Kiffin closes on two top classes before can of worms opens

Lane Kiffin is the coach who keeps on giving ...

... crap to Urban Meyer.

... headaches to the NCAA.

... sweet promises to recruits.

Lane Kiffin built the foundation of Tennessee's class before putting the finishing touches on USC's. (Getty Images)

Yeah, all those things. Still. Change of venue hasn't seemed to matter. Now hold on to your commitment list, recruitniks. Turns out Coach K's giving has just begun at USC and Tennessee.

With the droolfest known as national signing day upon us, Lane Kiffin established himself as this year's recruiting MVP -- Most Valuable Pimp. That's the most literal way to put it. Kiffin hit the streets to become this silly season's most prolific collector of talent.

What other coach has a hand in possibly landing two top-notch recruiting classes on Wednesday? Give the man credit. It was largely Kiffin's class that Derek Dooley had to shore up. When he bolted Tennessee for the coast three weeks ago, Kiffin had to win in the living room at USC long before he won a game.

As of Thursday, Rivals.com listed USC No. 1 and Tennessee No. 9 nationally in recruiting. Everybody happy?

Thirty-four days into 2010, a heck of a case can be made: Lane Kiffin is the coach of the year. So far. His fingerprints are all over those two schools' classes.

"I guess, in reality, you could literally make that argument," said Jeremy Crabtree, Rivals.com national editor. "I guess I never sat and thought about it that way. In theory, that's what he did."

As of late Tuesday, eight of USC's 12 commitments had also received offers from Tennessee, including five-star receiver Kyle Prater and athlete Robert Woods. That's an indication that Kiffin was recruiting at least some of them before he left for USC.

At least 14 players on Tennessee's list of 25 recruits had committed under Kiffin or had enrolled early at the semester. That list included quarterback Tyler Bray, Kiffin's first quarterback commit at Tennessee, and four-star defenders Corey Miller and Ralph Williams.

"A lot of the kids that were with the Vols early on, stuck," Crabtree said.

Who cares if some of those UT players were flipped for USC quicker than the priced-to-sell three-bedroom at the end of the block?

His recruiting skill assures that Kiffin's true impact in his short stay at Tennessee won't be felt for years. That's part of the reason they weren't exactly celebrating Wednesday at Tennessee. Knoxville radio personality Alex Anderson says he has the fax number of the USC football office and is urging listeners to jam it by sending in their "commitments."

"That's going to happen," Anderson said. "Lane's made a few enemies. ... We're just telling people, 'If you want to commit to USC, fill it out, and send it in. They're going to have a numbers crunch. I don't know if they know about it or not. We were trying to keep it under wraps."

It didn’t matter because it didn’t work.

In fact, USC must have developed its own brand of kryptonite. If anything, the program has gotten stronger since Pete Carroll left, based on Kiffin’s frantic recruiting finish on Wednesday. The addition of five-star prospects, receiver Markeith Ambles and offensive tackle Seantrel Henderson, might make this one of the best USC classes ever.

The New York Times reported Tuesday that Henderson had not signed his letter of intent, citing concerns over the NCAA investigation of USC.

If he does sign, it will turn out Henderson, the nation’s No. 1 prospect from St. Paul, Minn., was leaning toward the Trojans all along. Shortly after Carroll went to Seattle, Henderson called the USC assistant recruiting him and said, “What’s happening to my school?”

My school. That was in mid-January.

After Carroll and before Kiffin, USC may have been recruiting itself.

Still, neither Kiffin's former nor current employer can quite know what's in store after Wednesday. Despite Kiffin's departure, Dooley has done an admirable job scrambling to line up a top class. However, he has yet to test his coaching chops in the SEC.

Sixteen days after the magic of Kiffin's first signing day, there will be a bit of sobering reality at USC. Yahoosports.com reported last month that the NCAA had finally wrapped up its bundled investigations of the basketball and football programs.

CBSSports.com has learned since then that USC will be before the NCAA infractions committee at its next meeting, Feb. 19-21 in Tempe, Ariz. The USC party traveling to the desert almost certainly will include Kiffin. As a matter of protocol, the sitting head coach of a school under investigation attends the infractions committee hearing.

Typically, a school finds out its penalties, if any, six to eight weeks after the infractions committee hearing.

USC AD Mike Garrett had to know this day would come when he hired Kiffin last month. No blame has been attached to Kiffin, but he was on the staff when the alleged Reggie Bush violations occurred. Kiffin also has at least six secondary violations hanging over his head from his days at Tennessee.

Think how that wire photo will play in Knoxville when it shows Kiffin, smirk in place, walking in to meet the NCAA police.

CBSSports.com has not been able to determine if Pete Carroll will be present. While Carroll is out of college athletics, and cannot be ordered by the NCAA, he could be compelled to make an appearance.

There is a small chance the NCAA could attach a "show-cause" order to the case. That would mean if Carroll ever returned to college coaching, the school that hires him would have to appear before the NCAA and explain why it shouldn't be penalized.

NCAA Bylaw 11.2.1 states that, "... a coach who is found in violation of NCAA regulations shall be subject to disciplinary or corrective action ..."

Carroll has not been implicated in any wrongdoing at USC. In fact, the recent departures of the former coach and running back Joe McKnight from USC could help the Trojans' cause. However, the core of the case centers around whether USC coaches knew or should have known about the alleged extra benefits given to Bush, now with the New Orleans Saints. Bush has denied he and his family took approximately $300,000 in extra benefits during his sophomore and junior seasons in 2004 and 2005.

It's a bit dichotomous that shortly after the biggest professional game of Bush's career -- Sunday's Super Bowl -- his conduct during his college career could bring down USC. The school already has self-penalized the basketball program, presumably as a show of good faith to the NCAA.

USC, the Pac-10, Heisman Trust and BCS are all hanging on the NCAA's determination of penalties, if any. If the violations are deemed serious enough, the NCAA could slap USC with a lack of institutional control. Crossing into that murky hard-to-define territory could bring stiff penalties.

"In some ways it's like the old pornography standard defined by a judge," said one person familiar with the NCAA process, defining the lack of institutional control standard. "I don't know what it is, but I know it when I see it."

NCAA penalties could include any or all of the following: a loss of scholarships, a postseason ban and a vacating or forfeiting of victories. As part of basketball's self-imposed penalties, Kevin O'Neill's team is not eligible for the NCAA tournament. The bundled investigations also include a probe into McKnight's role in driving a 2006 Land Rover owned by a Santa Monica businessman. McKnight, a junior, has since declared for the NFL Draft.

The Pac-10 is conducting its own investigation and could strip USC of conference championships. If it is determined that Bush competed while ineligible and games are forfeited, BCS officials may have to rule on the validity USC's 2004 BCS title. Also, the Heisman Trust would be put in the uncomfortable position of evaluating the legitimacy of Bush's 2005 Heisman Trophy.

Happy signing day, Lane. Your work may have just begun.