Daniel Paulling

The Clarion-Ledger

OXFORD - Ole Miss appears to be making progress in its search into former offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil’s comment last week that he received money from a coach while in school, an investigation that coach Hugh Freeze said Thursday morning he wasn’t a part of.

“I know nothing,” Freeze said. “I’m not involved in the fact-finding process. I was shocked like everyone else (last Thursday night) living it out in real time but confident that our administration is going to find the facts and then give us a new report on it.

“I’ll be very quick to come out and defend us when it’s something that we know the facts on. I don’t at this present time. I know our administration is working, and I’m told they made a lot of progress, that they’re collecting everything so they know exactly what the facts are before we run out and make any type of response.

“I’m trying to be patient, like I said in my opening statement. That’s difficult for me sometimes because you want to respond. But there’s great wisdom in being patient and making sure you get the facts, and we’re still in that process. Our administration will continue to work with all the parties to reach a conclusion as soon as possible, which we’re hopeful that’s coming quickly.”

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Tunsil told reporters, “I’d have to say yeah,” when asked whether he had received money from a coach. Screenshots of an alleged conversation between Tunsil and assistant athletic director of football operations John Miller had been released earlier that night with Tunsil asking Miller for money to pay for rent and a $305 electric and water bill for his mother last year.

Ole Miss released a statement later that night saying it would “aggressively investigate and fully cooperate with the NCAA and the SEC,” as it said it does “whenever an allegation is brought to our attention or a potential violation is self-discovered.”

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Steve Farese, Tunsil’s attorney in a lawsuit filed by Tunsil’s stepfather, told SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio on Sunday that he thought Tunsil’s assertion had already been discussed with the NCAA. Freeze couldn’t confirm whether that was true.

It’s unclear whether Tunsil’s comment will have any impact on the NCAA investigation into Ole Miss’ football, women’s basketball and men’s and women’s track and field teams. The investigation finished in January when the school received a notice of allegations, but the NCAA could issue an amended notice of allegations if further alleged violations are found.

Ole Miss had been scheduled to submit its response to the notice of allegations on April 29, but, athletic director Ross Bjork said, a third party requested a 30-day delay, the first and only allowed in the process. The new response would be due around May 23.

“I think (whether Tunsil’s comment impacts the NCAA process) depends on what the facts reveal,” Freeze said. “(Bjork and I) haven’t even discussed the next step. You get the facts first and then you’ll know a lot more after that what they are.

“But the facts are always more important than the speed or our public response, which is difficult for me sometimes because I want to respond.”

Contact Daniel Paulling at dpaulling@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @DanielPaulling on Twitter.