REPORT: Tennessee Made Payments To Darnell Washington
On Friday, the NCAA brought down its official ruling on Tennessee’s recruiting violations from the Jeremy Pruitt era. This included fines, probation, and the reduction of scholarships but most importantly, it did not include a postseason ban. On Saturday, more details from investigative work surfaced, and they do not look good from a Tennessee perspective.
According to Knox News and since reported by other outlets, former Georgia standout tight end Darnell Washington was one of the players to have received payments from Tennessee. This is extremely concerning not only that the media was able to find a specific name but also that it was a player who never even wore the orange and white, let alone the rival red and black.
Former Georgia Bulldogs TE Darnell Washington during his pro day on March 15
According to the article by Mike Wilson, Washington received cash in his high school parking lot during a visit from Brian Niedermeyer that was not even legal in it itself. The cash payment was reported at $750. Tennessee provided benefits of roughly $1,713 to Washington and his family, much of which came from plane flights, lodging, meals, and apparel. Even after all of this, Washington still chose to go to Athens, where he would win two national championships with the Dawgs. He is now entering his rookie year in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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