Yale QB opts for ‘The Game’ over Rhodes Scholarship

By Ben KerchevalNov 14, 2011, 11:43 AM EDT
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So we can officially drop the term “student-athlete”, no?

I mean, what hope do we have if a football player from Yale decides playing in the rivalry game against Harvard is more important than a possible Rhodes Scholarship?

Kidding, of course. Yale quarterback Patrick Witt is a smart guy with a 3.91 GPA and was all set to travel to Emory University in Atlanta this Saturday to do his final interview for the Rhodes Scholarship. The problem was that the interview was 8 a.m., just hours before the noon kickoff for “The Game” between Yale and Harvard.

So, Witt opted to stick around for his final game against the Crimson.

“I will be playing in the Yale-Harvard game this Saturday,” Witt said in an official press release. “My focus this week is solely on preparing for The Game alongside my teammates and coaches.”

Interestingly enough, Witt transferred from Nebraska two years ago because of academics.

Witt, who found out he was a finalist for the Rhodes on Oct. 31, began the application process over the summer and already had one interview in September.

Last year, Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy applied, but was not selected, for the Rhodes. In 2009, Florida State safety Myron Rolle was awarded the Rhodes Scholarship. His interview was the same day as the Seminoles’ Nov. 21 game against Maryland. The NCAA allowed Rolle to take a chartered flight from Birmingham to College Park so that he could interview for the Rhodes and play against the Terps.

Rolle delayed his NFL aspirations for a year while he studied at Oxford.

(Tip of the cap: Yale Daily News) 

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Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas sniffing around Clemson transfer RB

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By John TaylorMay 9, 2019, 10:10 AM EDT
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Not surprisingly, one of the most talented and noteworthy non-quarterback transfers of the offseason is garnering some attention from some of the sport’s bluebloods.

Late last month, and amidst rumors of a potential departure, Clemson confirmed that Tavien Feaster had entered the NCAA transfer database and was looking to continue his collegiate playing career at somewhere other than the home of the defending national champions.  While no official visits have been confirmed during the ensuing two weeks or so, the esteemed Woody Wommack of Rivals.com is now reporting that Alabama, Oklahoma and Texas, among others, have been in touch with the running back since he entered the portal.

Per Wommack, the player is in the process of setting up official visits to the campuses of what are right now unspecified schools.

If he follows through with the transfer, Feaster would finish the Clemson portion of his playing career with 1,330 career rushing yards and 15 touchdowns on 222 carries, as well as 183 receiving yards and one touchdown on 23 receptions.  The Spartanburg, SC, native, who ran for 11 yards on three carries in the Tigers’ title game win over the Crimson Tide, started 11 of the 41 games in which he appeared for the Tigers.

As a grad transfer, Feaster would be eligible to play immediately at another FBS school.  The upcoming season will be the back’s final year of eligibility.

Ezekiel Elliott offers to pay for funeral of slain 14-year-old football prospect

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By John TaylorMay 9, 2019, 8:58 AM EDT
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One former Big Ten standout and current NFL star has stepped up in the midst of an unimaginable tragedy for a family near his hometown.

Jaylon McKenzie, a 14-year-old football phenom who held offers from Illinois and Missouri as an eighth grader, was attending a post-prom house party in Venice, Illinois, Saturday night when a fight broke out.  As he was attempting to leave the party and avoid the chaos, gunfire rang out and McKenzie was hit by a stray bullet; after being taken to a local hospital, the young man was pronounced dead.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, a representative for Ezekiel Elliott, a St. Louis native who starred at Ohio State, got into contact with McKenzie’s mother two days after the shooting and offered to pay for her son’s funeral.  As it turns out, McKenzie was a huge fan of the Dallas Cowboys running back.

From the Post-Dispatch:

As a preteen Jaylon McKenzie was glued to the TV during the 2016 NFL draft when the Dallas Cowboys selected Ezekiel Elliott as the team’s first-round pick.

Jaylon watched as Elliott, a running back who grew up in Alton not far from Jaylon’s home in Belleville, crossed the stage. Jaylon pictured himself one day accepting a jersey of his own.

“It’s so generous,” McKenzie’s mother, Sukeena Gunner, told the newspaper. “I remember Jaylon watching him cross that stage and thinking: ‘I can do this,’ so it means a lot.”

Gunner also stated that two other NFL players have offered to pay for her son’s funeral, although those players have thus far remained nameless.

As of this posting, no arrests have been made in the criminal act that claimed McKenzie’s life, with the Post-Dispatch writing that “[a]uthorities asked anyone who witnessed the shooting to call Illinois State Police Investigations Case Agent Scott Wobbe at 618-381-1467.”

K-State adds second grad transfer RB, this one from North Carolina

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By John TaylorMay 9, 2019, 7:47 AM EDT
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For the second time since taking over for Little Manhattan’s living football legend, Chris Klieman has infused some experienced depth to his Kansas State backfield.

In mid-December, the football program confirmed that James Gilbert, Ball State’s leading rusher this past season, had been added to K-State’s roster.  Wednesday, Jordon Brown, a transfer from North Carolina, announced on Twitter that he too has committed to continuing his collegiate playing career with the Wildcats.

Brown and Gilbert come to the Big 12 schools as graduate transfers, making both eligible to play immediately in 2019.

In 2017, Brown’s 613 rushing yards led the Tar Heels. His production in 2018 dipped to 347 yards, a number that was good for third on the team in Larry Fedora‘s last season as head coach before he was replaced by Mack Brown.

During his time in Chapel Hill, Brown ran for 1,005 yards and eight touchdowns on 239 attempts.

Bowling Green QB Jarret Doege reportedly entering the transfer portal

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By Bryan FischerMay 8, 2019, 5:26 PM EDT
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The transfer portal has claimed another.

Per WTOL 11 in Toledo, Bowling Green starting quarterback Jarrett Doege has put his name in the NCAA transfer database and appears ticketed out of the Falcons program this spring.

Doege is a fascinating name on the market and somebody sure to garner plenty of attention from bigger programs looking for a signal-caller. He has 17 starts under his belt and was even the first true freshman to start under center for Bowling Green in 35 years. Last season he threw for 2,660 yards and 27 touchdowns (against just 12 interceptions) and led the MAC in both categories.

A Texas native, Doege may be a case where a player just doesn’t mesh with a new coaching staff. The QB was brought to BGSU by Mike Jinks to run the Air Raid but the latter was fired in 2018 and replaced by Scot Loeffler. Doege’s older brother, former Texas Tech QB Seth Doege, was among the staff members who were not retained as a result and likely also played a bit of a factor too.