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As the investigation into Ole Miss has been concluded and the Rebels self-imposed a bowl ban for 2017, more and more people were intrigued as to who the player was that allegedly took anywhere from $13,000 to $15,600 from Ole Miss boosters in coordination with a member of the coaching staff’s knowledge, but went to play college football elsewhere.
More and more people were convinced that “Student-Athlete B” was Leo Lewis, a linebacker for Mississippi State, due to rumors and Ole Miss fans got #madonline in response, in some cases wishing for a bounty system to be set up to injure Lewis in the Egg Bowl.
Ole Miss fans have been clutching to hopes that they’d be able to take Mississippi State down with them, but it appears that this possibility may not be all that realistic anymore.
According to an AL.com report by Kevin Scarbinsky, the tape released by Ole Miss “isn’t a smoking gun”
Source: Ole Miss tape related to its NCAA case isn't a smoking gun. https://t.co/lGDRkLm2LI
— Kevin Scarbinsky (@KevinScarbinsky) March 1, 2017
If Leo Lewis’ mother never asked Ole Miss for money on the tape and no other schools, including Mississippi State, were mentioned in this recording, then that’ll weaken any chance of an investigation by the NCAA into Mississippi State for any potential wrongdoings.
Be sure to read the full report by Scarbinsky on AL.com right here. We’ll update as more news is released about this story.
Editorial note: An earlier version of this story stated that Ole Miss self imposed a bowl ban for 2016. That’s not entirely accurate. Ole Miss did not go bowling in 2016 due to the fact that they were not eligible due to their 7 losses and APR. This story has been updated to include the fact that Ole Miss will not go bowling in 2017 because they self imposed a bowl ban for the upcoming season.