I found myself in a conversation yesterday about recruiting with an LSU fan. He was adamant that Alabama only had two slots open for the 2014 class. Granted, if you were to look at the commitment list on 247Sports.com you'll see 23 verbals (two signed.) I'm sure you are aware of the SEC limitations on 25 per class. However, in this years class there are two important exceptions.
When Pettway committed to return to UA one could assume he'd count against the numbers again. He does, but only the cap of 85. Since he's re-enrolled at UA he won't count against the 25 initials.
So, take that number of 23 verbals and reduce it to 22.
What I want to clear up, for those who might not understand it, is how Keith Holcombe stands when it comes to the initials and the 85 cap.
Holcombe's father played for Coach Bryant. This enables him to qualify for the Bryant Scholarship which doesn't count against the 25 initials or the 85 total for the fall of 2014.
The LSU fan I was talking with immediately fell into the "conspiracy mode" claiming "it's just another way for Bama to circumvent the rules." That's far, far from the case. The Bryant Scholarship is not considered a sports scholarship.
How, you might ask? Here's a short version on how it works, the applicable rules, and a few other notes.
The criteria of the scholarship are not based on athletics. It is awarded to any student (athlete or non-athlete, male or female) whose father played or coached for Coach Bryant.
It's considered institutional aid (touch a bit more on that in a second.) As example, when I was at UA I had a few classes with Danny Ford's daughter. He was coaching at Arkansas at the time, she was attending UA but wasn't participating in any athletics. Conner Neighbors, who is a fullback for LSU, qualified for the Bryant Scholarship because his father, Wes, played for Coach Bryant. Conner can not use the scholarship at LSU.
A player can not be awarded the Bryant Scholarship and receive a football scholarship at the same time. So, if you look back, Terry Jones, Jr. did qualify and receive the Bryant Scholarship. However, as soon as he was awarded a football scholarship he stops receiving funds from the Bryant endowment.
The Bryant Scholarship, qualifies as Institutional Financial Aid under bylaw 15.02.1. NCAA Bylaw 15.02.1 defines "financial aid that is administered by an institution, if the institution, through its regular committee or other agency for the awarding of financial aid to students generally, makes the final determination of the student-athlete who is to receive the award and of its value.”
The key here is when a player actually enters competition. As soon as he plays his first snap, he counts against the 85. Until he does play he does not count against either the 25 or 85. In a nutshell, it is no different than the way a walk-on versus a preferred walk-on is treated. Who determines the difference between the two? After submitting the required paperwork documenting how a kid was or was not recruited the NCAA makes the final judgement.
Here's a catch. IF the NCAA determines a walk-on wasn't recruited, he never counts against the total unless he's put on scholarship. With the Bryant Scholarship, if we didn't recruit the player he could play, be on the scholarship, and still not count against the 85. This isn't the case with Holcombe.
The rules for that designation are fairly straight-forward. Before walk-ons are allowed to participate in practice, the Tide staff goes over them carefully, and normally the walk-on athlete signs a form acknowledging the circumstances of his recruitment (or rather non-recruitment) by the Alabama coaches.
Just a few other examples of how we've used this in the past decade or so. I mentioned Terry Jones, Jr. Jake Wingo qualified due to his father playing linebacker for the Tide. Tyrone King, Jonathan Lowe, and Joe Jones are a few others we've seen come through the program over the last few years.
Hope this clears up any questions you might have had about this years class numbers.
When Pettway committed to return to UA one could assume he'd count against the numbers again. He does, but only the cap of 85. Since he's re-enrolled at UA he won't count against the 25 initials.
So, take that number of 23 verbals and reduce it to 22.
What I want to clear up, for those who might not understand it, is how Keith Holcombe stands when it comes to the initials and the 85 cap.
Holcombe's father played for Coach Bryant. This enables him to qualify for the Bryant Scholarship which doesn't count against the 25 initials or the 85 total for the fall of 2014.
The LSU fan I was talking with immediately fell into the "conspiracy mode" claiming "it's just another way for Bama to circumvent the rules." That's far, far from the case. The Bryant Scholarship is not considered a sports scholarship.
How, you might ask? Here's a short version on how it works, the applicable rules, and a few other notes.
The criteria of the scholarship are not based on athletics. It is awarded to any student (athlete or non-athlete, male or female) whose father played or coached for Coach Bryant.
It's considered institutional aid (touch a bit more on that in a second.) As example, when I was at UA I had a few classes with Danny Ford's daughter. He was coaching at Arkansas at the time, she was attending UA but wasn't participating in any athletics. Conner Neighbors, who is a fullback for LSU, qualified for the Bryant Scholarship because his father, Wes, played for Coach Bryant. Conner can not use the scholarship at LSU.
A player can not be awarded the Bryant Scholarship and receive a football scholarship at the same time. So, if you look back, Terry Jones, Jr. did qualify and receive the Bryant Scholarship. However, as soon as he was awarded a football scholarship he stops receiving funds from the Bryant endowment.
The Bryant Scholarship, qualifies as Institutional Financial Aid under bylaw 15.02.1. NCAA Bylaw 15.02.1 defines "financial aid that is administered by an institution, if the institution, through its regular committee or other agency for the awarding of financial aid to students generally, makes the final determination of the student-athlete who is to receive the award and of its value.”
The key here is when a player actually enters competition. As soon as he plays his first snap, he counts against the 85. Until he does play he does not count against either the 25 or 85. In a nutshell, it is no different than the way a walk-on versus a preferred walk-on is treated. Who determines the difference between the two? After submitting the required paperwork documenting how a kid was or was not recruited the NCAA makes the final judgement.
Here's a catch. IF the NCAA determines a walk-on wasn't recruited, he never counts against the total unless he's put on scholarship. With the Bryant Scholarship, if we didn't recruit the player he could play, be on the scholarship, and still not count against the 85. This isn't the case with Holcombe.
The rules for that designation are fairly straight-forward. Before walk-ons are allowed to participate in practice, the Tide staff goes over them carefully, and normally the walk-on athlete signs a form acknowledging the circumstances of his recruitment (or rather non-recruitment) by the Alabama coaches.
Just a few other examples of how we've used this in the past decade or so. I mentioned Terry Jones, Jr. Jake Wingo qualified due to his father playing linebacker for the Tide. Tyrone King, Jonathan Lowe, and Joe Jones are a few others we've seen come through the program over the last few years.
Hope this clears up any questions you might have had about this years class numbers.
