Nutt Takes Chance on Masoli
Masoli may have found a new home in Oxford
Masoli was instrumental in leading Oregon to their first Rose Bowl since 1995 with a 10-win season and a Pac 10 Title. Fast forward to June and Masoli was kicked off the Oregon football team by Head Coach Chip Kelly.
He had previously been suspended for the season following an arrest on burglary charges. That season-long suspension didn’t last long and he was kicked off the team following a second arrest during the offseason, this time for marijuana possession. While the second arrest wasn’t on near as serious charges as the first, Chip Kelly had seen enough from his troubled QB and thought it best to part ways.
Masoli had no plans of sitting out the season or entering the supplemental draft. He had every intention of going elsewhere to play college football in 2010. The only problem was who would want him?
There is no denying Masoli’s immense talent on the football field, whether it be throwing the football or utilizing his greatest asset of running the ball. Nobody questions his talent. The real question was does his talent outweigh his questionable character. Do you want to take the risk of bringing in somebody that has had multiple run-ins with the law?
Masoli had expressed interest in Kansas State, West Virginia, and Ole Miss. I had no doubt that the first two teams wouldn’t express the same level of interest. Bill Snyder and Bill Stewart were highly unlikely to take the chance on Masoli. But, what about Ole Miss?
Nutt is set to gamble on Masoli
The Rebels lost backup QB Raymond Cotton to transfer and that left them two scholarship QB’s on the roster in Nathan Stanley and junior college transfer Randall Mackey. Houston Nutt was exploring all his options knowing that an injury to Stanley would be devastating to their chances in 2010.
Would he explore the option of bringing in troubled QB Jeremiah Masoli? Especially after the failed experiment of taking a chance on former Florida safety Jamar Hornsby last season. That decision blew up in his face. Could he afford to take the same risk? Nutt isn’t one to shy away from gambling during football games or on troubled players.
On Wednesday, it was learned that Nutt was going to take that chance on Masoli as word got out that Masoli was going to enroll at Ole Miss in one of the three graduate programs at the university.
It was just a week ago when Houston Nutt publically stated that he had no interest in pursuing the former Oregon QB. Now, it appears that Nutt is going to roll the dice yet again.
[pullquote] It was just a week ago when Houston Nutt publically stated that he had no interest in pursuing the former Oregon QB. Now, it appears that Nutt is going to roll the dice yet again.[/pullquote]There was no doubt that Nutt had to have another QB on the roster. Something had to be done. Stanley getting hurt would spell disaster for the Rebels whose season would be flushed down the drain because of it.
Mackey didn’t go through spring practice with the Rebels and he will likely be utilized as a specialty player in the Wild Rebel offense this season. He wasn’t expected to have to play a major role as the starting QB next season and that is what would happen if Stanley were to go down.
Masoli will not be awarded a scholarship at Ole Miss, so he will have to walk on to the football team. He’s actually a pretty good fit for Houston Nutt’s offense in what would likely be a similar role to how he used Matt Jones at QB during his tenure at Arkansas.
It will be interesting to see if all this does happen when Masoli will join the football team. He’ll have limited time to learn the playbook in Oxford before the season opener against Jacksonville State on Sept. 4.
I’m not sure that Masoli will be content with being a backup for his final season playing college football. In my opinion, Masoli is a better player than Stanley, but his playing time will be based on how quickly he will be able to learn the offense in Mississippi. Masoli will be on the shortest leash imaginable in Oxford and one minor slip up will mark the end of his college football career.
Masoli is scheduled to visit Ole Miss this weekend and it is expected that he will be admitted to the university and begin practicing with the football team. I’m not sure we will see Masoli start right away, but by the time the schedule flips into the SEC portion, Masoli could be the starting QB in Oxford.
Houston Nutt has earned a reputation as somebody that likes to gamble. He’s just got to hope that this gamble turns out better than the one last year.
5 Comments
I've been wondering, and perhaps you might be able to shed better light since you spoke as though it was the case in your article… [i]is Masoli going to get to play in 2010?[/i]
I know that the in-school suspension by Chip Kelly for the 2010 season no longer applies now that Masoli is under the Nutt-y umbrella now. But does the NCAA statute on transfers between I-A (er, FBS) schools not apply here? Last I remembered, the Rebels are an SEC school, a fellow BCS member institution to the Pac-10 Ducks, and I was always under the impression that a student-athlete transferring schools would have to sit a year before playing.
Is this not the case in an instance where the first school rescinds its scholarship spot? What is the NCAA ruling on this, and what exactly does it mean for Masoli's eligibility inre: the 2010 season?
Not so fast, Masoli has to walk on. And after getting burned with Hornsby, Nutt is going to be extra cautious. I think this still has to play out a bit…
Like Matt said, Big Z, Masoli has already finished his undergraduate degree. He can enroll in a graduate program at Ole Miss and he will be eligible to play in 2010.
It does still have to play out a bit Matt, but reports are that Masoli is enrolling at the university and he wouldn’t be doing that unless he was going to get to play football.