Johnny Ragin, get to Vegas; you’re on a roll.
Shortly after the 2013 season ended, the linebacker transferred from Cal to Oregon. Because he was a transfer to another program in the Pac-12, Ragin would’ve been forced to sit out both the 2014 and 2015 seasons; an appeal for a waiver was successful, however, and lopped that sit-out time in half, making Ragin eligible to play in 2015 after sitting out this season.
For reasons not yet publicly released, Ragin filed yet another appeal for a waiver that would allow him to be immediately eligible in 2014 -- and won.
“We got a great piece of news yesterday, Johnny Ragin’s initial eligibility waivers was granted,” head coach Mark Helfrich said according to the Oregonian. “He’s had a great camp.”
Aside from two very successful appeals, how Ragin went from “eligible in 2016" to “eligible in 2014" is unclear -- and absolutely awesome given the absurd and arcane nature of the NCAA’s transfer rules. Getting past the technicalities of his situation, Ragin is a player who can, now with these twin rulings, help the Ducks immediately.
A three-star member of Cal’s 2013 recruiting class, Ragin was rated as the No. 4 player in the state of Oregon. He played in eight games as a true freshman with the Golden Bears.