Big penalty on Neuheisel.

Byline: Ron Bellamy / The Register-Guard

YOU WONDER WHETHER Washington football coach Rick Neuheisel gets it.

His comment Tuesday about recruiting violations that he and his staff committed at Colorado, as quoted by The Seattle Times, was positively Clintonesque: "I never deceived or was dishonest one time."

For 51 rules violations while he was the head coach at Colorado from 1995-98, Neuheisel got two programs penalized by the NCAA.

The Buffaloes must reduce the number of scholarships they offer in either of the next two school years from 25 to 20, must slightly reduce the number of expense-paid visits to campus by recruits, and must reduce the number of coaches recruiting off-campus from seven to six through July 31.

It could have been worse; the Buffs weren't banned from TV or bowl appearances.

The Huskies, though it might be termed a slap on the wrist, really do pay a bigger price. Neuheisel has been barred from off-campus recruiting until May 31, which means that one of the most effective head-coach recruiters in the nation won't be making in-home visits in December and January, and that has to have an impact on Washington's next recruiting class.

"Neuheisel is more active than most head coaches," wrote Steve Kelley in the Seattle Times. "He's on the road more. He likes recruiting, and he's good at it. He's good in living rooms with parents. He's good in high school hallways with kids. And he's as good a closer as Troy Percival.

"Taking Neuheisel off the road in December, January and February is like taking Reggie Williams off the field on third-and-long."

Beyond the impact on the coming recruiting class, you wonder about the stain on Neuheisel's reputation, which he had seemingly rehabilitated after committing recruiting violations in 1999, when he was hired, and taking the Huskies to the Rose Bowl.

A week after UW men's basketball assistant Cameron Dollar was penalized by the Huskies for incredibly blatant recruiting violations - Dollar arguably should have been fired, and head coach Lorenzo Romar disciplined - Neuheisel was bashed by columnists in Seattle and Denver, and it's not hard to guess what's being said about the Huskies in athletic departments throughout the Pac-10.

Understand that this is quite rare in the NCAA, for a penalty for violations committed at one school to follow a coach to another.

THE RICK-RIPPING columns will no doubt play well outside of Seattle, though Oregon fans might not take too much joy in the Huskies' misfortune until the final impact of Ticketgate is known:

Woody Paige, the Denver Post, on the coach he calls "Tricky Ricky Neuweasel:"

"He is a creative cheater and a coaching charlatan. The smart man with the law degree turned out to be so stupid. Neuweasel should apologize publicly to CU. ...

"Neuweasel is a disgrace to the university that took a chance and gave a 33-year-old assistant with no college head coaching experience a magnificent opportunity to lead a successful football program and ultimately made him a rich and famous man. ... Ricky wasn't mature or honest enough to take over the Buffs."

John Blanchette, The (Spokane) Spokesman-Review, calling Neuheisel "as oily as the apron on a McDonald's fry cook:"

"Can that really be fair to Washington, which had no authority to monitor Neuheisel's act at Colorado and no knowledge of these violations? ...

"Flatly, no. But it's probably what the Huskies deserve. You get what you pay for, and in (Washington's) case that includes the entire Neuheisel `charisma' package - the blond hair, the glib line, the guitar and the cheating."

Art Thiel, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer: "If Neuheisel so much as changes planes in Denver, fans of the Colorado Buffaloes undoubtedly will be there to greet him. And UN inspectors think their reception in Baghdad will be chilly. Memo to Rick: Don't use the restroom alone. ...

"Neuheisel's reputation as a recruiter who interpreted NCAA rules like Bill Clinton interpreted the word `is' preceded the coach's arrival at Washington. Athletic director Barbara Hedges is too smart to have been oblivious to his notoriousness in the coaching community. ... It was Neuheisel's very success in that shadow game that landed him the Washington job. His high-risk, high-reward ways brought him quality recruits, victories and national attention."

There was more, and it comes at a tough time for the Huskies.

The Cameron Dollar episode is a bad start for Romar.

The football team lost to Michigan when it was penalized for having 12 men on the field, and last weekend's loss to Cal had columnists writing that Neuheisel got outcoached.

Now Neuheisel will have to explain to recruits and their parents why he can't make any home visits this winter. You'd think that would be awkward, even for him.