It’s hard to pinpoint just what the governing body of college football is thinking with its inconsistent decisions. However, this isn’t the first time that the NCAA has left its fans perplexed. That’s a tradition as old as football itself.
Former Tennessee offensive lineman Andrej Karic was not offered another year of eligibility despite the fact that every other player seemingly is getting waivers nowadays. Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia was the most astonishing decision made recently by the NCAA or the courts or whoever is running things at the moment.
Pavia received a court ruling allowing him to play this season because the courts ruled that his time in junior college shouldn’t count against his eligibility. The Vols are still in the midst of trying to pull a similar move in baseball to hopefully get an extra year of eligibility for first baseman Alberto Osuna, who transferred to Tennessee from the University of Tampa, an NCAA Division II school.
To be clear, Karic did not play in junior college like Pavia or Osuna, but he did play a year at Texas. That apparently was not good enough.
Osuna’s decision was affected by Pavia’s, which seemed to pave the way for Karic as well. Now, that’s not the case, and Karic will head onto the NFL. Let’s just say the timing is pretty poor. The Vols open spring practice on March 9, and the NFL Draft is in April. The difference? A year in junior college.
Not to go to deep on this, but I’m confused how the NCAA can be so selective. If a player wants to play college football after leaving for the NFL, why not? If he wants to play 10 years, why not? In fact, it might be illegal to prevent players from doing so. It certainly doesn’t seem like the American way.
Allowing players to stay at a school longer than their previously allotted five seasons could well help the sport. Fans can become more committed to a player they see battle for their team year after year.
Karic was slated to be the starter for the Vols at left guard. Now, it will be up to younger players to lock down that position, such as sophomore Sham Umarov or transfers Sam Pendleton from Notre Dame or Wendell Moe Jr. from Arizona. That’s not the best situation to be in. The Vols had to deal with transfer growing pains last year with offensive tackle Lance Heard, who is from LSU and struggled early last season against average competition.
The Vols play Georgia in September this year, so they’ll need to be ready early if they hope to upset the Bulldogs in Neyland Stadium. Karic won’t be there. Why? Because of a rule that is as antiquated as leather helmets. These are not student-athletes anymore. They’re employees. They deserve to be treated as such.
