Coach at center of Albert Means recruiting scandal to plead guilty

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Posted 9:15AM on Wednesday, October 30, 2002

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - A former high school football coach charged in a recruiting scandal will plead guilty, The Commercial Appeal reported Wednesday. The newspaper, quoting unidentified sources, said Lynn Lang will cooperate with a joint investigation by the FBI and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The U.S. District Court docket for Nov. 7 shows there is a change of plea scheduled for that day in the Lang case. He earlier pleaded innocent. Lang, former coach at Trezevant High, is accused of shopping around defensive lineman Albert Means to Southeastern Conference schools. A former assistant coach, Milton Kirk, has testified that Lang received $200,000 from Alabama booster Logan Young of Memphis in exchange for getting Means to sign with Alabama in February 2000. Means, described by authorities as an innocent victim, left Alabama after Kirk went public with the accusations and enrolled at the University of Memphis. Pat Brown, Lang's attorney, said Tuesday he could not discuss the case. A federal grand jury indicted Kirk and Lang on Aug. 29, 2001. Kirk pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and is scheduled to be sentenced in December. Lang had asserted his innocence all along while pleading innocent to one count of conspiracy, two counts of bribery and six counts of extortion. His trial was set to begin Nov. 18. Kirk, whose public comments about the matter sparked the investigations, said he felt vindicated. "I'm glad people can finally say that I wasn't lying and that I didn't make all this up," he told the paper. Young, informed Tuesday that Lang would plead guilty and cooperate with authorities, said, "I am not really concerned." He repeated earlier statements that he is innocent. The NCAA has accused Young of making at least three $10,000 payments to Lang before Means signed with Alabama. In February 2002, the NCAA placed Alabama on probation for five years, reduced scholarships by 21 over three years and banned the Crimson Tide from postseason football competition for two years for recruiting violations, some of which involved this case. The university also disassociated itself from Young for five years. Means played for the Tigers in 2001, but is academically ineligible for the current season. Lang, who resigned from the Memphis school system after the allegations surfaced, was fired as head football coach at South Delta High School in Rolling Fork, Miss., after his indictment.