As it turns out, South Alabama will have a former SEC player at its disposal for the upcoming season.
The Sun Belt Conference school announced Friday evening that Danny Woodson has been granted immediate eligibility by the NCAA and will play for the Jaguars in 2013. Exactly what the appeal for a waiver entailed is unknown.
The wide receiver and his new coach received the news earlier in the day that his appeal had been approved.
“When I got the phone call from [USA Assistant Athletic Director] Daniel McCarthy, he said he was going to make my day; I told him if it’s the news I hope it is, it’s going to make my year,” said USA head coach Joey Jones. “We got really good news about Danny. He’s a great football player and a great young man, we’re tickled to death that he is going to be with us this fall. Danny can make a big difference in our offensive production.”
Woodson will have three seasons of eligibility remaining beginning with this upcoming one. The receiver had already been practicing with his new Jaguar teammates.
A four-star member of the Alabama’s 2011 recruiting class, Woodson was rated as the No. 25 receiver in the country and the No. 7 player at any position in the state of Alabama. After redshirting his true freshman season, Woodson appeared in six games in 2012, catching one pass for nine yards.
He was suspended in February of this year for violating unspecified team rules, a suspension that cost him the whole of spring practice. Three months later, it was announced that he would be transferring to South Alabama.