HOOVER, Ala. – Last week, Alabama coach Nick Saban and Florida coach Urban Meyer hammered away at the “dirty” NFL agents who constantly try to woo college players with money, trips and women.

Auburn coach Gene Chizik took a nearly opposite stance Friday, placing the blame on the beneficiaries rather than the enablers.

“A lot of this has got to go back on the young guy,” Chizik said. “I mean, he’s got to have an allegiance to his school, he’s got to have an allegiance to his teammates, he’s got to have an allegiance to his football team and his coaches and his university.”

Chizik isn’t one of the four coaches whose players are under the crosshairs of the NCAA during its ongoing investigation. But he wasn’t alone with his opinion Friday – a day in which the tenor was drastically calmer in regards to the hot-button issue.

“You have a drug dealer, and you have a decision to buy from a drug dealer and do drugs,” Tennessee coach Derek Dooley said. “At the end of the day, it’s really no different.”

Auburn offensive tackle Lee Ziemba briefly considered departing after his junior season to test the NFL waters.

Though he wouldn’t elaborate on certain instances, Ziemba clearly faced situations where he could have made a questionable decision to benefit his bank
account.

The education he received from Auburn’s compliance department, along with a little common sense, allowed him to brush off the not-so-secretive dirty agents, he said.

“They usually introduce themselves. You know who you’re dealing with,” Ziemba said. “And you also know the rules about all them. And you’re responsible
for those rules.”