Jadeveon Clowney’s Decision Coming Monday, But Will He Qualify?

One of the nation’s most highly touted recruits, Jadeveon Clowney, is going to announce Monday that he will attend either South Carolina or Clemson. Maybe. The New York Times is now raising concerns that Clowney might not qualify to play for either of the Palmetto State’s programs based on his academics.

Two people with knowledge of his classroom performance while attending South Pointe High School in Rock Hill, S.C., have raised questions over how he will be able meet the N.C.A.A.’s minimum academic standard if he wants to play next season.

The most damning assessment comes from Troy Davis, who coaches football at Hargrave Military Academy. Davis’ program gets a lot of its players from recruits that don’t meet the NCAA’s standards and need a couple of years of better grades to play football at the highest level.

Troy Davis, the coach at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va., said he had reviewed Clowney’s transcript and described it as consistent with those of other prospects who had failed to meet the N.C.A.A.’s standards. ...

Speaking of students who had enrolled at Hargrave, Davis said “it was pretty common” for a nonqualifier to have a transcript like Clowney’s.

The other source, in case you’re wondering, is one of Clowney’s high-school teachers. Again, this is someone you might expect to know of which he speaks. None of which is to stay that Clowney won’t qualify; we’ll find out soon enough once he chooses a school and that university starts working with the NCAA to get to the answer.

But the celebration among fans of the school that does get Clowney might be dampened a bit by knowing that it’s not the end of the recruiting process. In this case, it’s just the beginning.