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Another Day, Another Damning Accusation Against Former UNC Football Assistant

Two days after Yahoo!’s Charles Robinson published the most damaging piece to North Carolina’s football program yet, TMZ threw its hat into the UNC/Blake ring today with a report that embattled former UNC assistant John Blake steered 1980s Oklahoma star Brian Bosworth toward agent Gary Wichard, and did it before Bosworth officially turned pro.

Wichard, it so happens, is the agent with whom Blake is linked to this day. Their relationship is the subject of Robinson’s story from earlier this week, and Yahoo! published another Blake-Wichard story in August, part of which looks at the number of players whose college careers overlapped with Blake’s coaching career, then signed with Wichard. One that they mention: Brian Bosworth.

Here’s what TMZ says in their story:

“A source close to ‘The Boz’ tells TMZ the former University of Oklahoma football player was approached by John Blake back in the late 80s — while Bosworth was still in school. We’re told … Blake, an OU football assistant at the time, told Bosworth, “I have a guy who’s going to change your life.” That guy was agent Gary Wichard.

Does an anonymous source offering a direct quote that would have been uttered – by someone else – over 20 years ago inspire the most confidence in the world? It does not. But: Bosworth did sign with Wichard before the 1987 draft, by which time Blake and Wichard already knew one another (Wichard told Robinson he met Blake in 1985.

The Bosworth-Wichard pairing ended about as well as the Blake-UNC union (Bosworth sued Wichard earlier this year). But even if Blake’s dealings with Bosworth were less, well, against the rules than TMZ implies, just the fact that this report is out there has to make UNC fans even more relieved that Blake is gone.

The once-promising new era of North Carolina football is going down in flames, and Blake was the first to go because of it. Time will tell if head coach Butch Davis is next. And even in the middle of that mess – Rutgers still couldn’t beat them. Ugh.

H/T SPORTSbyBROOKS

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