Former Oregon QB Jeremiah Masoli is expected to be admitted to one of three graduate programs at the University of Mississippi, which should make him eligible to play as early as this season, a source told ESPN's Joe Schad.
Masoli would have to walk on at Ole Miss as he would not be granted a scholarship, the source said. But Masoli, a good student, would be eligible to possibly receive a reduced tuition cost.
Masoli is expected to make a formal visit to Ole Miss as soon as this weekend, the source said.
Masoli had expressed late interest in programs like Kansas State and West Virginia, two other sources told Schad.
According to The Clarion-Ledger, school officials, including coach Houston Nutt and athletic director Pete Boone, met Tuesday to discuss Masoli's troubled background, which led to his dismissal from the Oregon team in June.
Ole Miss assistant athletic director for compliance David Wells told The Clarion-Ledger that the university would have to ask the NCAA to waive a one-year residency requirement, which can be granted if the athlete enrolls in a graduate program that is not offered at Oregon.
A week ago Nutt said the Rebels had no interest in pursuing Masoli, who was kicked off Oregon's team after two run-ins with the law, including a second-degree burglary charge.
That stance may have changed after backup Raymond Cotton left the team this past Saturday. The Rebels are down to just two scholarship quarterbacks after Cotton was granted his release and plans to transfer after apparently convincing himself that he wasn't going to get much of a chance to play behind Nathan Stanley.
Nutt has been down this road before. He took a chance on former Florida safety Jamar Hornsby last year, and it blew up in the Rebels' faces.
Hornsby was booted from the Gators' team after being charged with the fraudulent use of a dead Florida student's credit card. She was killed in a motorcycle accident and just happened to be the girlfriend of Hornsby's then-teammate, Joe Haden.
The Rebels took a chance and signed the troubled Hornsby after a stopover at junior college, and he was in trouble again not even a month later. He was indicted on a felony assault charge, and Nutt had no choice but to dismiss him from the team.
In Nutt's defense, he's not the first coach, nor will he be the last coach, to take a chance on a talented player with a troubled past.
But to do it two years in a row is tempting fate.
Nutt has to have another quarterback. The Rebels' backup right now is junior college transfer Randall Mackey, who wasn't in Oxford for spring practice and was probably going to factor in as a specialty player this season.
An injury to Stanley could be disastrous, which is why Nutt is exploring every avenue.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5418941
Masoli would have to walk on at Ole Miss as he would not be granted a scholarship, the source said. But Masoli, a good student, would be eligible to possibly receive a reduced tuition cost.
Masoli is expected to make a formal visit to Ole Miss as soon as this weekend, the source said.
Masoli had expressed late interest in programs like Kansas State and West Virginia, two other sources told Schad.
According to The Clarion-Ledger, school officials, including coach Houston Nutt and athletic director Pete Boone, met Tuesday to discuss Masoli's troubled background, which led to his dismissal from the Oregon team in June.
Ole Miss assistant athletic director for compliance David Wells told The Clarion-Ledger that the university would have to ask the NCAA to waive a one-year residency requirement, which can be granted if the athlete enrolls in a graduate program that is not offered at Oregon.
A week ago Nutt said the Rebels had no interest in pursuing Masoli, who was kicked off Oregon's team after two run-ins with the law, including a second-degree burglary charge.
That stance may have changed after backup Raymond Cotton left the team this past Saturday. The Rebels are down to just two scholarship quarterbacks after Cotton was granted his release and plans to transfer after apparently convincing himself that he wasn't going to get much of a chance to play behind Nathan Stanley.
Nutt has been down this road before. He took a chance on former Florida safety Jamar Hornsby last year, and it blew up in the Rebels' faces.
Hornsby was booted from the Gators' team after being charged with the fraudulent use of a dead Florida student's credit card. She was killed in a motorcycle accident and just happened to be the girlfriend of Hornsby's then-teammate, Joe Haden.
The Rebels took a chance and signed the troubled Hornsby after a stopover at junior college, and he was in trouble again not even a month later. He was indicted on a felony assault charge, and Nutt had no choice but to dismiss him from the team.
In Nutt's defense, he's not the first coach, nor will he be the last coach, to take a chance on a talented player with a troubled past.
But to do it two years in a row is tempting fate.
Nutt has to have another quarterback. The Rebels' backup right now is junior college transfer Randall Mackey, who wasn't in Oxford for spring practice and was probably going to factor in as a specialty player this season.
An injury to Stanley could be disastrous, which is why Nutt is exploring every avenue.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5418941
