Former LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson released a statement through LSU today saying he has never had a relationship with Willie Lyles, the scout that allegedly asked for pay-for-play scandal from Texas A&M.
“I have never had any type of relationship with Willie Lyles and he had no influence on my decision to attend LSU, or any other school for that matter,” Peterson said. “He had no involvement with my recruiting process and I resent the fact that my name has come up in these allegations. I chose LSU because it’s a great school with a great football program. I never received nor was I offered anything to go to LSU and anyone saying otherwise is being dishonest.”
Lyles reportedly told Texas A&M that the school would have to pay upward of $80,000 to sign Peterson in 2007, when he was one of the top prospects in the country.
Peterson is expected to be a top 5 pick in the NFL Draft on April 28.
Former LSU assistant coach Earl Lane, who recruited Peterson to Baton Rouge, told ESPN’s Joe Schad he didn’t have a relationship with Lyles during the recruitment process.
“There’s a lot of rumor and innuendo,” Lane told Schad. “But I believe in doing things the right way and on the up and up.”
Lyles was already in hot water about possible NCAA violations with Oregon and LSU.
Prior to the report, LSU officials held the position they merely paid Lyles for game tapes of junior college prospects. It would be an NCAA violation if were directly involved with a recruit.
Senior Associate Athletic Director Herb Vincent confirmed to The Daily Reveille on March 15 LSU paid Lyles
LSU never had a formal contract with Lyles’ business, Vincent said.
“Some of these reports say we’ve stopped using him or we’ve severed ties,” Vincent said. “The fact is, we bought a service from him. … We were provided with that service and paid for it.”
The report came at the same time Wednesday night when HBO Real Sports had a segment on former Auburn players being paid hundreds of dollars while in school, which is against NCAA rules.
The segment featured former Auburn defensive end Stanley McClover, who said a man affiliated with LSU approached him at an all-star camp during the recruitment process and paid him.
“Somebody came to me, I don’t even know this person and he was like, ‘we would love for you to come to LSU and he gave me a handshake and it had five hundred dollars in there. … that’s called a money handshake … I grabbed it and I’m like, ‘wow,’ hell I thought ten dollars was a lot of money back then,” McClover said. “Five hundred dollars for doing nothing but what I was blessed to do. I was happy.”
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