DJ Pettway — one of four Alabama football players dismissed from the team last week in connection with a pair of on-campus robberies — has been given permission to leave the state of Alabama to attend school in Mississippi.  Yesterday a judge in granted Pettway’s request, but that request did not specify at which school Pettway intended to enroll.

Knowing the number of junior college in Mississippi, it’s likely a safe bet that the sophomore-to-be will take the juco route.  As we’ve noted on this site before, a player could hijack a jet, do a year at a junior college, and wind up re-recruited a year later as a changed man.  Junior college football is the baptismal font of collegiate athletics.  Go in with a criminal record, come out with all your sins “warshed away.”  (Yes, “O Brother Where Art Thou” is a staple at MrSEC.com World Headquarters.)

We have no problem with second chances, mind you, we’re just a bit cynical when it comes to the transformative powers of a few months in the juco ranks.

Pettway was charged with two counts of second-degree robbery on February 11th.  Brent Calloway, Tyler Hayes, and Eddie Williams were also arrested in connection to the crimes and all were eventually dismissed from Bama’s football team along with Pettway.

This afternoon came news that Nick Saban and/or the University of Alabama had dismissed four football players arrested earlier this month for their involvement in a pair of violent on-campus robberies.  That news has once again stirred the blood since this site — and in particular this writer — initially called for two of the four accused to be dismissed immediately after their arrests.  (Those two players had already confessed to police that they had committed the crimes.)

I have seen many responses in our comment boxes and in my email box today that echo the responses I saw then: “What’s wrong with getting all the facts straight?”

Well, in my opinion, when a player confesses to a violent crime there are no more facts to get straight.  End of story, there’s the door.

But in reality, the majority of people who’ve taken me to task for my opinion — some of whom claimed I was leading a witch hunt or a lynch mob — have simply been defending Saban and Alabama.  I know it.  You know it, too.

And that’s the led me to wonder something…

If Saban had immediately dismissed the two players who had confessed to police, would the same people who criticized my opinion have sent us messages claiming Saban had led a witch hunt?  Would they have said, “Where’s the due process, Nick?”  “Why the rush to judgement, Coach Saban?”

I’m going to guess that the answer is no.  In fact, I’ll bet that some of those who chastised me would have praised Saban for running a tight ship, for taking no bull, etc, etc.

This wasn’t about finding justice for the accused, it was about defending Saban and Bama.  Do you really believe any school’s fans would shout so loudly for patience and due process — a legal term that has no bearing in this situation — if a rival school’s players had admitted to knocking two students unconscious?

Again, I think we all know the answer to that one.

In the end, the two players I believe should have been given the boot immediately have been tossed from Alabama’s team.  The other two players have also been given the heave-ho.  When the names Eddie Williams, Tyler Hayes, DJ Pettway, and Brent Calloway are mentioned moving forward, there will be an “Ex” before the words “Alabama football players.”

Considering their crimes, Bama got it right.  Regardless of timing.

The playing careers of four University of Alabama football players arrested and charged with robbery and/or fraudulent use of a credit card earlier this month have ended in Tuscaloosa.  Nick Saban announced today that all four freshmen – Brent Calloway, Tyler Hayes, DJ Pettway, and Eddie Williams — are “no longer associated with the (Alabama) football team.

A statement from the University of Alabama said: “UA’s judicial review has been completed.  The four students involved in the robberies on campus are no longer enrolled in UA.”

Saban said:

“Based on all the information we’ve received and gone through and tried to determine the future of the four guys that got in trouble, those guys are no longer associated with the football program.  Their actions do not reflect the spirit and character that we want our organization to reflect.  It’s obviously very disappointing and unacceptable what happened…

I also think that I’ve been really proud of over the last five years that our team has done a very good job and shown personal responsibility and how they represent the university, what they’ve done in the community, in the classroom, off the field.  And they’re going to continue to do as much as we can in personal development, character development in our program with education to try to help guys have a chance to be more successful in life…

Some people learn by words, some people learn by consequences, some people can’t learn.”

It was only a matter of time before Saban and/or the University of Alabama dismissed at least the three players directly involved in the robberies.  We felt that Calloway might survive as he had only used a stolen credit card.

In the end, it is a privilege to represent one’s university as an athlete, not a right.  A violent criminal act should end that privilege posthaste.  Especially if one has already admitted to committing said act.

Here’s hoping the young men turn things around and make the most of any second chances that are afforded them in life.  But that second chance should not have come on the same campus where the two students they knocked unconscious continue to matriculate.

On a separate note, Saban also revealed today that receiver Danny Woodson Jr. has been suspended for a violation of team rules.

Update: With the suspension, Woodson, Jr. is not participating in the team’s offseason workout program and he’s not the only one.  Receiver Marvin Shinn has decided not to participate and will likely transfer, according to Nick Saban.  Both players redshirted in 2011 and were reserves in 2012.

Last Monday, four Alabama football players were arrested on charges varying from second-degree robbery to fraudulent use of a stolen credit card.  Today, two of those players had a joint preliminary hearing scheduled.

Eddie Williams is accused of robbing two University of Alabama students.  Both students were reportedly beaten to the point of unconsciousness.  Williams and teammate Brent Calloway are accused of using one of the assaulted student’s ID card to buy items from a vending machine inside a UA dorm.  The hearing for Williams and Calloway has been set for March 19th in Tuscaloosa.

There is no word yet on hearings for two other players — DJ Pettway and Tyler Hayes — accused of taking part in one robbery/beating and being present for the other.

Williams confessed to police that he committed both robberies.  Hayes admitted to taking part in the first and watching the second from a nearby vehicle, along with Pettway.

All four players were indefinitely suspended when the arrests came to light last Monday and on Friday, the three players accused in the beatings/robberies were banned from campus pending a University review.

We wrote last week that it was the position of MrSEC.com that the two players who had admitted to police their roles in the violent crimes should be dismissed from Alabama’s team.  It’s apparent now that Nick Saban does not intend to go down that road and will instead let the school dismiss the players after its review.

Many Crimson Tide fans have written us to say that coaches cannot dismiss players without due process, but that’s a ridiculous suggestion.  Certainly nothing of the sort stopped then-Auburn coach Gene Chizik from immediately dismissing four Auburn football players on the very day of their arrests for robbery in March of 2011.

But, we’re talking about sports fans and fans defend their schools, coaches, and players.  If Jeffrey Dahmer had been a four-star prospect on an SEC team there would have plenty of folks in that school’s fanbase ready to claim the poor chap was dealing with an eating disorder.

1. Time to make decisions and take actions at Mizzou. More here.

2. Kansas City Star on the timing: “last big step would be taken by the middle of next week.”

3. “Missouri is not long for the Big 12.”

4. Alabama freshman running back Brent Calloway arrested on marijuana possession.

5. What does Tennessee need to beat Alabama Saturday night? Perhaps a quick, easy score by the Tide.

6. Tennessee quarterback Matt Simms: “You can’t pick and choose who you play against.”

7. Dennis Dodd on Auburn/LSU:  ”The game is being played in daylight, which apparently has some folks riled.”

8. Prediction for an Arkansas blowout of Ole Miss.

9. Florida needs its offensive line to be consistent

Darren Woodruff — the Muscle Shoals businessman who is at the center of allegations regarding Alabama signee Brent Calloway — has had enough mud slung his way.  Yesterday, Woodruff sounded off to The Birmingham News regarding the accusations that have been made about him by AuburnSports.com’s Jeffery Lee.

“I adamantly deny all of those wrongdoings,” Woodruff said.  “Every one of them.  Every one of them is a lie.”

“(Lee) alleges that I took Brent Calloway to Alabama the last visiting weekend before signing day.  He alleges that I made cash payments to “Peaches” Winston (Calloway’s adopted father).  He alleges that I paid (Winston) at least $2,500 on at least one occasion.  He alleges that I paid his mortgage off and/or helped catch his mortgage up.  He alleges that I provided Brent Calloway with a new car, which Calloway drove to school.  He alleges that I promised Brent Calloway $1,200 a month.

“He also said he would be back with the information and the proof and the evidence.  My question is, ‘Where is the evidence, Jeffery Lee?’  I’m calling him out.”

Sounds like Woodruff is pretty darn angry.  And he has some reasons to be.

“I’ve had eggs thrown at my car.  I’ve had my mailbox knocked down.  I’ve been called a child molester, a sexual offender.  I’ve been slandered nationwide.  I want to know where this evidence is.”

When contacted by The Birmingham News, Lee said, “I don’t have any comment at this time.  No comment.”

Gotta love it when a media guy who’s made major accusations against someone goes the “no comment” route.  Nice.  A “we stand by our story” stance would have displayed much greater intestinal fortitude.

But back to Woordruff, he says that Calloway — who he says is “like a son to me” — picked Alabama over Auburn because the Tigers supposedly misled him.

As Kevin Scarbinsky of The News writes:


Calloway’s final change of heart came after he visited Tuscaloosa on the last weekend before signing day.  That visit, Woodruff said, was the key to the decision for several reasons.

One, it came three days after Auburn received a public verbal commitment from Lake Worth, Fla., running back Tre Mason.  One of Calloway’s reasons for committing to Auburn in early January was the opportunity to play running back, a position with little depth.

“He mentioned that Auburn had promised him they would not recruit another running back, and they had one to commit,” Woodruff said.  “That had some bearing on it.”


That’s the word from Calloway, too, who gave an exclusive interview to TideSports.com — the Rivals site covering Alabama — yesterday.  When asked why he switched from Bama to Auburn, Calloway said:


“From what they had told me, it was a bigger opportunity for me because they told me they were only going to recruit me as a running back.  That would leave me, (Michael) Dyer and a walk-on in the backfield.  I was like, ‘That’s fine.’  They told me if I switched they would sign just me.  So I switched.“


And why did he switch back to the Tide at the last minute?


“I was debating on whether to go back to Auburn that weekend becuase I had been the weekend before.  Instead I went back to Alabama.  When I got back to Alabama it was like, ‘This is where I’ve really been.  This is where I want to be.’  Because they showed me love even though I switched on them on national TV.  I didn’t feel no hard feelings.  I didn’t feel awkward about being there. … On top of that, Auburn signed three other running backs before I even signed.  They were misleading me.  Very misleading.“


According to Woodruff, Calloway’s old high school coach also played a role in the player’s decision to switch schools.  Supposedly, Doug Goodwin had a heated phone conversation Winston, Calloway’s father, on the final weekend prior to signing day.

Woodruff — who says he was not on the final trip to Bama as Lee has alleged — says Calloway told him about the conversation shortly after it occurred.  Take it away, Mr. Scarbinsky:


“Brent said, ‘Darren, you ain’t gonna believe this.  Coach Goodwin has called my daddy and jumped on him for bring me down here.’  If anybody wants to know what the deciding factor is, this was a pretty decisive moment, and Coach Goodwin calls down there and says some pretty hard things to Peaches.”

Goodwin, who left Russellville to become the head coach at Homewood, declined to address the specifics of that phone conversation with Winston.  “My players and coaches, I love every one of them, and they know that,” Goodwin said Tuesday.  “All I’ve ever wanted was what was best for them.”


Goodwin did say that he would never try to influence a player’s college decision.  He is an Auburn grad, but he said: “I don’t have anything against the University of Alabama or any other program.  Anyone who has a chance to play there is a lucky individual.  I think Nick Saban does a great job as the coach there.”

In his interview with The News, Woodruff explained or denied nearly all of the charges made against him by Lee.  He also added: “I am not anti-Auburn.  Some of my best friends are Auburn graduates and Auburn fans.  I’ve got a business partner that’s an Auburn booster.”

But what about Calloway?  What does he say about the allegations? 

When asked by TideSports.com if Alabama or Auburn had offered money to him or anyone close to him, the player said, “Heck no.  I wish they would have, but they didn’t.”

Gotta love that response, no?  Good to know the kid would have cheated if given the opportunity.

And what about cars?  “No,” Calloway said.  “You can put this in the newspaper.  If I had a car, I would be driving it.  I want a car so bad, but because all of this that is going on now I can’t even get a car because it’s just going to make it worse.”

Asked if Woodruff offered money to him or his father, Calloway said: “No.  Darren was willing to take me to Auburn when I asked him to take me.  But I didn’t go.  I went to Alabama instead that weekend.”

Did Woodruff or Winston force him to visit Tuscaloosa on that final pre-signing day weekend?  “No, they can’t force me to do anything.  I’m 6-3, 225 pounds.  You think they can force me to do anything?”

The man who suggested Calloway was forced/cajoled/brainwashed/paid to attend Alabama remains silent on all this new information.  A check of AuburnSports.com this morning shows no retaliatory strike from Lee.  Yet.  But don’t be surprised to see Goodwin give a lengthy “Here’s my side of the story” interview to the pro-Tiger site at some point.


For now, we will continue to lump Lee in with Scott Moore, the former radio host and Alabama fan who claimed on multiple radio stations across the Southeast that he was going to play audio tapes proving that Cam Newton knew his father was shopping him.

The tapes were never heard.  Moore lost his job and has pretty much stayed out of the mix ever since.

Moore told many Alabama fans what they wanted to hear: Auburn is cheating.  The fact that he was discussing a situation that had spawned numerous rumors and allegations already only made his claims easier to believe… for those who wanted to believe them.

Ditto Lee.  Many Auburn fans wanted to hear that Bama is cheating.  “Ah, ha!”  Now, is there any proof, any evidence?  No.  No more than what Moore had anyway.

In both cases, the conspiracy theorists started to piece together circumstantial evidence in an effort to prove that their rivals were breaking rules, but to date, nothing hard and fast has emerged.  Nothing that would stand up in a court of law anyway.

Lee and Moore may well have been telling the truth.  But the fact that both men are fans — who just happened to be making accusations about their schools’ biggest rivals — cuts into their credibility.

Maybe the FBI does have wiretaps that will bring down the Newtons and Auburn.  And maybe the NCAA will determine that Woodruff is a Tide booster and not a family friend as he says.

Until that happens, we’re not buying what Lee’s selling anymore than we bought what Moore was peddling.  It seems there’s more rivalry-driven emotion behind these claims than irrefutable evidence. 

At this point.

The folks at SportsByBrooks.com must finally be making some folks down on The Plains happy.  After beating the “Auburn’s cheating” drum for months, the site is now starting to pound away on the “Alabama’s cheating” drum.

We’ll let you read their latest lengthy piece for yourself right here. 

Unfortunately, it seems to just be more cyber-sleuthing.  “If A means B then B must mean C and that would make C a D.”  Sounds good, but as was the case with the numerous Auburn claims made on that site (and others), there’s little concrete evidence provided.  It’s all about viewpoints.

If Alabama — or Auburn, for that matter — actually cheated, then we say, “Hang ‘em high.”  But to date, the Brent Calloway imbroglio seems awfully similar to the Cam Newton/HBO Four stuff.  Lots of smoke, but unless the NCAA gets some evidence or someone fesses up, there’s not much fire.

Not yet anyway.

Well that didn’t take long. 

Alabama has already opened and closed an investigation into allegations made by AuburnSports.com that a supporter of the school — Darren Woodruff — provided cash and a car for Bama signee Brent Calloway.  The fact that UA has closed its own investigation so quickly likely shows that it feels pretty confident that nothing out of the ordinary went on… though you can bet rival fans will say such a quick investigation serves only as a cover-up.

Ah, the SEC in 2011.  Gotta love it.

Something to remember: The Crimson Tide is currently on probation thanks to the textbook scandal of 2007.  So it would be in Bama’s best interest to turn over any wrongdoing that it finds lest the NCAA really come down hard on the program.  In other words, a cover-up would be an extremely dangerous undertaking.

Since Friday, Alabama compliance department officials met with Calloway, his adoptive father, bank officials, the principal of Calloway’s high school and Woodruff, who lives in the same town as Calloway.

Woodruff says he did nothing wrong and that he has no problems with Auburn.

“Auburn is my second favorite team,” Woodruff told TideSports.com, the Rivals site for Alabama.  “Some of my best friends and work associates are Auburn graduates and fans.  I do business with Auburn people every day.  I don’t harbor any ill will toward Auburn.

“Listen, I’m a Brent Calloway fan.  I don’t care where he goes to school.  I just want him to get an education.  I told him when he originally committed to Alabama, ‘I’m happy for you.  I hope you made the right choice.’  When he switched to Auburn I said, ‘I’m happy for you.  I hope you made the right choice.’

“Brent’s like a son to me.  Me and my wife consider him a part of my family.  So no matter where he was going to school, Brent was still goign to be a part of my family.  That’s just the way it is.”

It’s also been reported that Woodruff struck up a friendship with Calloway when he moved to Russellville as a ninth-grader, before he was a top prospect.

Jeffrey Lee — the man who made the accusations about Calloway and Woodruff on AuburnSports.com and on a Mobile radio station last week — has said that there’s more to the story.  Apparently Bama’s investigators couldn’t find it.  Sort of like Auburn’s investigators not being able to find wrongdoing in the Tigers’ pursuit of Cam Newton.

Ultimately, NCAA investigators might weigh in with their own checks of both programs.

But of the all the mud slung in this story, there’s only one portion that stands out to us here at MrSEC.com — the Camaro Calloway allegedly drove to school for a day.  Lee claimed that the car was given back to Woodruff that evening because too many questions were raised.  The principal of Calloway’s high school, however, has said he knew nothing of questions about a car.

But the fact that Woodruff did take a Camaro and then returned it after what the dealership referred to as an extended test drive is odd.  Conspiracy theorists like to look for loose ends and coincidences and the car part of the story will likely serve as one or the other for anti-Bama fans.  “Oh sure, he just happened to test drive a car and then return it.”

For now, the Iron Bowl bickering will continue.  And it shouldn’t be long before one party or the other makes new allegations against their rival across the state.  It’s just a matter of time, really.  You can set your watch by it at this point.

Scott Moore.  Jeffrey Lee.  Who’ll be the next man to try to sling a little mud in the nation’s hottest/ugliest rivalry?

1. Source: no violation in Brent Calloway’s recruitment at Alabama.

2. Christian Robinson will be the face of the Georgia defense. Bulldogs secondary is banged up.

3. Kentucky’s defense dominates Saturday’s scrimmage.

4. Is QB Morgan Newton the next Andre Woodson at Kentucky?

5. Florida QB John Brantley 4 of 14 for 45 yards in Saturday’s Orange and Blue spring game. The offense will look different this fall with wide receiver Quinton Dunbar playing a key role.

6. While Brantley struggles, Tim Tebow steals the show.

7. No QB controversy at LSU – Jordan Jefferson is the starter – for now.

8. But what about Zach Mettenberger? Dennis Dodd: “Boy can he can light up a stadium.”

9. Auburn quarterback Clint Moseley on Saturday’s scrimmage:  ”One of the most discouraging days this spring, for sure.”

10. Tigers defensive coordinator Ted Roof not ready to name starters.

11. Nick Saban liked the play of both of his quarterbacks on Saturday.

12. Suspended but not forgotten QB Stephen Garcia is still the buzz of South Carolina while wide receiver DeAngelo Smith was the star of the show on Saturday.

13. The buzz out of Arkansas continues to be the Razorbacks defense.

14. Less than a week now from Saturday’s Grove Bowl and Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt is not happy.

15. Banged up in Baton Rouge. 15 players sit out LSU’s spring game – including six potential starters on defense.

16. 36,000 fans in the stands for Mississippi State’s Maroon-White spring game.

17. Bulldogs defensive tackles dominate.

18. Derek Dooley on the Tennessee defense: “We don’t have 11 first-teamers.” But he likes the progress on the offense.

19. Does Vandy’s offense have some big-play potential?

Extra

20. College athletes and endorsements.  The sponsors would benefit.  The school would benefit.  Athletes would remain unpaid.

21. St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “Had (Cuonzo) Martin found a way to fend off scandal-ridden Tennessee for 48 hours or so instead of taking the job, he might well have been named Mizzou’s coach last week.”