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To the shock of no one, O.J. Mayo claims that he is clean and that he has received absolutely no money or goods from anyone seeking to influence him.

Mayo also said he paid his own way when he went shopping and ate with Guillory.

"I understand compliance and I understand the rules," Mayo said. "Any meal, I wouldn't pay for everybody but I would at least pay my end. When I went to go shop every once in a while, [Guillory] might have taken me to the store in his vehicle, but he didn't pay for any clothes for me."
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Mayo said he didn't feel betrayed by Johnson but that he was "mad at the fact that he said I accepted some money. I never have received money from Rodney, Louis, BDA or anything. All I got was a monthly $450 check from USC or I have friends and family that send me money."

It's that last bit, though, that leaves the wiggle room: "...friends and family that send me money." The question becomes, where did they get the money?
Mayo also stood behind Rodney Guillory, the alleged runner for Bill Duffy Associates. He did concede that he's keeping his distance from Guillory at the moment.

As the LA Times USC blogger, Adam Rose, notes, Mayo may be denying but things just don't add up.

To me, the biggest sticking point is that Andy Katz (ESPN) called Mayo on his cellphone, and the bill for that number was apparently paid for by a credit card under Rodney Guillory's name. That seems pretty incriminating, though I'd still love to see those documents released.

On the other hand, Bill Duffy only denies that he was connected to Guillory, not that Guillory wasn't doing those things.

Duffy says, "It has been reported that Rodney Guillory was a runner for BDA. That is an absolute falsehood. He was self-funded and acting as an independent."

Duffy claims he will be producing documentation showing no connection with Guillory. He didn't say what kind of documentation.

With Duffy's claims especially, it's hard not to be cynical. Of course, Duffy wouldn't have a paper trail from Guillory. Duffy is a professional with a lot of clients already. He would have to be careful. It's the Guillory side of things that makes it interesting.

Clearly Guillory has been short-sighted by freezing out Louis Johnson -- who has agreed to cooperate with the NCAA investigation -- from the Mayo inner-circle. Johnson had tangible evidence to link Guillory.

So who knows what Guillory might still have that could get things back to Duffy's organization? Guillory seems to have been just stupid and reckless enough to provide a trail.