TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- A Tennessee car salesman who allegedly delivered $20,000 to a former Alabama football recruit said Monday he has no ties to the Crimson Tide and that the player's father worked for him.

But Wendell Smith of Chattanooga, Tenn., declined to comment on details of news reports identifying him as the person accused by the NCAA of delivering cash from boosters to North Jackson High star Kenny Smith of Stevenson in 1995 and 1996.

Wendell Smith, who is unrelated to Kenny Smith, allegedly got at least half the $20,000 from Alabama booster Logan Young of Memphis. A Stevenson businessman, R.D. Hicks, also told The Birmingham News he gave Wendell Smith money to help out the player but didn't care where the prep star went to college.

Wendell Smith, in a telephone interview with The Associated Press, said the player's father, Kenneth Smith, worked for him at the time of the alleged violations. He said he refused several requests for interviews from NCAA investigators, but his attorney did speak with them.

The Chattanooga car salesman described himself as a fan of Vanderbilt baseball and basketball and Alabama football, but was not a Tide booster.

"I've never bought season tickets, I've never donated money," he said.

Smith declined further comment, and Kenny Smith and his family could not be reached. Wendell Smith's attorney, Gary Lackey of Scottsboro, did not immediately return a phone call Monday seeking comment.

In charging Alabama's football program with 11 major violations, the NCAA said an Alabama booster gave a recruit or his family two $10,000 cash payments delivered in a plastic grocery sack and, later, in a big envelope.

The NCAA and university officials did not disclose the names of those involved. But published reports said the NCAA believes Wendell Smith delivered the payments and at least half of the money came from Young, who also is accused of paying a Memphis high school coach to steer another recruit, Albert Means, to Alabama.

Young has denied the allegations in the Means case, but declined comment over the weekend on the Smith case.

The Birmingham News reported Sunday that Hicks said he gave money to Wendell Smith during Kenny Smith's recruitment, but didn't remember the amount.

Hicks said he was aware of the NCAA's allegations. "Part of it's true, part of it's not," he told the News.

Hicks, who is in the construction and agriculture business, said Wendell Smith asked him to provide money to help the North Jackson star. Hicks said he gave the car dealer the cash.

He said he doesn't know Young and that he is a North Jackson fan, not an Alabama booster.

"I didn't care where (Kenny Smith) went" to school, Hicks said.

The defensive lineman signed with Alabama but did not qualify academically and signed with Tennessee after returning to high school to qualify. He later quit the Volunteer football team.

Alabama booster Raymond Keller, also of Stevenson, which is about 20 miles southeast of Chattanooga, told The Birmingham News he bought meals for Smith and his parents. Keller said he didn't think there was anything wrong with that since the player had dated his daughter.

The NCAA charges include a claim that Alabama representatives provided lodging and entertainment to Kenny Smith and his family.

The NCAA said an Alabama booster told Kenny Smith he would receive $5,000 in cash if he signed with Alabama, plus $500 per month, $500 for every game he started, and $5,000 for his mother each Christmas while he was at the school.

Kenny Smith's family met with Young in a hotel suite before an Alabama-Vanderbilt game in 1995, the NCAA said. Alabama athletic director Mal Moore, then an associate AD, was present and told Young it was improper for the family to be there. The family was asked to leave, and Moore was not cited in the letter for any violations.