Vols RB Coach Jay Graham Receives Recruiting Penalty from His Time at Texas A&M

Jay Graham has received a recruiting penalty from his time at Texas A&M

Jay Graham returned to join Jeremy Pruitt's staff in January of 2020, after leaving Jimbo Fisher's Texas A&M staff. Graham has been an effective recruiter during his return stint to Tennessee, and he was a key piece in landing four-star running back Cody Brown, and multiple others.

Today, the NCAA released the news that Texas A&M was receiving recruiting penalties for an incident occurring in early 2019. It was announced Jimbo Fisher would receive a show-cause penalty, and one unnamed assistant would as well. For a violation of rules stating, "In January 2019, an unintentional, yet impermissible recruiting contact occurred when Coach Jimbo Fisher and former assistant coach Jay Graham were present in the office area of a high school coach and communicated with a prospective student-athlete, violating NCAA bylaws and resulting in a Level II violation.

Summary of details from Texas A&M athletic department: 

1. In seven of 21 weeks in the spring and summer of 2018, the football program unintentionally required football student-athletes to exceed the allowable Countable Athletically Related Activities (CARA) hours by asking student-athletes to arrive early for practices. While the overall maximum number of CARA hours permitted was not exceeded in 2018, during a seven-week period, CARA hour maximums were exceeded. The CARA hour overages during those seven weeks ranged from 13 minutes one week to two hours during another week, totaling seven hours of impermissible activity time over the total seven-week period. The NCAA has designated this a Level III violation.
2. In January 2019, an unintentional, yet impermissible recruiting contact occurred when Coach Jimbo Fisher and former assistant coach Jay Graham were present in the office area of a high school coach and communicated with a prospective student-athlete, violating NCAA bylaws and resulting in a Level II violation.
3. Because of his involvement in the Level II recruiting violation, Coach Fisher was found to have violated the principle of head coach control, which requires him to properly create a culture of compliance and properly monitor himself and his staff. This is a Level II violation.

Shortly after, Texas A&M released an announcement from the Athletic Department listing Graham as the assistant coach in violation.

The University's release stated,

• The university promptly investigated, acknowledged the CARA violations for the period in question, provided additional education to the football staff, and imposed closer administrative oversight of football team activities to ensure the program does not exceed CARA limits going forward;
• The university directed the football program, in the case of the impermissible contact with the prospective student-athlete, to immediately cease recruitment of the student-athlete, and to cease the recruitment of any prospective student-athlete from the involved high school, with which all coaches and staff complied;
• In November 2019, Texas A&M self-imposed an off-campus recruiting ban for the entire football coaching staff;
• The university reduced Coach Fisher and former assistant coach Graham's off-campus recruiting contact days by three days in the December 2019 – January 2020 recruiting time-period; and
• The university prohibited any phone calls, emails or text messages between Coach Fisher and former assistant coach Graham with any prospective student-athletes for nine days in January 2020.

The penalties are stated as followed,

• A reduction of one paid official visit for a football prospective student-athlete during the 2019-2020 academic year and a reduction of 18 days of unofficial visits for prospective student-athletes in football during 2019-2020 academic year;
• Coach Fisher and former assistant coach Graham will conduct no off-campus recruiting activities during the fall of 2020 permissible contact period; Coach Graham will serve this penalty at his new institution.
• The university will impose a seven-day off-campus recruiting ban for the football staff during the spring 2020 evaluation period, and a ten-day ban during the 2020 fall evaluation recruiting period;
• The university and all of its football coaches are prohibited from any recruiting activities at the involved high school through the spring 2021;
• The university will develop and implement a comprehensive educational program on NCAA legislation to instruct coaches and all athletics department personnel and institutional staff members on their responsibilities regarding NCAA recruiting legislation.
• A one-year probation period from July 2, 2020 to July 1, 2021;
• $5,000 financial penalty

Outside of the penalty already issued, Graham's violation should have no effect on Tennessee outside of him being unable to go on the road for recruiting visits. Graham's top remaining target for 2020 is Payton Page in North Carolina.