BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - What's a major football program to do when a report surfaces from a rival's fan website alleging potential major violations in the recruitment of one of the school's high-profile signees?

It's not supposed to bury its head in the sand or take a casual, consider-the-source approach.

It's supposed to check it out.

That's what Alabama has done with the latest twist in the long and winding road Brent Calloway traveled to sign with the Crimson Tide in February.

Jeffrey Lee, a writer for the Rivals.com site affiliated with Auburn, went public Thursday morning on a Mobile radio station with a variety of unsupported allegations about Calloway's recruiting by Alabama.

By Friday, Alabama compliance officials were on the ground in Russellville, where Calloway is finishing his senior year of high school, to interview people close to him.

That kind of rapid response is not unusual at Alabama or other major programs. It's more like standard operating procedure.

By Saturday, according to a source close to the situation, Alabama's investigation had determined that, at this point, the school has found no reason to self-report any violations in Calloway's recruitment and doesn't expect any such reason to surface.

The school doesn't always have the last word in these situations, but it's fair to say that Alabama wouldn't have reached that quick conclusion if it weren't confident in the information it had gathered.

Calloway's unusual journey from Alabama commitment (in July of 2009) to Auburn commitment (in January of 2011) to Alabama signee (in February of this year) was bound to generate conversation and questions.

Some of that conversation, and part of Alabama's investigation, has involved Darren Woodruff, a self-professed Alabama fan who's the president of Petro Chemical Energy in Muscle Shoals.

Woodruff is one of the people Alabama compliance officials interviewed on their trip to Russellville. Another is Peaches Winston, Calloway's adopted father, who raised eyebrows in January when he publicly questioned his son's change of heart from Alabama to Auburn.

Alabama learned that Woodruff drove Calloway to the majority of the school's home football games in 2009, during his junior year, on unofficial visits. That could be considered an NCAA violation if Woodruff were found to be a representative of Alabama's athletics interests.

But Alabama also learned that Woodruff is not a graduate of the school and has not donated money to the school's athletics department or purchased season tickets. Any one of those characteristics could identify a person as a booster.

NCAA Bylaw 13.7.2.1 says a school may provide up to three complimentary passes to a home football game (as long as they're in the general seating section) for a prospect on an unofficial visit and two guests.

In addition, Alabama learned that Woodruff's relationship with Calloway began when Calloway transferred to Russellville High School for the ninth grade, which would predate Calloway's status as a major college football prospect.

That can be an important distinction when the NCAA decides whether a contact made by an individual is impermissible.

NCAA Bylaw 13.1.2.2 lists exceptions to the general rule that prohibits recruiting contacts by a booster. One of those exceptions is an "established family friend or neighbor, it being understood that such contacts are not made for recruiting purposes and are not initiated by a member of the institution's coaching staff."

There have been strong indications that Calloway didn't change his choice of college from Auburn back to Alabama until after one final visit to Tuscaloosa on the weekend before signing day. That late change of heart, following his earlier switch, has had people in Russellville and beyond wondering about the reasons for his final decision to sign with Alabama.

After the allegations that surfaced Thursday, Alabama's compliance department traveled to Russellville in search of some answers.

The answers Alabama found don't involve NCAA violations. Is that the end of the story?

No one can say for sure, but remember that Alabama is still on probation from Textbookgate. It can't afford to take these kinds of charges lightly or dismiss them easily.

Got something to say about Kevin's column? Drop a civil comment below, or write him at kscarbinsky@bhamnews.com.