Ole Miss is now reportedly investigating texts from Laremy Tunsil in which he admitted he took money from assistant athletic director for football operations John Miller.
This news was first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who notes the NCAA has no comment at this time.
The information was attained via Tunsil’s now-deactivated Instagram account, which was hacked on draft day in the same manner in which his Twitter account was hacked.
Laremy Tunsil's IG has now been hacked. Out. Of. Control. pic.twitter.com/zTijv7t8Gu
— Busted Coverage (@bustedcoverage) April 29, 2016
The Twitter hack attack showed a two-year-old video of Tunsil smoking marijuana out of a gas mask bong. The video caused the Baltimore Ravens to reportedly take him off their draft board.
Tunsil has admitted it was him smoking out of the bong and actually got in front of the firestorm by telling teams the truth right away, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
How did Laremy Tunsil end his slide? First, he told agent Jimmy Sexton it was him on the video & it was 2-yrs old. He owned it right away
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 29, 2016
Agent Jimmy Sexton called in to war room and put Laremy Tunsil on the phone to teams. Tunsil himself owned his past drug use in the video.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 29, 2016
Laremy Tunsil's message to coaches & decision makers: It was me, I did it. I've learned from my mistakes & will improve. Dolphins believe it
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 29, 2016
By owning up to his mistake, Tunsil avoided what could have been a catastrophic fall. One of the top three players on most draft boards around the web, he ultimately fell to the Miami Dolphins at No. 13.
It was a tough lesson, but thankfully he seems to have moved on from his foolish ways. Tunsil didn’t fail any drug tests at Ole Miss or the NFL Scouting Combine.
If he’s smart, he’ll pick up the phone and get in touch with Fred Taylor, the ex-NFL running back, who has offered to mentor the young man.