“It wasn’t like we were recording it while it was happening.”

The NCAA serves up another heaping slice of slippery-slope pie.

Kent State defensive back Qwuantrezz Knight will appeal the NCAA’s denial of his waiver request for immediate eligibility, which he says is based on depression he developed while playing at Maryland.

Knight, a junior from Quincy, Florida, announced his transfer from Maryland on Nov. 5, six days after the school fired coach DJ Durkin, who had briefly been reinstated from administrative leave after two investigations into the football program. Knight transferred to Kent State and in May sought an immediate eligibility waiver, citing “depression symptoms due to the environment he experienced on the University of Maryland’s football team,” Kent State associate director for compliance Stephanie Rosinski wrote to the NCAA in a letter Knight provided to ESPN.

The NCAA’s committee on legislative relief denied Knight’s request June 4, writing that Knight “did not provide objective documentation that supports the assertion that [he] was the victim of egregious behavior” at Maryland.

Look, I get something of the dilemma here.  You don’t want kids cropping up all over the place claiming depression as grounds for a transfer waiver without some verifiable basis for it.  But, jeez, what more do they need regarding what happened at Maryland?  There’s all kinds of documented evidence of abuse that the school itself discovered.

Knight’s statement cites two incidents from Maryland’s weight room, one in which a 45-pound plate allegedly was thrown at a teammate who wasn’t performing a workout correctly, and another in which a teammate allegedly was berated and forced to eat junk food for not making the weight required by the staff. Rosinski writes in her letter than both incidents involved former Maryland strength and conditioning coach Rick Court in 2016. Court and Maryland parted ways in August, days after an ESPN report detailed allegations of abuse within the program, several of which allegedly involved Court.

A university-commissioned investigation into the program found that Court “engaged in abusive conduct” while at Maryland. Rosinski writes that while the weight room incidents didn’t directly involve Knight, the impact on his mental health “should not be minimized.”  Knight doesn’t recall speaking with the investigative committee about his experience at Maryland but included the report in his waiver request.

It’s the kid’s bad luck he didn’t speak on the record.  And that’s the hair the NCAA decides to split.

“They [the NCAA] know what happened there, but they need more evidence as to things that happened to me,” Knight told ESPN. “It wasn’t like we were recording it while it was happening. Everything that was going on there, from the coaching culture and everything, you don’t really need evidence from that. Everything that you guys read, that was true. What more evidence do you need?

“I’m a kid that was actually there and went through it and witnessed everything. … I was definitely affected by it.”

I guess it’s too bad the FBI hasn’t investigated the Maryland coaching staff.  The NCAA needs to do away with this shabby, subjective approach and simply give every student-athlete one chance to transfer and play immediately, no questions asked.  Shameful.

Advertisement

Your 6.19.19 Playpen

I don’t agree with Donald Trump on many things — okay, I don’t agree with Donald Trump on most things — but when it comes to his assessment of Joe Biden, I have a hard time arguing.  This is creepy.

At the event, Mr. Biden noted that he served with the late Senators James O. Eastland of Mississippi and Herman Talmadge of Georgia, both Democrats who were staunch opponents of desegregation. Mr. Eastland was the powerful chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee when Mr. Biden entered the chamber in 1973.

“I was in a caucus with James O. Eastland,” Mr. Biden said, slipping briefly into a Southern accent, according to a pool report from the fund-raiser. “He never called me ‘boy,’ he always called me ‘son.’”

How nice.  This is Robert Caro on Eastland:

That Biden thinks this is a solid rationale for supporting him is… well, the kindest adjective I can come up with is out-of-touch.

I’m really looking forward to that special moment in the first Presidential debate when Biden accuses Trump of enabling racists and Trump responds with, “I’m not the racist.  You’re the racist.” and brings up his good buddy Eastland.

Jeez, I really hate the conventional wisdom that we get the elected politicians we deserve.  Because it’s true.

The floor is yours, folks.  Be gentle.

Today, in your daily Gator

Ten years ago, this comment thread could have appeared on any Georgia message board with the schools flipped.  Talk about your reversal of fortunes.

I know most of you wish for an ass-whipping in Jacksonville this year, but I’m kinda leaning towards a reverse of the ending to the 1992 1993 game, with the Dawgs getting a do-over for the game winner after a controversial, last-second time out.  Kirbs wouldn’t have to pull out his inner Spurrier afterwards for all to hear; he could just conduct his presser with a knowing smirk throughout.

NostraZachus

What do you get when you mash Zach Smith and conspiracy theory?

Former Ohio State wide receivers coach Zach Smith does not believe Urban Meyer has coached his last game. On his new podcast, Menace 2 Society, Smith explained why he believes Meyer will end up at USC.

“Someone that I know. That works in the United States Postal Service dropped a bomb on me last week. He tells me that Urban Meyer, his address, his house, has had certified mail delivered to and sent from to the University of Southern California. I’m talking several letters,” said Smith.

Smith could not confirm if this was true, but he believed it to be a decent source as Smith and Meyer both live in Dublin, Ohio.

“I will go on the record. Again I don’t know that he has communicated with them. It’s a decent source” said Smith.

However, at the end of the day Smith sounded confident that Meyer would end up at USC.

“I would put 1,000 dollars that he will be the head coach of USC in the near future” continued Smith.

And guess who continues to live rent-free in this mook’s head…

If Urban Meyer takes the USC job in the near future… I CAN NOT WAIT to read and hear Bert McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) say “Originally reported by Zach Smith”
Or “Orginally Reported on @M2SPodcast” pic.twitter.com/mQi6wh3134

— Zach Smith (@CoachZachSmith) June 17, 2019

Yeah, that’s the first we’ve heard of Corch and USC, Zach.  Don’t quit your day job… oh, right, you don’t have one of those now.

New kids and a defensive depth chart projection

The striking thing in comparing Jake Rowe’s summer projection of Georgia’s depth chart on defense to his projection on offense is the relative absence of new contributors expected to make a serious impact this season.

What mention is made of the newcomers is relatively muted.  Travon Walker “has a chance to carve out a role for himself”.  Jermaine Johnson, who I continue to have high hopes for, is seen as a three-down player, but as part of an OLB ensemble.  Nakobe Dean?  Well, he’s described, along with Channing Tindall, as “two of Georgia’s most athletic inside linebackers but neither has grasped the defense to this point like Rice and Crowder”.  Nolan Smith barely rates a comment.

If there’s an area where one or more of the newbies are seen most positively, it’s in the secondary, where DJ Daniel is pushing Campbell and Tyrique Stevenson has gotten off to a fast start (he’s big, too).  Cine has looked good, but there’s simply too much experienced talent ahead of him to crack the two-deep.

I find this somewhat interesting, given the general consensus that Georgia’s offense appears more formidable at present than does its defense.  Are folks overestimating one group, or underestimating the other?  Or is it simply the case that the 2019 class has some remarkable offensive talent?

Making a mountain from a molehill

From And The Valley Shook!, 2019 SEC defensive line rankings:

9. Georgia. What are the Dawgs doing down here? Well, for starters they only ranked seventh in the SEC in rushing average allowed, and that’s the strength of this unit last year. They ranked second to last in TFL/play and only one spot better in sacks/play. For such a vaunted defense, they simply did not generate pressure in any meaningful way. Now, they have recruited like gangbusters, and they do return two of three starters. The third starter will be freshman All-American Jordan Davis, who needs to go from flashes of greatness to the team’s best lineman. Certainly possible, but there is a mountain to climb.

I can’t argue with the analysis, although I think the ranking is a bit low, given the departures at Texas A&M, Mississippi State (all four starters) and Kentucky.  That being said, there’s an argument to be made that Jordan Davis is Georgia’s most important player on defense.

By the way, anyone who says they’re not interested in seeing how Georgia’s offensive line matches up against Auburn’s defensive line isn’t paying attention.  That’s gonna be a lot of fun to watch.

The case that never cracked

Remember these greatest hits?

• • “Clemson coach Dabo Swinney revealed on Monday during a press conference ahead of the team’s College Football Playoff date with Notre Dame in the 2018 Cotton Bowl that three Tigers had failed NCAA-administered drug testing. Standout defensive tackle and potential first-round NFL Draft pick Dexter Lawrence, offensive lineman Zach Giella and tight end Braden Galloway are the three members of the Clemson team that tested positive.Swinney said that Lawrence, Giella and Galloway all failed an NCAA drug test that produced a “sliver of ostarine” in the results. Ostarine is a performance-enhancing substance used for muscle-building and is currently on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) prohibited list. .For the time being, Swinney said he’s holding out hope that the “B” samples (which will immediately be tested before a suspension is handed down) will clear all three, noting that the players were stunned to hear the news and even “thought it was a joke.” An appeal of the tests would not be heard until after the semifinal, meaning the players will be suspended by the NCAA for the Cotton Bowl if the B samples also test positive for the substance.”

• In response to the NCAA’s finding that three of its players tested positive for a banned substance called ostarine, Clemson is currently investigating Epsom salt as a possible cause.

• “Still looking at all of the different things that we give to our players,” Clemson athletic director Dan Radakovich said. “Hopefully we’ll come up with an answer here soon.”

  Float tanks, Epsom salts, energy drinks and hair products were among guesses players threw out. Some supplement companies include banned substances without proper labeling. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency says ostarine has not been approved for human use or consumption in any country.

Good times, eh?

Turns out two of the three players who tested positive will not be returning to showcase their talents for Dabo this season.

Zach Giella’s career at Clemson is officially over.

The former Tigers offensive lineman, who was one of three players suspended for PEDs prior to the 2018 Cotton Bowl, is no longer listed on Clemson’s roster, and a school official confirmed Saturday afternoon that Giella is no longer a member of Clemson’s team.

The senior, who played in 11 games for the Tigers last season, had his suspension for testing positive for ostarine upheld last month, along with tight end Braden Galloway. Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence was also suspended, but he opted to turn pro after his junior season and was picked in the first round of the NFL draft by the New York Giants.

There was talk that Giella and Galloway could return for the postseason in 2019, as the punishment is in effect for a year from the date of the test, according to NCAA rules. However, a Clemson official said it was determined that Giella is unable to return.

Clemson is still seeking clarification on Galloway for the 2019 bowl season, according to a school official.

What a shame.  And that Epsom salt lead looked so promising.

(h/t)