Former Oregon recruiting coordinator and director of player development

said national recruiting services such as one that has ignited controversy this week in Eugene are vital for the Ducks to compete for players beyond the West Coast.

And, he said, the reported cost of

last year didn't sound out of whack.

"If you can get one player out of state like that it's worth the money," Gilmore said.

ESPN.com, citing unidentified sources, reported the NCAA is probing Seastrunk's recruitment out of Temple (Texas) High School. Willie Lyles, who runs the Houston-based Complete Scouting Services and is said to be a mentor to the UO running back, received a $25,000 check for scouting services shortly after Seastrunk signed with Oregon in 2010.

Gilmore, who worked at Oregon from 2000 to 2005 and now is an NFL agent who co-represents former Ducks star and current Baltimore Ravens defensive lineman Haloti Ngata for Priority Sports, said he has no knowledge of Lyles or Complete Scouting Services. But he added that he doubts very seriously Oregon broke any rules in the recruiting of Seastrunk or the purchasing of a recruiting services package.

"Our compliance people (at Oregon) will turn Oregon in to the NCAA before they would break a rule," Gilmore said.

Gilmore said Oregon's purchasing of national recruiting packages began shortly after the university ran into roadblocks attempting to recruit running back Adrian Peterson in 2003.

Peterson was the top-rated running back in the nation by all recruiting services as a senior at Palestine (Texas) High School and the Ducks, only a couple of years removed from a Fiesta Bowl victory after the 2001 season, decided to make a run at him.

That effort ended, Gilmore said, when the Palestine High School officials refused to provide game video on Peterson, telling Gilmore that the prized recruit was not leaving the state.

"Of course we all know he wound up at Oklahoma," Gilmore said.

At that time, the Ducks were already purchasing West Coast recruiting packages to help with frequently recruited states such as California, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Washington.

Services help procure game video, transcripts, grade-point averages, test scores, accurate height and weight, addresses and phone numbers.

A national package could include a region, a select group of states, depending on the service.

But it all starts with the game video.

Gilmore said that too often UO, and other college programs, would request tape from a high school and receive only a few games. Through a package, Gilmore said, UO could get a player's entire junior season and then also be able to watch opposing teams to scout additional players.

"It's just more economical to buy a package than to go out and try to get all of the game film yourself," Gilmore said.

Costs of such West Coast packages varied from $1,000 to $7,000, or so, Gilmore said. But after being stonewalled on Peterson, Oregon decided to widen its net.

Gilmore recalls

, it had to recruit nationally.

So, from ever-changing, high-tech uniforms to the glitz of Nike and the placement of a giant billboard of former quarterback Joey Harrington in New York with the phrase "Joey Heisman," the Ducks began expanding their brand and -- through recruiting services -- their reach.

Not coincidentally, more and more players from middle America to the East Coast began listing Oregon among their top five choices and part of that came through the help of recruiting services.

These services, Gilmore said, do the job that the coaches in Oregon couldn't possibly do on their own.

Because some schools, such as Palestine with Peterson, either wouldn't provide or had inadequate game video even scouting players became difficult.

"That should give you an idea of why you have to get these services because you can't even get film from some of these places," Gilmore said.

With good video on players in recruiting hot beds like Florida, Texas and Alabama, Ducks coaches could evaluate numerous players and develop reasonable targets.

"You have to have someone who can get you film," Gilmore said. "Time is of the essence. You have to watch that film and break down that film."

Then, with addresses sometimes provided by recruiting services, Oregon would send out letters in the thousands, Gilmore said, to the top players from around the country. Once mutual interest was established and the Ducks elected to move forward on a player, Oregon had in-roads with the prospect as well as his coaches and school.

Thus, securing senior video would come more easily.

Then, during the big recruiting push from November to January, Oregon was in position to determine if it was worth its time to make East Coast trips to meet face-to-face with certain players.

Such services, Gilmore said, aren't cheap. He said he couldn't exactly recall how much national packages cost but he didn't think $25,000 for a state the size of Texas sounded unreasonable.

"Think about how big the state of Texas is and how many high schools there are," Gilmore said.

Oregon signed three players, all running backs,

Seastrunk, and Josh Huff and and Dontae Williams out of the Houston area. Whether Lyles was involved with the recruiting of Aldine or Williams is unknown. Williams is no longer with the Ducks.

Service providers, Gilmore said, had immense expenses. Sometimes they would have to travel to high schools to video games themselves, or purchase video from a school.

But the services, Gilmore said, were worth every penny because the residuals from landing one player can last for years because of relationships developed with high school coaches in those areas. And if a player recruited succeeds at Oregon, future classes will be watching.

A great example, Gilmore said, is r

.

James was a four-star recruit out of Texas who was not offered a scholarship by in-state power Texas or nearby Oklahoma. He, like Seastrunk, reportedly has a releationship with Lyles, who is at the heart of the Ducks current controversey. But he went to Oregon and last season won the Doak Walker Award and finished third in the Heisman Trophy running.

Now, Gilmore said, anytime Oregon recruits Texas they can point to James' success.

"It's about developing relationships," Gilmore said. "It can start a chain reaction. Now you go into parents' homes and can say you have kids who come from all over and that makes parents feel more comfortable."

Clearly, for Oregon, the services have paid off.

Seven years after missing out on a shot at 5-star recruit Adrian Peterson, the Ducks were able to land Seastrunk, a 5-star running back whose hometown is just 133 miles from Peterson's.

"It worked," Gilmore said. "This was the game plan and it worked."