Also - I think if you get TECHNICAL then nobody has been totally pure. But let's at least admit there's a difference between giving a recruit a ride home when there's a thunderstorm coming and a $100 handshake (in terms of intent).
This is the part that really irritates me. From time to time we hear "everyone cheats". Everyone breaks the rules, sure. Some of the rules are silly, stupid, and practically unavoidable. Having a BBQ? Giving a guy a golf cart ride? There are also some victimless crimes. To give one example, a player who is on a team having contact with an agent, even getting money from said agent. Is that breaking the rules, yes! Is it really changing anything? No, it's not! If anything the agent would encourage him to leave school, not stay there. What advantage does the school gain in that situation? None (they'd clearly want the agent far away)! Yet, some people would term that as "cheating". I agree it's a violation of the rules, but not that it is cheating.
What is cheating? What is the real problem to me? It's when Ole Miss goes out and blatantly buys recruiting classes. And if everyone does it, if this is going on everywhere, how in the heck is it so noticeable when Ole Miss does it? I was here before the big recruiting class was signed saying what was going on. Cam Newton at Auburn, being shopped by his dad, his dad choosing his location. That's another example of cheating. It's public record he went there because of his dad. It's public record his dad shopped him. And, yeah we see Auburn here used as proof that everyone is cheating. No, it's proof Auburn is cheating.
I'm not claiming all the programs are clean. They're not. What I'm saying though is that it's stupid to mix up free textbooks with buying a Heisman trophy winner. Everyone breaks the rules, absolutely. Not everyone does what Auburn or Ole Miss did though.