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Offensive lineman Michael Eletise plans to leave the University of Arizona at the end of the semester and enroll at Hawaii this summer, but there might be more to this once-routine story in the coming months.
Until a year ago, that practically guaranteed the 2016 Kaiser High graduate would be cooling his spikes for a season in residence before seeing the field in uniform for the Rainbow Warriors.
But amid the ever-changing NCAA landscape, there is potential he could now find himself in the lineup against the Wildcats when the 2019 season kicks off Aug. 24 at Aloha Stadium.
Such instant eligibility, until recently rare and hard to come by for an underclassman, is quickly becoming the rule rather than the exception.
NCAA transfer rules still require players to sit out for a full academic year before they can compete unless they have graduated or secured a waiver on a variety of possible exceptions. While there is no guarantee for Eletise, a Star-Advertiser All-State selection, recent history suggests the odds are getting more favorable by the day as eligibility attorneys, a growing industry, become more akamai about securing waivers under more liberal rulings.
Since the NCAA’s opening of its sci-fi-sounding “transfer portal” last year and subsequent loosening of waivers, more than 75 percent of the players who have petitioned for immediate eligibility have had their requests approved.
Quarterback Shea Patterson, now at Michigan, was the most prominent among a handful of ex-Mississippi players who sought — and won — waivers that allowed them to play immediately last season and others have followed. Now, quarterback Justin Fields, who spent the 2018 season at Georgia, has gained an exemption that will allow him to play for Ohio State this season.
Those are the marquee cases and they have helped spark a rush in players who want to advertise their availability on the portal, where viewing is open only to schools. Numbers have grown to more than 1,400, UH coach Nick Rolovich said Monday.
The Arizona Daily Star lists eight Wildcats players, including Eletise, who entered the portal. Penn State has had at least 11 apply, according to media reports.
It is a mad dash toward the college version of free agency for players who, for too long, have been bound to schools like chattel while their often transient coaches and administrators have enjoyed unfettered movement.
What it means for college football in the long run still remains to be seen, but the minds of coaches and athletic directors are already spinning, pondering the possible consequences for both the players, who are not assured of a scholarship once they enter the portal, and the schools.
Rolovich is well aware that the revolving door has the ability to spin both ways. While he can’t comment on the specifics of Eletise’s case yet, he says in general terms of the overall trend, “My concern is — and there is no perfect answer — you’ve got 1,400 kids in the portal right now. Not all of them were scholarship players (and) there are not 1,400 scholarships left (for the 2019 season). What does that mean for players’ graduating? And, so, I think it is something that we need to look at it in being able to replace scholarships.”
Some have suggested that when a school loses a scholarship player it be allowed to add a scholarship to the 25-man ceiling. Rolovich said, “They (the NCAA) put the portal and the 25 (initial) signing limit in at the same time, which might not have been the best timing. Some schools could lose as many as 11 guys and you only get 25 (initials). It is hard enough to keep up an 85-man roster already.”
The approaching 2019 season figures to come with some interesting wrinkles.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.
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