Purdue calls leaked playbook allegation against ex-Memphis player ‘mischaracterized’

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — The Purdue Boilermakers believe the alleged leaking of a playbook from defensive back Tahj Ra-El, a former Memphis player, to UTSA quarterback Owen McCown has been “mischaracterized.”

Ra-El left Memphis in the middle of last season and has since transferred to Purdue where coach Barry Odom is in his first season.

“Our coaching staff sees this scenario as being mischaracterized and does not have any concerns moving forward,” the athletic department said in a statement given to The Associated Press on Friday.

The controversy erupted last week when On3 published screenshots of an alleged conversation between the former high school teammates from Charlotte, North Carolina.

“Far left is coverages. i’ll send you better list showing you the call,” the screenshot showed Ra-El wrote. “But they run qtrs none of they safeties can cover btw (sic).”

Ra-El also reportedly told McCown that starting safety Kourtlan Marsh had an injured hamstring. Marsh didn’t play in the game, which UTSA won 44-36 after scoring 30 consecutive points to erase a 24-14 halftime deficit.

During the American Conference media days, UTSA coach Jeff Traylor said the information had “no bearing whatsoever” on the outcome of that game, adding that had not heard about the allegations until last week.

“The stuff he sent him didn’t make any sense, so he didn’t tell me,” Traylor said. “He was just being nice to his buddy. It got blown out of context in my opinion.”

McCown, who is the son of former NFL quarterback and current Minnesota Vikings quarterbacks coach Josh McCown, threw for 3,424 yards and 25 touchdowns with 10 interceptions in 13 games last season, his first as the Roadrunners starter. They finished 7-6 and beat Coastal Carolina in the Myrtle Beach Bowl.

Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield said Friday he spoke with Traylor earlier in the week over the phone and again at the coach’s dinner on Thursday night.

“Look, it’s the nature of it,” Silverfield said. “(We) have had open dialogue. We both said it’s in our best interest, regardless of what happened, that we should move on and focus on our 2025 season.”

American Conference Commissioner Tim Pernetti addressed the situation on Friday, saying that he spoke to both coaches and was allowing them to handle the situation.

He downplayed the story, saying, “what I can tell you is there’s really not much to this story. I think a lot of it has been, you know, sensationalized, and some of it I think quite frankly is clickbait.”

While Pernetti said protecting the integrity of the league is vitally important to him, he added, “anything that flirts with the line we are going to take seriously but I think in this case it is much ado about nothing.”

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AP Sports Writer Steve Reed from Charlotte contributed to this report.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football