Kirby Smart addresses allegations Darnell Washington received money from Tennessee during recruitment

Last week, a report from the Knoxville News Sentinel said former Georgia tight end Darnell Washington received money from Tennessee during his recruitment while Jeremy Pruitt was the Vols’ head coach. Of course, Washington ultimately chose to attend Georgia, where he won two national championships.

At SEC Media Days on Tuesday, Kirby Smart responded to the report.

Smart told reporters he didn’t know about the allegations until the report came out. He also noted Georgia wasn’t part of the investigation in any fashion.

“No. We don’t get involved in any kind of NCAA investigation,” Smart said, via The Athletic’s Seth Emerson. “I wasn’t aware of it, or knew about it, or had anything to do with it. I saw the reports, like you guys did.”

The Knox News’ Mike Wilson reported Washington received money from then-assistant Brian Niedermeyer during the recruitment process. Niedermeyer was one of the many Pruitt assistants implicated in the NCAA’s investigation and received a five-year show-cause penalty as a result.

During Washington’s recruitment, Niedermeyer apparently delivered cash in a parking lot and accompanied Washington’s family on the flight to his official visit, according to the Knox News.

Washington was a five-star recruit and the No. 24-ranked recruit from the 2020 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He, of course, ended up committing to Georgia and helped lead the Bulldogs to back-to-back national titles.

This past May, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Washington in the third round of the NFL Draft.

More on the NCAA investigation into Jeremy Pruitt, Tennessee

The NCAA alleged Pruitt and staff gave players cash and gifts throughout his tenure in Knoxville, which spanned from 2018 to 2021. The report also details that his wife, Casey Pruitt, paid more than $15,000 in rent and car payments for a Tennessee player and his mother. That arrangement reportedly went on for two and a half years.

The NCAA announced the penalties against Tennessee last week, nearly a year after initially receiving the Notice of Allegations. The Volunteers didn’t receive a bowl ban, but will pay an $8 million fine and Pruitt received a six-year show-cause penalty. A show-cause penalty means a school will have present reasons to the NCAA why it wants to hire one of them to its staff during that time period.

Last year, four Pruitt assistants — Niedermeyer, outside linebackers coach Shelton Felton, director of player personnel Drew Hughes and student assistant coach Michael Magness — received show-cause penalties ranging from three to five years.