Not all who signed with FAU will enroll in the fall
By Chuck King
FAU's list of 2012 signees included 29 players. NCAA rules stipulate that only 25 can actually receive scholarships. How is this going to work?
The easy answer is that two players in class won't be enrolling at FAU. Yes, the math is right.
Only 23 of the players FAU signed in 2011 reported in the summer. Quarterback Colton Kane grayshirted, enrolling in January, so he can count toward last year's total. The Owls can count one more of the mid-year enrollees toward the 2011 class. That will likely be Minnesota transfer Johnathan Ragoo or one of the junior college signees from December.
That leaves the Owls with 27 signees for this year's 25 spots. Who won't make it to the Owls' roster? It's too early to know. But the first group of players I'll be watching are the five junior college players who still need to finish classes to earn their degrees. (Brandin Bryant qualified academically out of high school in 2011.)
Some of these guys ended up playing going the JUCO route because the school work either wasn't a priority or their specialty. Some of them still have some work to do. Tony Grimes, for example, told me he is taking seven classes this semester to become eligible to play at FAU. Adarius Glanton is back home in Lake Gibson, but he said he's taking online classes from a junior college in Oklahoma to get credits that satisfy FAU's admissions requirements.
The good news for FAU is that many much larger programs backed away from these five who signed on Wednesday because they couldn't enroll at their schools for the current spring semester. The wariness of larger schools gave FAU the opportunity to nab some players that might not normally consider the Owls.
All these guys can – and sound motivated to - finish their work and get to FAU. Will they make it?
The Owls also took a couple chances on high school players who may need a little extra time. Those guys need to meet or exceed NCAA levels for grade point average in core classes and achieve high enough standardized test scores. One such player is Charter Oak (Calif.) wide receiver Chris Gilchrist (photo). When I talked with Gilchrist the night before Signing Day he told me he'd re-taken the SAT this past weekend and believes he did well. His coach, Louis Farrar, thinks the lack of a qualifying score was the reason PAC 12 schools shied away from Gilchrist.
What will happen to a high school player who doesn't qualify? Think Gila Monsters.
Eastern Arizona players Stern Vile and Adarius Glanton signed with the Owls. While researching stories about those guys (and Quenton Brown, who did not sign), I had multiple conversations with Gila Monsters coach John O'Mera. On at least two occasions he mentioned that he'd like to continue his relationship with FAU by having the Owls send him a couple non-qualifiers.
The same could happen at Fort Scott Community College, which sent three players to the Owls. Recruiting coordinator Jeff Sims is a former head coach there and obviously still has a good relationship with the program.
By helping a player who doesn't qualify find a good junior college program, the Owls can improve the chances of that player eventually coming back to FAU.