Oregon Ducks coach Chip Kelly has commented on reports that the program paid Baron Flenory and Will Lyles for prohibited recruiting assistance. In a report by ESPN’s Joe Schad and Mark Schlabach, Kelly acknowledges paying Lyles, though he denies any wrongdoing:
Most programs purchase recruiting services. Our compliance office is aware of it. Will has a recruiting service that met NCAA rules and we used him in 2010.
Oregon athletics department spokesman Dave Williford confirmed to ESPN that Oregon did pay Lyles, as it had done in the past. However, this year the payment reportedly increased despite Lyles no longer being associated with Scout.com.
The $25,000 amount Oregon paid Lyles is higher than the going rate for recruiting services acceptable by the NCAA, though paying a lot of money doesn’t necessarily mean rules were broken. The issue is whether Lyles steered players towards Oregon rather than serving as a talent evaluator.
Read the ESPN report for many more details on Lyles and the complicated world of recruiting services.