From the Bench

The Drama Continues for Pinnacle Preps in Lawsuit

Robert Shields

A week after writing my column about Pinnacle Preps, a business in northwest Arkansas that markets high school athletes to colleges, owner Walt Williams is being sued in a Washington County court for allegedly not doing the job he was being paid for, according to the plaintiff in the filed suit. The lawsuit alleges fraud and breach of contract. The case was brought by a parent of a high school athlete who signed with Williams’ company.

In my column last week, I wrote how some in the Razorback fan base were very upset with Williams and their perception of his tactics. They find it unexplainable why a five-star recruit such as Michael Dyer would need Williams to market (pimp to some fans) this highly recruited athlete’s services to colleges. Dyer was the all-time leading rusher in Arkansas. Colleges across the country knew who Dyer was.

Some fans also found it distasteful that Dyer signed with Auburn and that Williams played for Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn in high school at Shiloh Christian.

And as stated last week, Williams bad-mouthed Razorback coach Bobby Petrino and later said he regretted it by offering an apology on an Internet site dedicated to recruiting and the Razorbacks. The apology was not well received by fans and left no doubt that Williams was also fond of Malzahn.

I wrote last week that Williams charges thousands of dollars for his services. I also wrote that I was not aware how much Dyer paid Pinnacle Preps. I may never know the amount since private businesses do not have to disclose such information unless from discovery in a court case. I guess the person filing this civil suit might be able to find out.

The parent in this civil suit against Williams alleges that services were not rendered as promised, and that his son was receiving interest from colleges before signing on with Pinnacle Preps and then it stopped after signing with Pinnacle Preps. The interest from colleges returned once the parents interjected themselves back into the marketing of their son.

It will be interesting to watch how this case plays out in the coming weeks. One of the most interesting pieces of the filed suit is that it asks for a temporary injunction to be ordered against Pinnacle Preps from engaging in any future contracts with high school athletes.

I got a lot of feedback last week from some who wanted me to take a much harder approach on Williams and Pinnacle Preps, and that in their opinion I was not telling the whole story. I stand by the column last week as being based on facts and not hearsay or speculation.

I will, however, be glad to produce my columns to the NCAA if they for whatever reason begin to look at Auburn’s recruiting class.

Send your speculation and rumors to fromthebench@yahoo.com.



My latest book, “Scarlet Fever: A Razorback House Divided,” is now available on Amazon. Buy it now so that I can afford season tickets instead of me having to ask Kevin Trainor for press passes.