College Football – News Update – July 22

North Carolina encounters massive offseason problems

The University of North Carolina has long been a basketball powerhouse, but it has struggled to put a top-flight football team on the field, as online betting students know well. Coach Butch Davis, with extensive experience as a coordinator and head coach at the University of Miami (Florida), showed signs of leading North Carolina back to a place of prominence, but recent developments are likely to impede that progress at the very least, and perhaps squelch it for good.

First of all, the minor stuff. On Saturday, July 10, UNC linebacker Quan Sturdivant, a first team all-ACC selection in 2009, was arrested for possession of marijuana, a misdemeanor charge given the small amount on his person at the time of the arrest. Sturdivant is the leading light on a defense that, in the eyes of some experts, could produce as many as eight NFL draftees in 2011. Sturdivant’s arrest could well have a chilling effect on the UNC locker room; worst of all, Sturdivant could very well miss the team’s huge season opener on Sept. 4 against Louisiana State in Atlanta. If Davis doesn’t suspend Sturdivant for that one game, it will be hard to seriously accept the notion that the Carolina coach cares about discipline. The suspension is likely at this point, but it’s not guaranteed. NCAA football betting experts are surely monitoring this situation.

That’s just the beginning, however. The Tar Heel program should really be worried about a story that broke a few days after Sturdivant’s arrest.

This past Thursday, North Carolina Athletic Director Dick Baddour said that the NCAA is investigating the football program regarding possible rules violations.

Sources at the school told ESPN’s Joe Schad on that UNC football players were interviewed by the NCAA last week (July 12-15) and asked questions about agents and whether anyone had received gifts or extra benefits.

Defensive tackle Marvin Austin, one of several Tar Heels who passed on the NFL draft this spring, was among the players interviewed, according to ESPN’s report. The specific focus on Austin stemmed from a possible association with current NFL player Kentwan Balmer.

Austin was particularly asked about having been seen driving Balmer’s motor vehicle. Balmer is a former North Carolina defensive end who plays for the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers and worked out in Chapel Hill (the location of the UNC campus) this offseason. Another source who talked to ESPN said Austin stayed at Balmer’s apartment at times this offseason as well.

The basic point about this story is as follows: If Austin and/or the other UNC players in this probe have gained a material advantage from associations with agents while not signing with an agent, they have run afoul of NCAA rules. If Austin and Balmer met on Austin’s own dime and without facilitation from an agent, there’s not much cause for concern. However, things being what they are, that’s not very likely. Any sports betting analyst worth his keep must be downgrading his forecast for North Carolina’s 2010 football season.