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It was a forgone conclusion that Jeremiah Masoli would be the starting quarterback at Ole Miss following his transfer from Oregon after being dismissed for two incidents with law enforcement officials. Head Rebel coach Houston Nutt is all about giving “second chances,” especially when it is quarterback that can help him win more games. Masoli is the perfect quarterback for Nutt. He can run the option and is dangerous with his feet. Masoli is a great quarterback, no less. He led the “quack attack” at Oregon to the Rose Bowl last year. His feet made him dangerous, his passing made him deadly, but don’t mistake him for Mitch Mustain or Ryan Mallett, two former Arkansans who chose not to play in Fayetteville for him when Nutt was at Arkansas (actually, Mustain transferred away, but I digress). Masoli is a run-first quarterback, just like Nutt wants them. Notice how former Rebel quarterback Jevan Snead opted out of his senior season at Ole Miss heading for undrafted free agent status.
So, when it was announced that Masoli was looking at and then deciding to “transfer” to Ole Miss taking advantage of a often-used rule that allows players to play immediately in the event of a transfer when the player enrolls in a graduate program that the previous school does not have, the firestorm began. Stewart Mandel called Nutt dirty. Others rolled their eyes. Nutt lost a good quarterback to the . . . um . . . er . . . draft, so he needed someone with experience to keep his team from having a losing record. Enter Masoli, the much-troubled quarterback given a second chance at Oregon.
The rule that Masoli and Nutt were counting on is a waiver, and it was announced today that the NCAA has denied it. Talk about ruining your plans. Never fear, they have an appeal in the works. Could it be that the NCAA actually saw through the hogwash. I wouldn’t normally give them that much credit (see the whole Reggie Bush thing), but they may have just done that this time!
If this is truly about giving Masoli a “second chance,” it really shouldn’t matter if he gets on the field this year, right? After all, and we are talking about a third chance actually, he is trying to straighten his life out and his well-being over the long haul is more important than winning any games in the short term. The important thing is the student-athlete, right? Nutt and Masoli should be probably be grateful that the NCAA let him transfer and play again.
As a fan of an SEC team, I would rather Masoli play against my team. Why? Because, you want to beat the other team at its best. You don’t want to beat that team and think, “if they had Masoli, it would’ve been a different story.”
However, considering how this all played out so quickly, it really would be best for Masoli if he set out a year. It gives him a chance to get acclimated to a culture this is radically different than where he is from (San Francisco vs. Oxford, MS). It gives him a chance to become grounded to his new home and build a support team to stay out of trouble. If he were to start and play this year, his final year of eligibility, all of this process might become short-circuited, and the young man might end up in trouble again and forever separated from football.
Masoli-gate Could Be Closed
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
It was a forgone conclusion that Jeremiah Masoli would be the starting quarterback at Ole Miss following his transfer from Oregon after being dismissed for two incidents with law enforcement officials. Head Rebel coach Houston Nutt is all about giving “second chances,” especially when it is quarterback that can help him win more games. Masoli is the perfect quarterback for Nutt. He can run the option and is dangerous with his feet. Masoli is a great quarterback, no less. He led the “quack attack” at Oregon to the Rose Bowl last year. His feet made him dangerous, his passing made him deadly, but don’t mistake him for Mitch Mustain or Ryan Mallett, two former Arkansans who chose not to play in Fayetteville for him when Nutt was at Arkansas (actually, Mustain transferred away, but I digress). Masoli is a run-first quarterback, just like Nutt wants them. Notice how former Rebel quarterback Jevan Snead opted out of his senior season at Ole Miss heading for undrafted free agent status.
So, when it was announced that Masoli was looking at and then deciding to “transfer” to Ole Miss taking advantage of a often-used rule that allows players to play immediately in the event of a transfer when the player enrolls in a graduate program that the previous school does not have, the firestorm began. Stewart Mandel called Nutt dirty. Others rolled their eyes. Nutt lost a good quarterback to the . . . um . . . er . . . draft, so he needed someone with experience to keep his team from having a losing record. Enter Masoli, the much-troubled quarterback given a second chance at Oregon.
The rule that Masoli and Nutt were counting on is a waiver, and it was announced today that the NCAA has denied it. Talk about ruining your plans. Never fear, they have an appeal in the works. Could it be that the NCAA actually saw through the hogwash. I wouldn’t normally give them that much credit (see the whole Reggie Bush thing), but they may have just done that this time!
If this is truly about giving Masoli a “second chance,” it really shouldn’t matter if he gets on the field this year, right? After all, and we are talking about a third chance actually, he is trying to straighten his life out and his well-being over the long haul is more important than winning any games in the short term. The important thing is the student-athlete, right? Nutt and Masoli should be probably be grateful that the NCAA let him transfer and play again.
As a fan of an SEC team, I would rather Masoli play against my team. Why? Because, you want to beat the other team at its best. You don’t want to beat that team and think, “if they had Masoli, it would’ve been a different story.”
However, considering how this all played out so quickly, it really would be best for Masoli if he set out a year. It gives him a chance to get acclimated to a culture this is radically different than where he is from (San Francisco vs. Oxford, MS). It gives him a chance to become grounded to his new home and build a support team to stay out of trouble. If he were to start and play this year, his final year of eligibility, all of this process might become short-circuited, and the young man might end up in trouble again and forever separated from football.