Wesley Chapel's Joyer gets release from USF after academic issues

Wesley Chapel center Kamran Joyer, who signed with USF in February, has asked for and been granted a release from his scholarship with the Bulls after uncertainty as to whether he'd be accepted academically, his father Jack said Monday afternoon.

Joyer, who has been cleared by the NCAA Clearinghouse, had agreed to take two courses at Hillsborough Community College this summer, then go before the academic committee that reviews incoming athletes at USF in August.

But Jack Joyer said Monday he received an e-mail from Jason Linders, USF's academic advisor for football, warning him that even if Joyer completed the two HCC classes with high grades, he wasn't guaranteed to be accepted into USF.

The issue, his father said, relates to the practice of "grade forgiveness," as Joyer re-took four classes online to improve the grades he earned in the classroom. Doing so allowed him to meet the NCAA minimum requirements -- his father said he has a 2.59 grade-point average and an 870 on the SAT -- but Joyer was told that USF would weigh the original grades when considering whether to admit him for fall classes.

Rather than face that uncertainty, Joyer asked for and was given his release by USF coach Jim Leavitt, freeing him up to sign with another program where he can be assured of getting into school. Jack Joyer did not name any specific schools Monday, but said last week he was aware that Michigan and Tennessee had scholarships available.

USF's coaches had anticipated some attrition from signing day, when 29 players signed with the Bulls, four over the NCAA limit for one class. Joyer is the sixth signee not expected to be in school this fall -- defensive tackle Khyri Thornton was not admitted and has signed with Southern Miss, safety Kevin Williams did not pass enough junior-college classes to be admitted, running back Adaris Bellamy is headed to prep school in Virginia, and tight end Gerard Atkins and safety Ivan Nicholas have not been cleared and are expected to grayshirt or defer enrollment until January.

Even without those six signees, USF is believed to be at the NCAA's overall limit of 85 scholarships, unless other returning players do not stay with the program as expected.

-- Greg Auman, Times staff writer