Yahoo Sports investigation reveals Tyler Bray and four other SEC football players received extra benefits

An old Drew Franklin classic

A Yahoo Sports investigation has revealed that five SEC football players violated NCAA rules by receiving extra benefits during their college careers: University of Alabama offensive tackle D.J. Fluker, University of Tennessee quarterback Tyler Bray, Tennessee defensive end Maurice Couch, Mississippi State University defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and Mississippi State wideout Chad Bumphis.

Fluker, Bray and Cox are currently playing in the NFL, while Bumphis was just released by the Miami Dolphins, and Couch is a senior starter at Tennessee this season. Yahoo discovered the violations via financial and text message records belonging to former Alabama defensive end Luther Davis, who allegedly acted as an intermediary between several high school stars and NFL agents and financial advisors.

From Yahoo’s story:

Davis declined to comment for this story. However, Yahoo Sports was able to authenticate text message records, Western Union fund transfers, banking statements, flight receipts and other financial material linking both Davis and the five college football players. Yahoo Sports also found that three NFL agents and three financial advisers engaged Davis in transactions totaling $45,550. The three agents were Andy Simms, Peter Schaffer and John Phillips. The financial advisers were Jason Jernigan, Mike Rowan and Hodge Brahmbhatt.

…All told, the records show agents and financial advisers moved at least $45,550 to Davis between September 2011 and December 2012. During that same timeframe, records also show at least $12,700 in cash, airfare, living expenses or other receipts moving from Davis to the five players. In addition to that amount, Yahoo Sports also obtained a line-item invoice of 49 transactions from February 2013 that Davis emailed to Fluker’s onetime financial adviser Hodge Brahmbhatt. Within the email, Davis listed $33,755 in expenditures under the subject line “D.J. Fluker Invoice.”

The section concerning Bray is particularly funny:

After reviewing Bray’s Twitter account, Yahoo Sports found that Bray had interacted with a Matthew Schroeder consistently dating back to 2011, referring to Schroeder as being part of “the crew.” Bray also made references about trips to the mall with Schroeder, as well as “burger night” at a Knoxville restaurant, and an accident with a deer that included Bray, Schroeder and two others.

Tyler Bray involved in an accident with a deer? Why am I not surprised.

To see a detailed list of transactions, texts, and other potential violations per play, check out Yahoo’s story in full:

[Documents, text messages reveal impermissible benefits to five SEC players]