aryan Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Southern White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, and United Northern and Southern Knights of the Ku Klux Klan all have multiple and in some cases extensive networks throughout the state of Texas.

The first school in the current Big 12 to integrate both academically and athletically was Iowa State in the 1930s, the last north of the Red River was Oklahoma State in 1958. The earliest any of the Big 12 schools south of the Rojo River had fully integrated both academically and athletically was 1968... The University of Texas was the last of any of the current Big 12 schools in 1970!!!

[Vito Corleone]

I seel lots of words but no proof, admit your both full of shit and move on.

BTW I'm not sure when Texas fully integrated but we had African American players on our 69 championship team, so kiss my ass.

[SunCoastSooner]

BTW I'm not sure when Texas fully integrated but we had African American players on our 69 championship team, so kiss my ass.

BULLSHIT!!! Texas first black football player on the varsity team was Julius Whittier in 1970!!! Fucking myopic, burnt orange shade wearing, moron.

http://richardpennington.com/index.php? ... 8&Itemid=1

http://www.statesman.com/sports/content ... lrace.html

Go explore that Adrian Peterson crack ring some more and stop sticking your foot in you proverbial internet mouth.

[Van]

Okay, somebody locate and post a team picture of the '69 Horns...

I'd normally suggest someone simply post the team roster but in '69 there weren't a whole lot of JaQuesadilla Hendersons and Shakalackazooloo Jeffersons roaming the gridirons, making it easy to tell without a pic...

[Vito Corleone]

BTW I'm not sure when Texas fully integrated but we had African American players on our 69 championship team, so kiss my ass.

BULLSHIT!!! Texas first black football player on the varsity team was Julius Whittier in 1970!!! Fucking myopic, burnt orange shade wearing, moron.

http://richardpennington.com/index.php? ... 8&Itemid=1

http://www.statesman.com/sports/content ... lrace.html

Go explore that Adrian Peterson crack ring some more and stop sticking your foot in you proverbial internet mouth.

GAME, SET MATCH you stupid moron. Julius Whittier was a member of the 69 team
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/23/sport ... ner/rssnyt

Changing the Face of Texas Football

By JOE DRAPE
Published: December 23, 2005

AUSTIN, Tex., Dec. 16 - It was Dec. 6, 1969, and Julius Whittier was stretched before a television in the lobby of the jocks' dorm, Jester Hall, when the euphoria of a heart-stopping victory lifted him, and most University of Texas students, outside onto Guadalupe Street. Texas had just beaten Arkansas, 15-14, in Fayetteville in what had been billed as the Game of the Century.

Under Coach Darrell Royal, the 1969 Texas Longhorns team that won the national championship was the last all-white team to do so.

President Richard M. Nixon appeared in the locker room to declare the undefeated Longhorns as national champions. Whittier was a member of the Texas football team, but as a freshman he was not eligible to play varsity at the time.

He was also the only black football player at Texas. As Whittier pinballed amid the revelers on the main drag here, he had an epiphany, one about the unifying elements within football that he would lean on for years.

"I had never experienced the exhilaration and joy of celebration where I was participating with what looked like millions of other kids my age," Whittier recalled recently at his law office in Dallas. "It did not matter that they were almost all white."

Neither Whittier nor anyone else knew that the time-capsule moment they were celebrating would become an inglorious milestone: the 1969 Longhorns were the last all-white team to win a national college football championship.

When Texas was co-national champion with Nebraska the next year, Whittier was a backup offensive lineman and the Longhorns' first black letterman. He acknowledged that he had endured indignities, but said his life experiences were expanded as much as those of his white teammates.

By playing at Texas, Whittier received advice from former President Lyndon B. Johnson over lunch at his ranch, and learned to love the music of Willie Nelson.

"I was a jock, plain and simple," he said. "I didn't care about civil rights or making a mark. I just wanted to play big-time football."

Whittier, however, is intensely interested in the Jan. 4 Rose Bowl, the national title matchup between defending champion Southern California and Texas. He is proud that about half of the players on the Longhorns' roster are black, including the star quarterback Vince Young.

"It completes the circle from a team that had no blacks to a truly diverse one, one with a black athlete in the ultimate leadership position - quarterback - of the university's most prized institution," Whittier said.

William Henry Lewis was the first black player in major college football at Amherst from 1889 to 1891, then at Harvard from 1892 to 1893, when he was a law student. At the time, both teams played schedules of national prominence, according to the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind. Bill Willis, a tackle for the 1942 Ohio State Buckeyes, was the first black player on a national championship team.

In the South, however, all-white teams were the norm into the late 1960's as the region was slow to embrace civil rights, especially in something as cherished as college football. Jerry LeVias might have integrated the Southwest Conference in 1966 at Southern Methodist University, but on that December day in 1969 with Nixon in the stands, the top-ranked Longhorns were facing another all-white team in No. 2 Arkansas, a Southwest Conference rival.

"How's that song go?" said Darrell Royal, the Longhorns coach who won three national titles from 1957 to 1976. " 'Things they are a-changing. But they weren't changing that quickly around here at the time."

When Royal arrived here, he was 32 and fresh from head-coaching stints at the University of Washington and with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. He had coached black players at both stops.

The University of Texas admitted black students in 1956, but did not lift its ban on their playing varsity sports until 1963. Even then, Royal acknowledged, there was tacit pressure from university regents for him not to rush to integrate the football team.

In 1967, Royal and his staff recruited a local star named Don Baylor, who was also a gifted baseball and basketball player. He grew up in west Austin, knowing that downtown there were separate water fountains for blacks and whites, had integrated his junior high school, and dreamed of breaking the color barrier at Texas.

Baylor wanted to play all three sports, something universities like Stanford, Oklahoma and Texas Western would allow. Royal wanted him to play only football. Baylor would not say that Royal and Texas made a halfhearted attempt to lure him, but he said they were relieved when the Baltimore Orioles drafted him.

"The Southwest Conference and U.T. was not ready to break the color barrier," said Baylor, who had a distinguished 19-year major league career and later managed the Colorado Rockies and the Chicago Cubs. "The Orioles took the pressure off Texas."

In the fall of 1968, Royal believed he had found the right young man to integrate his team in Julius Whittier. The previous season, a black student named E. A. Curry walked on and made the freshman team, but he struggled academically and quit. Royal's first black scholarship player in 1968, Leon O'Neal, stayed for only one year.

Billy Dale, who scored the winner against Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1, 1970, said he lost his friends by rooming with Julius Whittier.

Royal believed Whittier had the will and the preparation to remain for four years. Whittier had been a star at an integrated high school in San Antonio. His father, Oncy, was a doctor. His mother, Loraine, was a schoolteacher and community activist who had led protests against a local grocery chain that prohibited black women from becoming cashiers.

Whittier said his uncle Edward Sprott was head of the N.A.A.C.P. in Beaumont, Tex., and had not been intimidated when his house was bombed. His older brother, also named Oncy, had his head cracked open by police officers for his involvement in a guerrilla theater troupe that performed pointed skits about prejudice in the streets of San Antonio, Whittier said.

Royal described Whittier as "smart and tough and a heck of a football player."

He added, "I knew he could play for us and handle any difficulties off the field."

Whittier said he turned two personal flaws into powerful tools of perseverance. He was not only confident to the point of cockiness, but also had a gift for oratory that continues to serve him well as a trial lawyer.

"I had a mouth that I ran a lot and coherently," he said. "It sounded like I knew what I was saying, and that protected me."

Whittier also struggled with attention deficit disorder.

"It kept me so wrapped up in the events of each moment, class, workout, dinner, study hall, practice, game, new friend I made, new football play I learned, and each paper I had to turn in," he said. "I had no real time or hard-drive space in my brain to step back and worry over how potentially ominous it was to become a black member of the University of Texas football team and all of the horrifying things that, from a historical perspective, could happen to black people who dare to accept a role in opening up historically white institutions."

Whittier recognized slights by teammates. He was never invited out drinking or to parties with his teammates. And though racial slurs were never directed at him, Whittier heard them when his fellow Longhorns forgot he was in the room.

Before Whittier's sophomore season, Royal had trouble finding him a roommate. He called in some of his seniors, explained the situation. One of them, running back Billy Dale, volunteered.

The year before, Dale scored the game-winning touchdown against Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl to keep alive Texas' winning streak, which eventually reached 30 games. He was also among the most popular players on the team - until then.

"I lost all my friends," said Dale, now a manufacturer's representative in Austin. "I chose to live with Julius because I believed it would add that much more dimension to me as a person."

One night as the two readied for bed, Whittier engaged Dale in an argument about mortality.

"Billy, I'm never going to die," Whittier told Dale, "and you are."

The longer the exchange went the more Dale became frustrated.

"I crossed the room and put a finger in Julius's eye and said, 'It's people like you who give your race a bad name,' " Dale recalled.

"You think, I'm serious, Billy?" Whittier responded with a smile. "I'm just trying to make you think."

They never exchanged cross words again.

It was Whittier's engaging personality that made him one of Royal's favorites and got him on Johnson's guest list. Johnson was crazy about Texas football and occasionally asked Royal to take players to his ranch. It was Johnson who suggested that Whittier continue his studies at the university's new school of public affairs. He earned a master's degree there, before he became a lawyer.

Whittier's success on and off the field - he was a three-year letterman and a starter his junior and senior year - paid immediate dividends for Texas. Roosevelt Leaks came here in 1971 and Earl Campbell in 1974, and they became all-American running backs. Soon, one of the set pieces for prospective players was Johnson's landing by helicopter on the lawn of his presidential library on campus to tell them why they should play for Texas.

Thirty-six years after Whittier watched his white teammates defeat Arkansas, much has changed in the Texas football program. Jester Hall remains, though it is no longer strictly an athletic dorm. Royal, now 81, remains a campus fixture, though one who concedes he could have been more aggressive in integrating his team earlier.

And Dale remains active in the Longhorns letterman association.

"All those people I had lost as friends by rooming with Julius are friends again," he said. "We've all grown."

Whittier, too, remains in touch with Royal. He now has a far easier relationship with his former teammates than he had when he was a college student.

"When I see guys from my era, I feel a sense of comradeship," Whittier said. "I never was going to hold on to any of the bad stuff, and neither have they."

He will watch Vince Young and the No. 2 Longhorns try to upend the No. 1 Trojans from his couch at home in Dallas with the same anticipation and joy that he had as a pioneering Texas freshman. Whittier will root for another championship, another time-capsule moment, but one that will not be marred by a footnote about race. He is hoping his role in Texas football history is further diminished.

"You know that football is a religion in Texas," he said. "God and the university had the right people in the right places to handle my situation. It turned out to be a small event in the long and luminous life of a great and valuable institution."