NCAA sanctions against Florida coach Dan Mullen announced Tuesday stem in part from an incident nearly identical to one that landed Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher in NCAA trouble earlier this year. Both coaches were punished for violating NCAA contact rules on Seattle high school visits of the same class of 2020 recruit in 2019.
According to public reports of violations from the NCAA, both coaches inadmissibly contacted a recruit at the recruit’s school in January 2019. The Florida NCAA report stated that the high school is in Seattle and the date of the violation is January 14, 2019. The report in The Texas A&M case did not specify the location of the high school, but stated the date of the violation as of January 22, 2019. Multiple sources with direct knowledge of the case confirmed to The Athletic that the recruit was Sav ‘current Washington edge rusher. ell Smalls, and that the contact took place in Garfield …