As he was getting ready to announce he had accepted the head coach position at USC, Lane Kiffin‘s recruiting coordinator, Ed Orgeron, was calling incoming Tennessee freshman players — using a University of Tennessee issued cell phone, trying to convince them to follow Kiffin and crew to Southern California.
See Lane Kiffin press conference video
According to sophomore lineman Marlon Walls, Orgeron started making the calls before many of the players were even aware of what was going on.
“We told them on speakerphone. I called him five times, and he wouldn’t pick up. But he’s calling them. They put him on speakerphone and said all of them got offers to USC.”
Walls called Kiffin a “fake guy” and added: “We bought into his system and we bought into what he was telling us to do, and for him to leave us like that, it just shows you what kind of man he is, shows you his character. We’re still going to be Tennessee.”
Orgeron tried to convince mid-term enrollees to skip class today to make a transfer easier. Under NCAA rules, players must sit out a year if they transfer once they have attended classes. Shortly afterward, the University had Orgeron’s cell phone cut off.
Fans were outraged upon hearing Kiffin was leaving, and the manner in which it was handled. Many gathered on campus to protest (see photos and video).
Kiffin left the football complex just before midnight with a police escort.