QB says University of Alabama offered him a Corvette to play football

Fri, 16 May 2014

The University of Alabama Crimson Tide football team could be in some hot water, following a pair of posts on social media.

The first post was sure to raise a few eyebrows on its own. It's an Instagram of sophomore running back Derrick Henry standing in front of his new Dodge Challenger (we're guessing it's an R/T based on the fender stripes). Complete with a custom set of wheels, the image was enough to trigger more than a few questions about where an unemployed student-athlete came up with the money for such a purchase. Now, this could be harmless. Henry, flush with a full-ride to Bama could have convinced his parents to get him something nice with his college fund.

The second post, though, is a straight-up accusation. It comes from former West Virginia Mountaineer and current CFL quarterback Pat White, who posted the following on his Facebook page.

Post by Pat White.

Them's a fightin' words.

If what White alleges is true and Alabama did offer him a Chevrolet Corvette, it would lead to a huge investigation by the NCAA into Alabama's recruiting practices. Championships could be vacated ('Bama has three since 2009), while fines and probation could come to the program and Head Coach Nick Saban might even find himself out of a job.

There are a few big reasons not to take White's claim seriously, though. As Bleacher Report points out, White wasn't recruited as a blue-chip prospect. He was merely a three-star player, which makes it seem unlikely that any program would take the risk or the expense of handing over a $50,000 to $70,000 car just so he'd sign his name on the dotted line.

B/R also points out that it's not entirely clear if White was even recruited by Bama. It points to the two leading online recruiting resources, Scouts.com and Rivals.com, which don't agree as to whether White was even pursued by the Tide.

Regardless of how Henry actually got the car, this is likely not the last we'll hear of NCAA student-athletes running into trouble over cars and amateurism rules.

By Brandon Turkus