Koenning responds to Escalade "controversy"
Posted 02:37 p.m., August 26, 2008
Vic Koenning says he's going to be a lot more careful in the future when he makes jokes around reporters.
Koenning said there should have been no question that he was kidding Monday night when he referred to Alabama receivers Julio Jones and B.J. Scott, claiming he witnessed them driving Cadillac Escalades when he saw them recruiting at their high schools during the spring.
As expected, Koenning's quotes created quite a stir in Crimson Tide country. And on Tuesday, Koenning made every effort to emphasize that he doesn't think there's anything fishy going on in Tuscaloosa.
"I’m dealing with something I created, so it’s no one’s fault but mine," he said.
On Monday night, after he was asked a general question about Jones and his south Alabama recruiting ties, Koenning said this:
"I actually ran into Julio in the spring recruiting. I said hello to him. I said, 'Well, I guess I’ll be seeing you at the end of August.' And then he got out and got in his Escalade and drove off. That’s (being) serious. And then I went over and watched (Alabama freshman) Burton Scott at Vigor High School at the track over there, and Burton Scott was running around. He went and got in his Escalade out at track practice and drove off. So I’m familiar with those two guys."
A few minutes later, Koenning said Jones and Scott are going to "upgrade to the next model" in two years.
Koenning said this has been "100 percent" a distraction as he tries to prepare for Saturday's opener against Alabama. He said he's exchanged text messages with Alabama coach Burton Burns, a former Tigers assistant.
"That’s not me to cast stones or to have ill feelings toward that," he said. "It was my misjudgment in saying something in a joking manner that got taken and run with."
Clemson coach Tommy Bowden said he nor his staff have ever had a problem with Alabama's or Auburn's recruiting in his nine seasons at the school.
"He’s got friends in the state. I’ve got friends in the state. I have never had a problem with either school, and a guy makes an off-the-cuff comment. And I know we’re really looking for things to write about and talk about on the Internet and talk shows. But if we would have had some bad blood in the past – but here’s a school that has had zero bad blood and has recruited that state actively.
"That’s why I was kind of surprised that it snowballed and got the momentum that it did. ... We didn’t even recruit him, Julio Jones. So I think that shows you how insignificant the statement is."
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