Franklin County alleges recruiting violation in Morris transfer to ACD

EASTPOINT — Mike Todd, Franklin County High School athletic director, has alerted the Florida High School Athletic Association of a possible recruiting violation in the transfer of standout boys basketball player Carlos Morris to a private school in Jacksonville known for its basketball prowess.

In a Feb. 3 letter to Denarvise Thornton, the FHSAA’s associate director for compliance and eligibility services, Todd set in motion an investigation as to whether FHSAA rules were violated when Morris, a two-year starter on the Seahawks’ boys varsity despite being only a sophomore, enrolled at Arlington County Day just after the beginning of the second semester.

In his letter to Thornton, Todd said Morris had failed to earn a cumulative grade-point average of at least a 2.0 during the fall semester, thus making him ineligible for the second semester sports programs at Franklin County Schools.

“Because of this Carlos has left our school,” Todd wrote. “He has registered and as of today attended classes at Arlington Country Day School in Jacksonville, Florida.”

Calls to Arlington County Day were not returned, although a receptionist who answered the telephone confirmed that Morris was enrolled.

Morris’ mother, Keturah Washington, also confirmed that her son was enrolled at ACD, but declined further comment.

Todd’s accusation of a recruiting violation by Arlington Country Day centers on an assistant coach at the school, Antwain Tunnell. In his letter to Thornton, Todd said Tunnell coached an AAU team last summer called “The Heart and Hustle Florida U15” on which Morris played.

Todd is contending that Arlington Country Day violated rule 22.4 that asserts “participation by a student in non-school athletics (i.e. AAU, American Legion, club settings, etc.) that is affiliated with any school other than the school which the student attends, or attended the prior year, followed by enrollment by that student in the affiliated school, shall be considered prima facie evidence of recruiting by the school to which that student enrolled, or that the student enrolled in that school in whole or in part for athletic reasons.”

The rule goes on to put the burden of proof on the new school, noting that unless this evidence that the student “enrolled in the new school in whole or in part for athletic reasons is disproved by the school and student to the satisfaction of the Executive Director, the student shall be ineligible to represent that school in interscholastic athletic competition for a period of 365 consecutive days from the date of his/her enrollment in that school.”

If Thornton finds in favor of Todd’s challenge, then Morris would not be able to compete in basketball for Arlington Country Day until the second half of his junior season, at the earliest.

In his follow-up to Todd’s letter, Thornton asked for a copy of the AAU team roster, as well as a copy of Morris’ grades prior to this withdrawal from Franklin County High School.

“Verifying the contact from the coach to the student may be most difficult to prove, but the first two items are ‘tangible,’” wrote Thornton, referring to the AAU team involvement and Morris’ grades.

Morris has been ranked by high school basketball recruiting services as one of the top sophomore players in Florida. In last year’s Class 2A state semifinals in Lakeland, he scored 20 points as a freshman when Franklin County fell 65-59 to Arlington County Day , which went on to win its fifth consecutive state basketball championship the following day.

Accusations of recruiting often swirl around private school athletic powerhouse programs. However, there are limited instances of formal sanctions against ACD by the state.

According to the Florida Times-Union, in August 2000, the FHSAA placed the school on a two-year probation and fined it $1,000 for several recruiting violations, including five baseball players who transferred from First Coast High School.