More potential trouble for OSU

Photographer’s dealings with players no secret to Ohio State

By Doug Lesmerises

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Columbus

Ohio State can’t say it was surprised to hear the name Dennis Talbott in reports claiming he paid Terrelle Pryor thousands of dollars for signing memorabilia.

On at least two occasions, Ohio State was warned about Talbott and his relationship with OSU football players, long before ESPN’s report that Talbott had given Pryor between $20,000 and $40,000.

In a March 21, 2007 email to former coach Jim Tressel, a source gave the following warning about the alleged online activities of Talbott, a Columbus-based freelance photographer who also is involved in memorabilia sales:

“He has sold over 50 items with underclassmen signatures before their eligibility expires and would seem to be someone that both you and the university is aware of. I have a full report of his eBay activities if you would like to explore further or require documentation.”

The e-mail was sent to the account tressel.3@osu.edu. That is the same address Columbus attorney Chris Cicero used to email Tressel in April 2010 about OSU players selling memorabilia, an email that Tressel did not disclose, an NCAA violation that eventually led to his resignation.

Despite the warning in 2007, Talbott received free tickets from an OSU player to eight Buckeyes games during the 2008 season, according to school records. OSU redacted which player or players left tickets for Talbott.

The second warning about Talbott to OSU came in summer 2009. Two employees of Scioto Reserve Golf Club contacted the athletic department after seeing Talbott and Pryor golfing together. One employee said he talked to an Ohio State assistant coach he knew socially, and was told the matter would be taken care of. Another employee, Regan Koivisto, the club’s general manager, said he called the football office and detailed his concerns while talking to an administrative assistant.

“I just thought it would be best if the coaching staff was aware, because I’m certain they … would want to know,” Koivisto said.

Talbott said that he never paid for Pryor to play golf.

With Tressel’s resignation, Pryor’s decision to leave the team and the fact that Talbott is not under NCAA jurisdiction, the issue at hand isn’t about a coach, a quarterback or a photographer.

The issue is whether Ohio State had reason to act when it came to Talbott’s access to the team; whether his continued presence around the program led to any NCAA violations that could have been prevented; and whether those at Ohio State committed potential violations if they failed to follow up on information.

Tressel faced major violations for not disclosing the Cicero emails to the Ohio State administration or compliance office.

It’s unknown what Tressel or the university did after these warnings about Talbott.

WBNS television in Columbus on Friday reported another warning to Ohio State in the form of a call to the compliance office’s anonymous tip line last July. The station said the office then began to look into Talbott’s relationship with Pryor.

Talbott and Larry James, a lawyer who represented Pryor through his NCAA issues, both said money never changed hands between the photographer and the player.