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Doesn't sound good

Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2015 9:41 am
by rebeljim
ACADEMIC FOCUS APPARENTLY LACKING FOR OLE MISS STAR NKEMDICHE

When the Lott Impact Trophy folks sent out the lengthy ballot of quarterfinalists for the award for the nation’s top defensive player, there was a surprising footnote at the bottom: “ROBERT NKEMDICHE, DE, Ole Miss – School does not feel he meets academic standards.”

Two other players – Joey Bosa of Ohio State and Shawn Oakman of Baylor – were omitted from the quarterfinal ballot after being suspended for a game. But the exclusion of Robert Nkemdiche (31) – a potential high draft pick after this, his junior season – wasn’t tied to a specific incident or situation.

Ole Miss simply felt he wasn’t doing the job in the classroom in order to push him for an award that takes that into consideration.

The Dash asked Lott Trophy spokesman Pete Donovan for further explanation. He emailed back: “We do not have a specific academic criteria, such as a minimum grade point average. We ask the Sports Information Directors if their student-athlete is attending and passing classes. In the case of Nkemdiche, Ole Miss notified us after the season began that they felt he did not qualify academically for our award.”

The Dash sought comment from Mississippi on Monday and did not receive a response. However, the school got in touch with the Lott people Monday in response to the Yahoo inquiry, according to an email that was forwarded to The Dash. They forwarded an email chain from earlier in October that included the following between Lott Award officers, from Oct. 6:

“After several attempts, I finally connected w/ my guys at Ole Miss re; Robert Nkemdiche. They were very apologetic for not getting back to me sooner, however they stated that unfortunately they don’t feel that Robert is suitable for consideration. While stellar on the field, they don’t believe that he has the academics nor the community service that would be suitable for consideration.”

If Nkemdiche’s academics are that suspect, you wonder whether he’d be eligible for a bowl game. Those are almost universally played after fall-semester grades are in, and several players in past years have missed bowls after a bad semester.

Between that and star offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil missing seven games due to NCAA violations regarding impermissible benefits from agents, it’s clear that there can be a price to pay for recruiting players with eyes fixed on the NFL.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/forde-yard ... ncaaf.html

Re: Doesn't sound good

Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2015 12:24 pm
by lewindha
IMO, that is VERY irresponsible reporting.

It could be that he's just a C student and they didn't feel he should be presented for the award. Who knows, but let's just jump to THAT conclusion.

Re: Doesn't sound good

Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2015 1:51 pm
by JustBlues
According to the school, he is not at risk. The criteria for the lott award is subjective and the school just didn't feel that he met the academic standards represented by that award. They have submitted his name for a ton of other awards, which they would not have done if there were academic eligibility concerns.

Re: Doesn't sound good

Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2015 2:10 pm
by rebeljim
JustBlues wrote:According to the school, he is not at risk. The criteria for the lott award is subjective and the school just didn't feel that he met the academic standards represented by that award. They have submitted his name for a ton of other awards, which they would not have done if there were academic eligibility concerns.
Ben said on scout it was bush league by Forde to publish this article. Freeze has always been strict when it comes to grades.

Re: Doesn't sound good

Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2015 5:17 pm
by Titles 'R Us
Forde is no fan of Ole Miss. He lectured long and loud about remarks made at a play that players were forced to attend with a gay theme on campus. The theater department was not pleased with the remarks and complained to the athletics department. Was not a good idea to force the attendance, and then students can be immature about certain subjects. Sex, sex, sex, sex--should I go on? At any rate, Forde did an article comparing this incident to the 1962 admission of James Meredith. Ridiculous. Same thing happened with other writers when those Georgia rednecks put the noose around the James Meredith statue. Ole Miss gets painted with the broadest of brushes, not broader than those used by National Talking Heads with Agendas.

Re: Doesn't sound good

Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2015 6:07 pm
by fenderman
Yeah Im not to worried. I thought it was some BS

Re: Doesn't sound good

Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2015 6:26 pm
by rebeljim
Titles 'R Us wrote:Forde is no fan of Ole Miss. He lectured long and loud about remarks made at a play that players were forced to attend with a *beep* theme on campus. The theater department was not pleased with the remarks and complained to the athletics department. Was not a good idea to force the attendance, and then students can be immature about certain subjects. Sex, sex, sex, sex--should I go on? At any rate, Forde did an article comparing this incident to the 1962 admission of James Meredith. Ridiculous. Same thing happened with other writers when those Georgia rednecks put the noose around the James Meredith statue. Ole Miss gets painted with the broadest of brushes, not broader than those used by National Talking Heads with Agendas.
I remember the theater incendent, involved some football players. Total bs.