A text conversation between Iowa's director of recruiting Tyler Barnes to then-Alabama left tackle Kayden Proctor caused Iowa to self-report a Level III violation related to impermissible contact per a report by Scott Dochterman of The Athletic.

After Proctor allowed two sacks and five total pressures in a game against Texas, Barnes texted him with the message “hang in there, buddy.” Proctor expressed to reporters how valuable this encouragement was during a difficult time on the field. Proctor, who grew up in Pleasant Hill, Iowa near Des Moines, had been committed to the Hawkeyes for almost six months before deciding to commit to Alabama a day befor the signing period that started in December 2022. Proctor has since transferred to Iowa and is currently taking Spring classes.

“Even after I was doing bad in the SEC and struggling, they hit me up and said, ‘We’re proud of you. You’re going to get through this,’” Proctor said two weeks ago in a quote obtained by The Athletic. “That’s what ultimately helped me with my decision because they still believed in me.”

The text between Barnes and Proctor was enough to warrant Iowa filing a self-violation. Iowa Athletic Director Beth Goetz spoke about the incident and informed the media on Thursday that all interested parties, including Barnes and Proctor, have been interviewed by compliance and the case officially was “in process.”

“In the context of what was shared in that message it doesn’t lessen the fact that we need to be responsible for what the rules are, but certainly there was a human element to the engagement, and I think that will be clear,” Goetz said of the incident. “Anytime we make a mistake, we’re going to hold ourselves accountable and take appropriate actions to ensure we don’t find ourselves back in that same position again.”

Level 3 NCAA violations are minor infractions that offer minimal competitive advantage. They typically involve isolated or limited instances of misconduct and do not include significant violations related to recruiting, academics, or extra benefits. Examples of level 3 violations include inadequate monitoring of recruiting activities, minor eligibility issues, and providing small amounts of impermissible benefits. Typically, these violations lead to minor penalties like reduced practice time or small fines.

The NCAA considers the cumulative impact of multiple Level 3 violations, regardless of their isolated and limited nature. If these violations occur repeatedly or show a pattern of rule disregard, they can escalate to a higher level of severity. The NCAA recognizes that even a seemingly small advantage can impact fairness, taking into account both the actual benefit gained and potential benefits that may arise. Level 3 violations can have significant consequences for student-athletes, especially if they affect their eligibility.

Although Goetz acknowledges that they had to self-report the violation, she downplayed the severity of the situation and reaffirmed that all parties involved were communicated with about the issue. She also gave further clarification on why the text needed to be self-reported.

“There’s no real investigation here other than we obviously talked with compliance, we did talk with Kadyn, we did talk with Tyler, and we’ll submit it…If an assistant coach goes and takes a job someplace else and is now texting (a player), technically those are impermissible conversations, regardless of the fact that you’re saying like, ‘Hey, how’s your mom doing?’ So it gets a little dicey because you want them to be human and they do build real relationships with them.”