Tennessee secondary coach Willie Martinez talks to freshman cornerback Evan Berry during the Vols' practice on Sunday.KNOXVILLE -- Tennessee secondary coach Willie Martinez will face further recruiting restrictions stemming from impermissible contact with a prospect in May 2014, according to documents the program released in Sunday night.
Martinez was suspended from coaching in Saturday's season opener against Bowling Green, which the Volunteers won 59-30, and will be suspended from off-campus recruiting for the first 30 days of the September 2015 evaluation period and the first five days of the November-December contact period.
Tennessee's coaching staff also suffers a 10-day deduction in evaluation days for the spring 2016 evaluation period.
The program self-reported the secondary violation to the SEC office.
"The University of Tennessee believes appropriate corrective actions were taken to ensure a similar Level III violation does not occur in the future," Matthew Hibbs, Tennessee's associate athletic director for compliance, wrote to the SEC.
According to Tennessee's report, Martinez visited a high school -- the name is redacted -- with the purpose of meeting with the football coaches to discuss some of their players.
Martinez then left the coach's office and had a conversation with a junior prospect, though there were conflicting reports from those involved on how long the conversation lasted.
The head coach of the high school said none of his players "had ever expressed interest in attending Tennessee," according to the report.
After Martinez's visit to the school, Tennessee and the prospect had no further communication.
"The face-to-face encounter," Hibbs wrote, "did not result in more than a minimal recruiting advantage."
Martinez resumed his normal coaching duties on Sunday after sitting out Saturday's game.
The Vols allowed 433 passing yards and now face Oklahoma and new offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley, whose offense at East Carolina finishing third in the nation in passing yardage in 2014.
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.