Wiley and Purifoy still ineligible to play as Auburn opens season

AUBURN – Austin Wiley and Danjel Purifoy are still being classified as ineligible for game competition by Auburn’s compliance staff.

Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl confirmed no change has been made in the status of two projected starters and highly counted on contributors as the Tigers open the 2017-18 season against Norfolk State at 7 p.m. Friday.

Pearl said Thursday he is unaware if Auburn compliance department officials have begun the process with the NCAA Eligibility Center to petition for reinstatement.     

“I get a report day-to-day. And right now, those two guys, as of this afternoon, those two guys are eligible to practice but not compete,” Pearl said Thursday. “I don't know where they're at in the process. I just know who is eligible, and I know who is going to be at practice. If there was a change, they'd notify me. And there is no change.”

More:Bruce Pearl hasn't spoken to FBI or Auburn officials during investigation

Pearl confirmed to the Montgomery Advertiser on Tuesday that he has yet to speak to Auburn officials and the hired legal counsel conducting the internal investigation into the school’s men’s college basketball program.

Relevant personnel that Pearl hasn’t spoken to include would include Auburn athletics department senior officials, athletic director Jay Jacobs, university president Steven Leath, athletics compliance director Rich McGlynn, university legal counsel and the outside legal counsel Auburn hired from the firm Lightfoot, Franklin & White of Birmingham, Alabama.

ESPN.com reporter Mark Schlabach reported via unnamed sources Wednesday afternoon that Pearl “is refusing to cooperate in the school’s internal investigation into his program, and university officials have advised him that his job is in jeopardy if he doesn’t." Pearl said he addressed that report to his team during Wednesday’s practice session.

“For the first time yesterday, I addressed it,” Pearl said. “Somebody showed me during the practice, and I said, 'Guys, don't worry about it. This is just going through the process.”

More:Off-court issues stifling Auburn, Alabama resurgence

A spokesperson from the university president’s office declined comment on all aspects of the matter citing “the ongoing federal investigation.”

The internal investigation is related to the situation surrounding the arrest and indictment of then-Auburn assistant coach Chuck Person. An Auburn athletics department spokesperson confirmed Wednesday morning that Person, who was hired as an assistant coach by Pearl in 2014, was terminated by his alma mater on Oct. 18 — less than a week after the athletics department was issued a federal grand jury subpoena regarding the ongoing investigation into college basketball.

Auburn has already Wiley and Purifoy will not begin the 2017-18 season on the roster due to concerns regarding their eligibility in a fallout from the allegations against Person. These eligibility concerns are related to the investigation into the case against Person in which it is believed Wiley and Purifoy are the identities of “Player 1” and “Player 2” in the federal complaint against Person.

“I try to do everything I can to be a leader on the team, so just trying to keep the guys right and ready to go tomorrow,” Mustapha Heron, Auburn’s sophomore guard and leading returning scorer, said Thursday. “We’re focused on the first game, home opener, focused on going to Charleston next week and winning some games. So, we’re just focused on what we can control.”