On April 22, Alabama landed one of their biggest commitments of this off-season in former Louisville wide receiver [autotag]Tyler Harrell[/autotag]. The Crimson Tide landed Harrell after he had just entered the portal ten days prior on April 12, which raised the eyebrow of Louisville head coach Scott Satterfield.
Satterfield believes that tampering by Alabama occurred in order to land Harrell, however, he admits there is no real way to prove his theory. With Harrell committing ten days after entering the portal, it looks much less suspicious than had he committed the following day.
Satterfield does not believe this is the first time it has happened to one of his players, stating in an interview with 247Sports, “last year, we had a few guys that jumped into the portal and the next day they’re announcing where they’re going. You can look at that and know that something went on before they were in the portal.”
In college athletics, you are not allowed to communicate with a student-athlete enrolled at another NCAA school before they have entered the portal. But, as a student athlete it is not unreasonable to think that some may want some sort of certainty before entering the portal and entering the vast unknown.
It is difficult to see where the line can be drawn though, as Pittsburgh transfer receiver Jordan Addison was linked to USC with an NIL deal at the exact same time news broke that he was considering leaving Pittsburgh. The governing body of college athletics surely has their hands full as this is only the beginning.
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