Former Alabama offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor appeared to say the quiet part out loud while discussing his transfer to Iowa. He may have admitted to tampering by the Hawkeyes. Oops!
Proctor, the top-ranked lineman in the college football recruiting Class of 2023, started every game for the Crimson Tide last season. The freshman was a crucial piece to the College Football Playoff run during his lone year in Tuscaloosa after some initial early-season struggles.
Kadyn Proctor, LT #74
— What does the film say? (@Huskers_film) January 17, 2024
6’7, 355 Des Moines, Iowa 2023
#1 OT in 2023
HS: 99, Transfer: 99
Freshman All-American
5 ⭐️ #Huskers https://t.co/8ebkiwt0yx pic.twitter.com/lk5SnJAY59
He then announced his decision to transfer shortly after Nick Saban retired. Proctor, an Iowa-native, later committed to the Hawkeyes with curious timing.
SWARM Collective, the University of Iowa’s top NIL arm, raised big money in the 24/48 hours after the five-star lineman entered the portal. There is a direct correlation in why that happened.
Regardless of what led Proctor to return back to his native state, he did!
And not long after his announcement, the 6-foot-8, 365-pound tackle pulled up to support his new school’s basketball team in their game against Purdue. Naturally, the media found him in the crowd and asked a few questions.
This is where things might get dicey.
Did Iowa tamper with Kadyn Proctor?
Proctor said that his decision to transfer to Iowa was easy because of his already-established relationship with the staff. He may have admitted to tampering…
According to NCAA Bylaw 13.1.1.3, “an athletics staff member or other representative of the institution’s athletic interests shall not make contact with the student-athlete of another NCAA or NAIA four-year collegiate institution, directly or indirectly, without first obtaining the written permission of the first institution’s athletics director (or an athletics administrator designated by the athletics department) to do so.” Basically, a student-athlete at one school cannot be contacted by a staff member at another school without permission.
Proctor accidentally said that is exactly what happened…
No bridges were burned [at Iowa.]
That’s why it was so easy for me to pick them when I did enter the transfer portal, because we still have those relationships. Even after I was doing bad in the SEC and struggling, they hit me up and said ‘We’re proud of you, you’re gonna get through this.’ And that’s what ultimately helped me with my decision.
— Kadyn Proctor
While the extent of the Hawkeyes’ contact with the then-Crimson Tide lineman is unclear, what Proctor said on Saturday certainly seems to violate Bylaw 13.1.1.3. Is that not tampering?
We will see if the NCAA views Proctor’s comments similarly. The (rather incompetent) governing body of college sports often picks and chooses what it does or does not want to enforce.
Perhaps there is more to the equation here that would not be deemed a violation. However, going only off of his admittance about Iowa’s in-season contact, it certainly appears as though Iowa went against the rules.
Even if everybody is doing it, Proctor shouldn’t have said the quiet part out loud. He subjected his new school to scrutiny— or potentially worse.