Booted by Jimbo Fisher back in November of last year, Ukeme Eligwe is getting a fresh start about 250 miles north of Tallahassee.
Eligwe’s high school coach, Dante Ferguson, has confirmed to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that his former player has decided to continue his collegiate playing career at Georgia Southern. Eligwe is applying for a waiver that would grant him immediate eligibility.
If that waiver is granted, Eligwe would play for the Eagles in 2015 and have two seasons of eligibility remaining. If it’s denied, he’d have one year of eligibility left that he could use in 2016 for the SBC football program.
There was, though, a chance that whatever remaining eligibility Eligwe has could very well have been used at an SEC program.
“It was looking like it might be UGA, because it’s so close to home,” Ferguson said, referring to Georgia. “But summer school started this week at Georgia Southern, and he felt like he needed to make a decision. He felt like he couldn’t wait any longer to see if things were going to work out with UGA.
“He was just so impressed with Georgia Southern. He likes it there, and he didn’t want to miss out on that opportunity if things fell through with UGA.”
Eligwe was a highly-touted member of Florida State’s 2012 recruiting class, a four-star prospect rated as the No. 2 outside linebacker in the country; the No. 2 player at any position in the state of Georgia; and No. 47 player overall according to Rivals.com. After redshirting as a true freshman, Eligwe played in 13 games during the Seminoles’ run to the 2013 BCS title. He played in two games in 2014 before being injured and, ultimately, dismissed from the program for violating unspecified team rules.