Analyst denies pushing recruit toward Notre Dame

By Thomas O'Toole, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON  One of the nation's top high school football players from last season says prominent recruiting analyst Tom Lemming told him he would be "showcased" and would increase his chances of being most valuable player in the annual U.S. Army All-American Bowl high school all-star game "if I kept a certain school on my (recruiting) list."

Myron Rolle, a Princeton, N.J., defensive back who already has enrolled at Florida State, made the remarks Monday morning to a public forum on the "Collegiate Athlete Experience" conducted at George Washington University by the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. They came in response to a question about the recruiting process and also were carried live on a webcast.

USA TODAY Rolle

Approached afterward by USA TODAY, Rolle said the school in question was Notre Dame and reiterated his comments about Lemming, a national recruiting expert from Chicago whose information is used extensively by this newspaper.

"He told me if I kept Notre Dame in mind, the NBC (TV) guy would interview me and they would showcase me during the game," Rolle said. NBC, which showed the high school game in San Antonio on Jan. 7, also has a contract for Notre Dame home games. Added Rolle: "He told me I'd have a higher chance of being MVP. I took it as having less of a chance of getting MVP if I didn't keep Notre Dame on my list."

Rolle, who did not list Notre Dame among his six finalists, said Lemming told him this last spring. He also said Lemming tried to interest him in schools other than FSU, something he originally told ESPN The Magazine last summer. "He stepped out of the bounds of what he should be doing," said Rolle, who added that recruiting analysts should simply be gathering information.

Lemming, contacted by cellphone as he prepares to do football signing-day commentary Wednesday on CSTV, flatly denied ever talking to Rolle about the all-star game or suggesting he could be MVP if he kept Notre Dame on a list.

Lemming

"Myron is the biggest media hound that I've ever seen," said Lemming, who is involved with staging the all-star game. "I selected him for this game in September, and he played in the game.

"(Criticism) is part of the business when you select an All-American team. Myron's taking it to a new level. It hurt his ego when he wasn't first-team All-American."

He also said if Rolle construed questions about other schools as an attempt to sway him, he concedes he could have phrased something differently but felt he was making a legitimate point. Rolle is an outstanding student who has said wants to go to med school.

Lemming said he merely questioned his choice of FSU when Rolle had offers from Stanford and Duke among others and "told me he wanted to go to the best school possible. ... I took it as asking a legit question."

Lemming says he had Rolle among his top recruits in the summer but dropped him to 28th as the season progressed because he said he didn't play well. Rolle, whom newspapers in New Jersey said missed three games because of injuries, played in the U.S. Army game. Both he and Lemming said he was not interviewed by NBC.

He did not make first- or second-team USA TODAY All-USA. He is, however, currently the No. 1 prospect on ESPN.com. Lemming's No. 1 is Chris Wells, an Akron, Ohio, running back who is expected to sign with Ohio State and was MVP in the U.S. Army game. Rolle said Wells deserved to be MVP.

"Every year kids get mad," Lemming said. "It's just not in front of the Knight Commission."