NCAA Gets One Right?
While it has been talked about in
many circles, it felt important to add another voice to the chorus of
those hailing the NCAA decision to grant Steven Rhodes immediate
eligibility.
For those that do not know the story, Steven Rhodes is a Marine Corps
veteran who, after serving his country, decided to play football at
Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This seems
like a fairly simple process; Rhodes met all eligibility requirements
for entry and had high enough test scores to be eligible.
But
there was a hang-up. Like many in the Marine Corps, Rhodes played for an
intramural squad while serving. First, let me say, that these are no
joke for intramural squads. When I played in 29 Palms and later in
Okinawa, there were rosters littered with former college football
players. One of my team mates had played at Texas A&M.
Based
on Rhodes' participation with this squad, he was deemed ineligible. This
is a story oddly familiar to Duck fans after a failed attempt to have
Nic Purcell granted eligibility after he played in an even less
organized league.
While the need to protect college football from
a sort of "development" league that could conceivably allow college
teams to run "scout" teams is important, it seems as if the NCAA cannot
use logic when making these determinations.
When a man is serving
his country as a member of any branch of the military, there needs to
be consideration and understanding of what these young men are putting
on the line in defense of the nation. To essentially communicate that
their "service is appreciated, but you must not participate in functions
that might later risk your NCAA eligibility" is short sighted at best.
At worst, it is an affront to every current and former member of the
United States Military.
While the decision to deny Purcell
eligibility based on his play in what amounted to a very watered down
version of a semi-pro team in Australia for a few games fit with the
concept of what the NCAA wanted to control, this decision made no sense
at any level.
In the end, the NCAA made the correct decision to
grant Rhodes his immediate eligibility. The question, though, is why it
even took an appeal. Did they really get it right, or did they simply
recognize an egregious mistake?
My money is on the latter.
Recruiting Update
This
is the slow time in recruiting for Oregon. There have been no
commitments for several weeks. Nonetheless, the Ducks did get a couple
of prospects to set official visit dates.
One player that is looking increasingly more likely to end up a Duck, Tony James
set his official visit for his only bye week during his senior season
which happens to coincide with Oregon's home game against California.
This is an important visit for the Ducks who are looking to add at least
one more running back to the 2014 class. It looks like the Ducks also
locked up official visits for Jaylen Johnson and Layth Friekh as well.
So,
while there are no commitments to report, with the season set to open
in just over a week, it looks like recruiting will begin to pick up more
steam very soon.
As always, stay tuned to Duck Sports Authority for all your updates.
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