In case you haven't heard yet, there has been another huge development in the Cam Newton saga. Less than a week since Kenny Rogers went on a Dallas radio show and basically denied shopping Cam Newton around to the highest bidder, he went on the same radio station again today and spilled the beans.
Rogers said that he, Cecil Newton, and two MSU coaches met in a Starkville hotel on November 27, 2009. During the meeting Cecil Newton made it clear that it was going to take anywhere between $100,000 and $180,000 to land his son at Mississippi State. According to Rogers, one of the MSU coaches responded with, "No, no, no, I don't want to hear that". Furthermore, after the Egg Bowl, Cecil Newton questioned Rogers about whether or not a booster (reportedly Bill Bell) would be willing to pay up. Rogers also stated in today's interview that he and Cecil Newton talked shortly afters Cam's departure from Florida in 2008. He stated that Cecil Newton told him "It's not gonna be free this time."
Kenny Rogers went on to say that he knew nothing about Auburn's side of all this. He doesn't know if Auburn paid for Cam. He said he had "no idea" why Newton chose Auburn.
Mississippi State and Auburn have both declined comment today.
Take a moment to pick your jaw up off the floor because there is more after the jump...
So now the question MSU fans want to know. What does this mean for Mississippi State? Unfortunately, that question will be hard to answer right now. There are A LOT of NCAA rules and there is one in particular that I worry about in regards to Mississippi State.
Here is the timeline, so stick with me:
November 27th 2009 is when the alleged meeting took place between Cecil Newton, two MSU coaches and Kenny Rogers. Rogers stated that the MSU coaches immediately shot down an attempt by Cecil to get money for his son to play.
December 31st 2009 is when Cameron Newton signed with Auburn.
Sometime in January 2010 Mississippi State contacted the SEC office to report what happend in November (at least thats how I understand it).
I hope that MSU did not continue to try and recruit Cameron Newton after the meeting in November because that would be a violation of NCAA rules. The entire month of December is what I'm concerned about. It bothers me that MSU did not report the alleged meeting that took place in November until January. However, we simply don't know enough facts to be able to piece together all of what happened during that time period.
As far as Auburn's side goes, there still isn't any proof that money was exchanged to land Cameron Newton. But the thing that bothers me with them is this: If I was Auburn and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Newton family was innocent, I would stand on the highest mountain top and shout loud enough for the entire world to hear that the allegations are totally false and ridiculous. I would deny that any of it ever happened until I was blue in the face. I would definitely say more than "he is eligible to play". We know he is eligible to play, but if the Newton family is totally innocent, why not just say it? And why won't Cecil Newton answer the questions when he is asked about where the money came from for the renovations for his church? They certainly aren't doing themselves any favors.
I assure you that there will be more news breaking. I think the whole reason that Rogers spilled the beans today is because he knows the Feds are about to come knocking. Since the NCAA is very limited with what they can do in their investigations, the FBI's involvement will undoubtedly speed things up considerably. They will get answers.
Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story and please let us know what your thoughts are about what is turning out to be one of the biggest recruiting scandals in college football history.