Tosh Lupoi – Has Slick Rick Returned To The U Dub?

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When it comes to recruiting violations or NCAA violations or Pac-12 violations, it doesn’t matter – if they involve the Huskies, I go out of my way to make mountain RANGES out of molehills.

After reading about Tosh Lupoi’s secondary violation in Bob Condotta’s Seattle Times blog yesterday, I danced a little jig at the KIRO studios.

Lupoi, as you know, is the guy that Coach Sark lured away from Cal by drastically overpaying him to come to Seattle. Lupoi is apparently worth it because he’s known for being one of the best recruiters in the country.

If Lupoi had stayed at Cal, highly touted safety Shaq Thompson would be a Golden Bear. But since he came to Washington, Thompson did too.

Lupoi apparently has a magic wand or some sort of hypnotic-trance routine that makes him a pigskin Pied Piper.

I still believe that, ultimately, he will not be God’s gift to recruiting at Washington. Selling Cal was easier because Lupoi went to school and played football there.

If I were Lupoi, I’d have a hard time sleeping at night even if I were making hundreds of thousands of dollars. I’d feel like I sold my soul if I ever left a job at my alma mater, Washington State, for a job at Washington.

So maybe this is karma catching up to him. According to Condotta’s blog, Lupoi publicized the visit of a prospective student-athlete by confirming the information about the recruit to members of the Dawg Pack. That’s an NCAA no-no.

As a result, Lupoi was limited in his ability to recruit on the road during the spring evaluation period.

In the scheme of things, you could argue that this is a really minor deal. And if I were a Dawg, I’d agree with you.

But since I’m a Coug, I hope this is a baby step toward primary and major violations. I also hope that Lupoi is a budding Rick Neuheisel who will usher in the grand return of Probation Nation!