At least in this case, the NCAA’s benevolence doesn’t extend to one FBS independent.
In early February, after being dismissed by Michigan, O’Maury Samuels announced that he had decided to place his name into the NCAA transfer database. Not long after, the running back landed at New Mexico State with hopes of playing immediately for the Aggies.
With the start of the 2019 campaign less than a month away, those hopes have officially been dashed as the football program has confirmed that the NCAA has denied Samuel’s waiver for immediate eligibility. After sitting out the upcoming season, Samuels will have two years of eligibility he can use beginning with the 2020 campaign.
Samuels was arrested on a pair of charges in early December, including one count of domestic violence. Shortly before making his transfer announcement on social media, that domestic count was dismissed after he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of malicious destruction of property under $200.
A four-star member of the Wolverines’ 2017 recruiting class, Samuels was rated as the No. 20 running back in the country and the No. 1 player at any position in the state of New Mexico. He was the highest-rated of the three backs in U-M’s class that year.
This past season, Samuels ran for 66 yards on 13 carries. As a true freshman in 2017, he totaled 13 yards on eight carries.