Not many folks take Houston Nutt’s protestations about grayshirting and oversigning seriously, but after reading the story of Maikhail Miller, a quarterback in this year’s Ole Miss class who’s been told he’s a grayshirt candidate, I concede that we may need to cut the Nuttster some slack.
… Miller said he has not closely followed the oversigning discussions of SEC presidents and coaches.
He’s currently enrolled in summer school and working out at team facilities. He said Nutt first approached he and his family about the possibility of grayshirting in late November or early December.
At the time, the Rebels had two scholarship quarterbacks and were in the mix for two more, junior college transfer Zack Stoudt and West Virginia transfer Barry Brunetti.
Veteran Nathan Stanley has since left the program, and Brunetti and Randall Mackey, a junior college transfer who redshirted in 2010, have an edge on Stoudt going into August camp.
“I really didn’t understand what it (grayshirt) was at first, but when coach Nutt got down to what it really is, he would tell me about it every time we walked to make sure I knew what it was all about,” Miller said.
Miller explored options after the grayshirt discussion, talking with Southern Mississippi and taking an official visit to Arkansas State.
“I was serious, but the facilities and all that, it wasn’t the same. It wasn’t the SEC,” he said.
Miller visited several spring practices and Ole Miss and is focused on moving ahead with his college career.
“I think there are benefits,” he said. “My parents thought it would be a good thing. I still have a scholarship when it comes time to go to school, and you still have four years of eligibility. It’s not that bad at all.”
So Nutt told the kid and his parents about grayshirting and gave him the opportunity to explore going to other schools. In response and after weighing his options, Miller decided he preferred to be at an SEC school as a grayshirt than immediately enrolled elsewhere. Sorry, oversigning fanatics, but I’m not seeing a problem here.
It sounds to me like the way Nutt engaged with Miller is exactly what Richt referred to and approved of a couple of weeks ago.
Get The Picture 
I’m sure someone will still have a hissy-fit about it. It’s what they do.
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I stopped reading the excerpt after “… Nutt first approached he and his family …”. The Internet has made me more tolerant as I’ve grown older, especially of people who don’t write for a living but deserve the chance to participate in the discussion, but I’m just not up for it today.
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You mad?
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Completely agree. This is the way it’s supposed to work. If the Nuttster handles his grayshirt candidates this way, I don’t have a problem with it.
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No reasonable person should have a problem with this. On a separate note, please don’t ever make me read the words “cut the Nuttster” again.
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I’d still be worried about Nutt cuttin’ me.
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You should be. While Nutt cutting time is always something to be worried about, it becomes even more dangerous when a little Dickens Cider is involved.
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If you’re not good enough to make the roster this year, what makes you think you’re going to be good enough to make the roster next year, when he’s got another bumper crop of recruits coming in? That would be my main question when a coach approached anyone close to me with a grayshirt.
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Cue the over-the-top inanity of Texas_Dawg…in 3, 2, 1
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so wait he actually is hepin peepa
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Do you really think he was that up front with all 37 he signed that one year? Or is this a new thing that’s come about because of the controversy? Maybe just shining a light on the practice has actually helped kids.
/just picturing the Nuttster wooing kids makes me feel icky.
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It’s always easy to find one example. The rest get screwed.
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Sounds ok but being on scholarship with housing this summer etc MUST COUNT AGAINST THIS YEARS 85.
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Didn’t they decide to propose that one to the NCAA without actually passing it yet? Or did I miss that one?
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Yeah. It is simple. No enrolling & practicing on a scholarship until fully accepted by the school & NCAA clearinghouse. AND you count toward the NEXT AVAILABLE FOOTBALL SEASON 85/25 limit. Otherwise it is a “tryout joke” to see if you are good enough to keep the scholarship or have it given to someone else. This should be a no-brainer NCAA wide rule. Take summer class elsewhere (if you can get accepted as a non-athlete reg student) and practice elsewhere. You are either “in school & on the team”(scholarship or on your own) or not during the summer through the next May. Seems like these kids are “sort-of” in school, just to be practicing & prepping to maybe be part of the team for the fall.
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Richt has always been gunning at one man on this. It wasn’t Nutt.
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