UNC probes

John Blake will resign as associate head coach at North Carolina today.  Though NC is in the Atlantic Coast Conference and halfway across the country from Lincoln, this is a story that Nebraska fans need to keep an eye on.  Though it's unlikely that Nebraska would end up suffering any penalties from this incident, at some point NCAA investigators may stop by in Lincoln and ask a few questions.

What does Nebraska have to do with this?  More after the jump.

1987–1988 Tulsa (TE/WR coach)
1989 Oklahoma (DL coach)
1990–1992 Oklahoma (LB coach)
1993–1995  Dallas Cowboys (DL coach)
1996–1998 Oklahoma (Head coach)
2003 Mississippi State (DL coach)
2004–2006 Nebraska (DL coach)
2007–2010 North Carolina (DL coach)

Take note that he was a coach during Bill Callahan's days.

Currently, at North Carolina, there are investigations going on involving improper communication with agents and academic fraud.  Twelve players were suspended for this past weekends game vs LSU.

A source at North Carolina told ESPN.com's Joe Schad on Thursday that UNC football players were interviewed by the NCAA this week and asked questions about agents and whether anyone had received gifts or extra benefits.

The investigation of North Carolina's football program has expanded into possible academic misconduct involving players and a woman who also has worked as a tutor for coach Butch Davis' son, school officials said Thursday night.

With many NCAA inquiries taking place, the NCAA declared 12 North Carolina players ineligible for Saturday's game due to violations of school and/or NCAA rules. The 12 players could be suspended for more than just the opening game, but that final decision has not yet been made.

This past summer, the term agentgate was coined to describe all of the improper agent communication issues that seemed to come up.  John Blake is at the center of North Carolina's agent problems.

Much of the controversy stems from a party held in South Beach that has three SEC schools — Alabama, Florida and South Carolina — under open investigations for improper contact with agents.

Why does Nebraska have to keep an eye on this?  Because John Blake is good friends with a man who runs an agency.  His name is Gary Wichard.

Three sources close to an NCAA probe into the University of North Carolina football program told Yahoo! Sports that investigators are focusing on ties between assistant coach John Blake and prominent NFL agent Gary Wichard.

The sources said the NCAA’s inquiry into Blake has focused on his one-time position as vice president of football operations for Pro Tect Management – an agency founded and run by Wichard since 1979. Blake is now a defensive line coach for the Tar Heels, and oversees All-ACC tackle Marvin Austin, who is also facing NCAA scrutiny.

Though there are denials of any wrong doing,

"If the center of this controversy is my relationship with John, there’s really no controversy," Wichard said. "If that’s what [the NCAA] is investigating, I think it’s just absurd. … I hope – I really, truly hope – that Marvin Austin’s whole case is based on me and John Blake. I hope that for Marvin Austin’s sake. At the end of the day, there’s nothing to investigate."

there are plenty of possible connections between Blake, former players and Wichard.

But a review of NFLPA records show Wichard signed multiple players whose college careers overlapped with Blake’s coaching journey. Among them:

• Oklahoma linebacker Brian Bosworth. Blake was a graduate assistant for the Sooners during Bosworth’s final season at Oklahoma. Bosworth signed with Wichard and was a first-round pick in the NFL’s 1987 supplemental draft.

• Oklahoma linebacker Aubrey Beavers. While serving as linebackers coach for the Sooners, Blake coached Beavers from 1990-1992. Beavers signed with Wichard and was a second-round pick in 1994.

• Alexander. Blake overlapped with Alexander while serving as the Sooners head coach from 1996-1998. Alexander signed with Wichard and was a second-round pick in 1998.

• Oklahoma defensive back William Bartee. Blake oversaw all but Bartee’s final college season while serving as the Sooners head coach. Bartee signed with Wichard and was a second-round pick in 2000.

• Mississippi State defensive lineman Tommy Kelly. Blake coached the Bulldogs’ defensive line in 2003. After that season, Wichard signed Kelly, who was picked up by the Oakland Raiders as an undrafted free agent.

• Nebraska running back Brandon Jackson. Blake never coached Jackson directly, handling Nebraska’s defensive line from 2004-2006. Jackson signed with Wichard after Blake’s final season with the Cornhuskers and was a second-round pick in 2007.

• Balmer. Blake became coach of the Tar Heels’ defensive line in 2007. After Blake’s first season, Wichard signed Balmer, who was a first-round pick in 2008.

Is this really an issue for Nebraska?  Probably not, but it's something to keep an eye on.  There aren't too many people left from the Pederson/Callahan era, but the NCAA may still want to take a look at a few things in Lincoln before this is all said and done.

Update: 09/30/2010

Yahoo! Sports is reporting today that there is a financial link between Blake and Wichard dating back to May 2007.  John Blake was hired from Nebraska by North Carolina on December 15, 2006.  I don't know how far back Yahoo! investigated while following the money trail, but if they stopped at just the North Carolina time period, it would be very possible that there was a money trail while he was at Nebraska.  Blake was once considered one of the best recruiters in the nation.  This story makes it even more likely that NCAA investigators will at some point visit Lincoln about this mess and try to determine if Blake was doing the same thing while at Nebraska.