Since we had a long discussion about him in another thread, I'm wondering how James is recovering and what his plans are? Anyone hear anything around town? An injury like he suffered could be a career-ender, which nobody would blame him for. His medical degree will be more worth it in the long run.
Also wondering if this would eventually qualify him for the mythical 6th year, since he's lost so much time. Even if he fully recovers for next season, I can't imagine he's ready to go by tipoff 2019-20. I think the NCAA only grants those when an athlete misses two full years of competition. They have to be "extreme circumstances" from what I've read.
Also it bears discussion whether a presumably new staff would even want him.
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Extra reading regarding the 5 year clock. There technically is no rule regarding the 6th year, though it has been granted in the past.
https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2017/2/10/14575... 5 to play 4 (14.2.1)
From the instant an athlete enters college and attends his first class of a full-time class load, he is allowed five years to compete in four seasons of competition. This is the baserule of all eligibility questions. Any question about eligibility must be answered by this criteria, with only two normal exceptions, which I will discuss below. (There are also exceptions for military enlistment, religious missions, peace corps, etc, but I won't discuss them.) If you ever have any questions about a player's ability to redshirt or compete, you MUST first ask, "Will this violate the agreement of 5 years to play 4 season?" If your answer is that it will violate that agreement, then it won't be allowed.
The extra year in the 5 to play 4 deal is what we refer to as a "redshirt" season (the NCAA actually never really uses the term). You are allowed to compete in four seasons and take one non-competitive redshirt season to equal a total of five years.The NCAA does not care how you spend that extra year or why you choose not to compete. If you're injured in pre-season, you take a redshirt. If you're ineligible to compete because of academics, you take a redshirt. If you're young andinexperienced and need more time in the weight room before you compete, you take a redshirt. Discounting the redshirt year, you have four years to play four season. Period.
Exception 1: Medical Hardship Waiver (14.2.4)
Competition ina single play of a single game counts as a season of competition. It is possible to waste four years of eligibility by participating in just one play per season. The NCAA recognizes that suffering a season-ending injury early in a season is a really crappy way to waste a year of eligibility, so they have instituted the "medical hardship waiver." This is what we sometimes refer to as a "medical redshirt" but probably shouldn't, because, in the long run, it's no different than a regular redshirt. An athlete is allowed a hardship waiver if he gets injured in the first half of the season and has participated in no more than 3 events or 30% of the scheduled season (whichever is greater). The end result of a hardship waiver is exactly the same as a regular redshirt. The waiver essentially allows you to ignore that you have participated in that season and to treat it as if you never competed at all.
Examples:
1 - Toney Baker competed in his first 2 years of eligibility at State. Last season, hecompeted in just a handful of snaps in the first game last year before he was injured. He applied for and was granted a hardship waiver, thus wiping the slate clean for that season. He then did not compete for the rest of the year and used it as his redshirt year. He is now a redshirt junior with 2 years to play 2 seasons.
2 - AJ Davis was injured in practice before his freshman season. He was expected to play during that season. Since he hadn't competed yet, he DID NOT have to apply for a hardship waiver. It doesn't matter if he was planing on playing. He just used his redshirt like most freshmen do. He then played the next season as a redshirt freshman with 4 to play 4.
3 - Anthony Hill competed in his first 3 years of eligibility at State. He was entering his senior year with 2 to play 1 when he got hurt in pre-season. He DID NOT have to apply for a hardship waiver because he never competed in the regular season. He took his regular redshirt last year and came back this year with 1 to play 1.
4 - Alan-Michael Cash redshirted his freshman season at State. He went on to compete in his next 2 years, leaving him entering this year as a redshirt junior with 2 to play 2. He suffered a (supposedly) season ending injury in the 3rd competition of the first half of the season. Could he apply for a hardship waiver? The answer is NO. He has already used his redshirt. He now has 2 to play 2. End of story. He's flat out SOL when it comes to this injury. We reach this conclusion by asking ourselves: Would this violate his 5 to play 4 agreement? If he were to somehow take a redshirt for this year, that would be 2 redshirt years and 4 years of competition. That's 6 to play 4, which is not allowed.
5 - Jamelle Eugene redshirted his freshman season at State. He competed in the next 2 years, just like Cash. He was injured in the pre-season of this year. Can he apply for a medical hardship? The answer is no for two reasons. First, let's ask ourselves the principle question: Would this violate his 5 to play 4 agreement? If he were to get a waiver for this season and go on to play 2 more seasons, that would be 4 seasons over 6 years. That violates the 5 to play 4. The second reason the answer is no is because he was injured in pre-season. You cannot take a hardship waiver if you have not yet competed in the season.
Last Edited: 2/19/2019 12:59:25 PM by GoCats105