Gene Jelks

Alabama released a four-paragraph NCAA letter to The Tuscaloosa News Tuesday, confirming an investigation into claims by former Crimson Tide football player Gene Jelks that he received cash to play.

Alabama released a four-paragraph NCAA letter to The Tuscaloosa News Tuesday, confirming an investigation into claims by former Crimson Tide football player Gene Jelks that he received cash to play.

Fourth-ranked Alabama showed Coach Ray Perkins something Saturday. "I think we touched on greatness today," Perkins said after a strong second-half performance carried the Crimson Tide to a 21-7 victory over 13th-ranked Florida in a Southeastern Conference showdown. The Tide took control in the third quarter, when quarterback Mike Shula engineered two long scoring drives that erased a 7-0 halftime deficit. "We haven't had a better half since I've been here," Perkins said.

USC football Coach Ted Tollner says, without exaggeration, that Alabama is the best team his Trojans will have played this season. Alabama (8-2-1) and USC (6-5) are opponents in Saturday's Aloha Bowl game at Honolulu, but the Crimson Tide could easily have been playing in a New Year's Day bowl game instead, according to Tollner.

Gene Jelks, a former Alabama football star, talked to an NCAA investigator about his claims of getting thousands of dollars from coaches and boosters to play for the Crimson Tide, Jelks' attorney said. Tom Jones, the university's faculty athletic chairman, said the school would proceed with a full investigation and file a report with the Southeastern Conference and the NCAA.

Georgia Tech Coach Bill Curry declined to say Saturday whether he has agreed to become the football coach at Alabama, but a Crimson Tide player said he was told by university officials that Curry has accepted the job. Joab Thomas, the school's president, has called a news conference today at the Tuscaloosa, Ala., campus. "I can't say who, but somebody from the school called me and told me Bill Curry is our new coach," Alabama tailback Gene Jelks said.

Bobby Humphrey, Alabama's career rushing leader, broke a bone in his left foot in Saturday's 44-10 Southeastern Conference victory over Vanderbilt and is likely out for the season. "We're going to wait until tomorrow, but it looks now like he's going to be out for the season," Alabama spokesman Steve Townsend said. "He broke the same bone he had broken before." Humphrey carried 24 times for 101 yards and 2 touchdowns against Vanderbilt, increasing his career yardage total to 3,402.

The NCAA will notify Alabama by Thursday of whether it plans to charge the school with rules violations, clear it of wrongdoing or continue a year-long investigation, the association's enforcement director said Tuesday. David Berst said all three options are open to the NCAA, which began investigating the Crimson Tide program after former football player Gene Jelks claimed he received money and other benefits.

Gene Jelks, a former Alabama football player, says he was paid thousands of dollars by coaches and school boosters during his career with the Crimson Tide. In a copyright story in today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Jelks, a cornerback and captain on Alabama's 1989 Southeastern Conference championship team, charged that: "I was bought and sold to the university." He said money was funneled to him and his mother while he was still in high school to obligate him to play for the Crimson Tide.

Fourth-ranked Alabama showed Coach Ray Perkins something Saturday. "I think we touched on greatness today," Perkins said after a strong second-half performance carried the Crimson Tide to a 21-7 victory over 13th-ranked Florida in a Southeastern Conference showdown. The Tide took control in the third quarter, when quarterback Mike Shula engineered two long scoring drives that erased a 7-0 halftime deficit. "We haven't had a better half since I've been here," Perkins said.

USC football Coach Ted Tollner says, without exaggeration, that Alabama is the best team his Trojans will have played this season. Alabama (8-2-1) and USC (6-5) are opponents in Saturday's Aloha Bowl game at Honolulu, but the Crimson Tide could easily have been playing in a New Year's Day bowl game instead, according to Tollner.