QB Jeremiah Masoli Elgible To Play Immediately After Winning Appeal

In a surprising twist, the NCAA Division I Subcommittee for Legislative Relief has overturned the decision that required Jeremiah Masoli to sit out this season, making the quarterback eligible to play immediately for Ole Miss.

The announcement was made by the school Friday afternoon.

The NCAA has issued a statement regarding its denial of Jeremiah Masoli’s waiver request, which will prevent him from playing football for Ole Miss in 2010 barring a reversal of fortunes:

In its decision, the staff noted the student-athlete was unable to participate at the University of Oregon based on his dismissal from the team, which is contrary to the intent of the waiver. The waiver exists to provide relief to student-athletes who transfer for academic reasons to pursue graduate studies, not to avoid disciplinary measures at the previous university.Empirically, this does make sense, although sportswriting wags are already pointing out that this why we have the FCS. Ole Miss will appeal the decision, obviously. In the interim, we can only imagine trying to spell the words spewing from Houston Nutt’s maw right now.

Oregon castoff Jeremiah Masoli is earning accolades down in SEC country from his coaches for his work on the practice field, but at the moment the practice field is the only environment in which he’s allowed to contribute:

[Masoli] has yet to receive an NCAA waiver of the one-year residency requirement for a transfer student. It’s a request that typically is rubber-stamped if the transfer enrolls in a different graduate school program than is offered at his previous school.

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“There aren’t many of these type waiver requests made and we’ve never processed one because of the requirements that must be made for consideration,” said David Wells, Ole Miss’ assistant athletic director for compliance. “I anticipate that we will hear something prior to the start of the season, sooner would be better than later.

I’m told by everyone I ask that this is essentially a non-issue, but even if it takes more time than they’d like, later would actually be fine: The Rebels open with Jacksonville State, followed by Tulane and Vanderbilt. And the head coach? Why, he’s not concerned in the least:

For Masoli, this is the endpoint of a long and circuitous path from his troubled time at Oregon, which included a season-long suspension and a dismissal, and the end of a convoluted courtship by Ole Miss. For the Rebels, this move adds an experienced quarterback to a roster that has none.

Masoli will be eligible to play this fall because of an NCAA rule that allows players who have finished bachelor’s degrees to transfer to schools that offer graduate programs their current schools do not offer. The rub in Masoli’s case? He’ll be part of Ole Miss’ Parks and Recreation master’s program.

Former Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli is one step closer to becoming Ole Miss’ next signal caller. After sending his release papers to the school on July 26th, Masoli has been admitted to one of the school’s graduate programs, according to the Sporting News.

Masoli was dismissed from Oregon following his guilty plea in March to a second-degree burglary charge for stealing laptops from a campus fraternity house, as well as being pulled over with marijuana in June. Masoli, however, is eligible to play next season after the NCAA ruled that he would not have to sit out the customary transfer year, as long as he enrolled in a graduate program not offered by Oregon. Masoli has one season of college eligibility remaining.

A new school has emerged as a potential landing spot for embattled former Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli: Ole Miss. Head coach Houston Nutt confirmed to the Memphis Commercial-Appeal that Masoli had sent his release papers to Ole Miss, which would be the first step in transferring to the school.

Ole Miss would be an ideal fit for Masoli because he conceivably step right around the field as the starter. Indeed, Ole Miss has a dearth of experienced quarterbacks after Jevan Snead’s ill-considered decision to declare for the NFL Draft, and redshirt freshman Raymond Cotton chose to leave the school last Saturday. Nutt told reporters that he was “checking all avenues” with Masoli and that the team was in a “real bind” after Cotton left.

Today, former Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli received some good news in that he is allowed to play next year since he completed the required classes at Oregon. That explains a lot to why he has not looked into transferring to an FCS school. So far Masoli has been linked to multiple schools as a potential landing spot, but has yet to find a home. Today the latest rumor has the former Duck linked to UNLV and SB Nation’s Mountain West Connection feels that it is a bad idea for UNLV take on Masoli:

Masoli is in a real bind since most schools start fall camp in a few weeks, so he really needs to make a decision. Two tips for Masoli, perhaps look at a school that has a system that will benefit his play and one that does not have a starting quarterback in place.

Jeremiah Masoli won’t be taking his trade to Oxford, according to the reliable Chris Low:

One of the schools that keeps getting mentioned as a possible destination for Masoli is Ole Miss, but that’s not going to happen. Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt told David Brandt of The Jackson Clarion-Ledger that the Rebels were not pursuing Masoli, and two other sources I talked with at Ole Miss said the Rebels would not take Masoli, who was dismissed from the Oregon team following multiple run-ins with the law.Jeremiah? If I might be so bold, might I suggest Jacksonville State? It worked for Ryan Perrilloux!

Very lately, it seems Jeremiah Masoli has everything a ferociously talented, occasionally felonious football star could want: a court date (Sept. 3) to close the book on his latest run-in with the law, a completed transcript of undergrad courses, and with that, the ability to transfer from Oregon with a full season of eligibility remaining.

Normal NCAA transfer rules would require Masoli to sit out a season after transferring, but because he completed undergraduate studies, that doesn’t apply. The only caveat is he must enroll in a graduate program that offers a course of study Oregon does not offer.

Masoli’s transferrin’ eye has apparently wandered most lately to Ole Miss. SBN’s Red Cup Rebellion ponders the possibility:

Reports place him anywhere from the WAC to the SEC, but all indicators agree: Jeremiah Masoli, a Duck no more, is headed for warmer climes:

The former Oregon Ducks quarterback has visited the campus of Louisiana Tech and is planning on making a visit to Mississippi State, this according to a TV report by KNOE-TV in Monroe, Louisiana.

The Oregonian confirmed his visit to the Ruston campus but reported that the San Francisco native has not visited Dan Mullen and the Bulldogs and doesn’t have any plans to.

Either of these developments coming to fruition would be marvelous for all involved, as both the Southeastern Conference and the state of Louisiana have a history of harboring colorful series of felonious footballers. For maximum verisimilitude, however, not to mention immediate playing time, Masoli will want to follow in Police Blotter All-Star Ryan Perrilloux’s illustrious cleatsteps and sign with Jacksonville State. Welcome to your own personal sun belt of freedom, kid. You’ll be running your own riverboat-based counterfeiting ring in no time at all, and no one will care long as you win on Saturdays.

Jeremiah Masoli has played his last game for Oregon. The star quarterback, who was suspended for the 2010 season following pleading to a misdemeanor theft charge, has been kicked off the team after a traffic incident Monday night, according to the team’s official Twitter feed.

Per OregonLive.com, Masoli was pulled over Monday night after not stopping after exiting a driveway. Masoli was found to be driving with a suspended license, as well as having a small amount of marijuana in the car. His arraignment is scheduled for June 24th, though none of the charges against him carry any jail time.

While Oregon football looks to move on from a rather tumultuous offseason with the start of spring practices on Tuesday, there was still a bit of news that trickled out of Eugene on Monday. According to The Oregonian, Jeremiah Masoli, the quarterback who was suspended for the 2010 season after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor burglary charge, will stay at the school, and in theory, could make a return to the field in 2011.

It is unknown if Masoli will have any presence with the team this year (he could be allowed to practice with the scout team). Senior Nate Costa and sophomore Darron Thomas will compete for the starting QB job.

Chip Kelly announced Friday that Jeremiah Masoli will not take the field for Oregon in 2010.

Sadly for Oregon, that seems to be all that their football program is about right now: how to deal with players who end up in the criminal justice system. Also having their punishments announced Friday: Rob Beard and LaMichael James, who pleaded guilty to harassment and will each miss the first game of the season.

Jeremiah Masoli has pled guilty in his burglary case, pleading down to a misdemeanor case of second degree burglary. According to George Schroeder, who was in the standing room only courtroom, Masoli must also make restitution to his victim. Chip Kelly’s announcement regarding Masoli’s status with the team remains unknown, and will be addressed in a press conference sometime Friday afternoon.

This is very early and very sketchy and should be taken with about a deer lick of salt, especially seeing as how Chip Kelly’s already said his decision won’t be announced before tomorrow. But: An ESPN Radio guy out of Portland is saying, and Yahoo’s Dan Wetzel is repeating, that Jeremiah Masoli’s locker in the Ducks’ complex has been emptied. That same radio source is also reporting that LaMichael James will not receive a suspension. We’ll be updating this story the rest of the night, so stay tuned here and at SBN’s Oregon blog, Addicted to Quack, for all the latest.

Friday will be a busy day for Oregon football. Unfortunately, they will be occupied not on the field, but rather in the court room.

On the same day that running back LaMichael James will appear in court for a change of plea hearing and sentencing, another pair of Ducks will face arraignment for a completely separate incident. QB Jeremiah Masoli and receiver Garrett Embry were both charged with burglary on Wednesday. While the crime occurred in the same time period as when they were accused to have stolen from a fraternity, “the district attorney’s office would not confirm or deny that the charges stem from that incident.”

Chip Kelly’s nightmare of an off-season just got worse. Star quarterback Jeremiah Masoli and receiver Garrett Embry have been charged with burglary dating back to a January theft of laptops at the Oregon Sigma Alpha Epsilon house.

This from the Oregonian’s John Canzano: