ATHENS — The University of Georgia is aware of allegations made by Valdosta High School coach Rush Propst that both the Bulldogs and Alabama routinely pay football players hundreds of thousands of dollars to play for them. That’s according to the person who secretly recorded Propst making those accusations.
Michael “Nub” Nelson, former director of the Valdosta Touchdown Club, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that UGA was provided with a copy of those recordings this past Friday and that he has was interviewed by school compliance officials on Saturday.
“They called and asked a bunch of questions,” Nelson said Monday. “They asked me not to discuss it, so I don’t want to say too much.”
Nelson said he has yet to hear from Alabama compliance officials, but he figures he will, eventually.
Parts of those recordings – which Nelson said were made on May 16, 2020 — were being circulated on social media on Monday. Nelson claims he does not know how his “audio clips” ended up in the public sector.
“I really don’t know,” he said. “I had the clips made and I guess that’s how it got out. I only gave (the audio file) to two people, one who has access to Georgia and one who has access to Alabama.”
On the recordings, Propst is heard telling Nelson that both UGA and Alabama pay recruits $90,000 to $100,000 to sign with them. Propst also said that the Bulldogs paid former running back Nick Chubb $180,000 in three installments of $60,000 each to return to Georgia for his senior season in 2017.
In an interview Monday, Nelson told the AJC that he turned over the files to UGA “to give them a heads up.” He also said he does not believe the allegations and doesn’t think anything will come of it.
“I don’t think they’re in trouble because of who said this,” said Nelson, referring to Propst. “That man’s credibility is zero and they’ll put this out in no time. I’d be surprised if the NCAA spends more than a minute on it.”
Propst did not return messages seeking comment Monday.
The story behind this story is that Nelson and Propst have been at odds for months. Nelson said the recordings are from a meeting they had in Propst’s office about a month after Propst was hired to take over as Valdosta’s storied program last spring. Nelson claims that Propst informed him he wanted to pay players to come play for the Wildcats and that he needed access to the Touchdown Club’s money in order to do so.
In a 64-page sworn deposition submitted to the Lowndes County Superior Court last month, Nelson claims Propst was directing $2,500-a-month to Jake Garcia, a star quarterback who transferred from California last fall, for rent and other expenses. He said Propst also sought $850 a month for another transfer quarterback, Amari Jones.
Nelson was being deposed as part of a civil action being brought against Valdosta City Schools by former Valdosta football coach Alan Rodemaker, who Propst succeeded. Nelson was fired as the TD Club’s director by the club’s board of directors on Feb. 22.
“I didn’t think our board would get behind something like that,” Nelson said. “They were trying to shut me up.”
UGA on Monday directed the AJC’s questions to compliance director Will Lawler, who also did not respond to requests for comment.
“This isn’t about (college) recruiting,” Nelson said. “This is about money being diverted into somebody’s back pocket. … There’s nothing to all that all other stuff. There’s no way the NCAA tries to make anything out of all this. I don’t see how they could.”
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