Signee Joyer gets release 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.

-- Those of you new to the blog might not know of the blog's deep, deep affection for daytime kickoffs. Prime-time kickoffs are exciting, yes, but make for tight deadlines, so you can't do as much with a story. So it's with a mid-season level of disappointment that I report that USF's road game at Western Kentucky -- still sounds weird to say that -- will have a 7:30 p.m. kickoff and broadcast through ESPN Regional -- locally on Bright House Sports Network. Ugh.

And USF's annual Football Fan Fest is tentatively set for Aug. 15 at Raymond James Stadium.

Comments

[Commish Chalko]

Stevo, you are an idiot, it's "QUOTED." Since when does an "O" follow a "Q." Don't blame it on a typo, you wrote it twice. Fifty-two years of being an idiot, congrats!

[Steve O'Neal]

Martin, did you fall on your head when you were little? What is your problem. You attacked Gregs work ethic while attending UF. Sounds personal. There are other places to get sports coverage if you're not happy with Greg. Geez, get a life!

[G.A.]

Martin, I'm hearing you, but you're not hearing me. Who in the Joyer situation would possibly have information that wouldn't be somewhat biased? It's either from the USF side or the Joyer side. It's not like the Swiss are somehow involved neutrally and I'm ignoring their repeated phone calls.

[Martin]

Ryan,

ROTFLMAO...Ryan, you don't take issue with Windbane or Bulliever using pseudonyms, but you call me a coward because I happen to challenge Greg to do more than rely on biased sources for his updates. Well, not every USF fan believes it's the University's fault some of these football recruits aren't being admitted. Have you noticed that no other sport is having such difficulty getting their recruits admitted? Maybe Greg should be more of a discerning journalist than a pop blogger.

By the way, I'm as disappointed in Brett's recent work as I am with Greg's, so my pseudonym is a bit dated.

[Marco]

Usually when games are on ESPN regional they also play on ESPN360 either live or become available right after the game

[Ken]

I'm a little surprised at the information you reported in your 10:47 post, Greg, as I'm pretty sure that one's enrollment status is not covered by the privacy laws. Enrollment status (either way), dates of attendance, and degrees received are all fair game. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't see how that info would be denied.

[Ryan Seay]

It really is amusing to watch people defame people on the internet under the guise of anonymity -- if you can't say something to someone's face, then you shouldn't be saying it.

Greg uses his real name while you, Tribfan, hide under a pseudonym. If you have something to say then be a real man or woman and say it with some gull and respect. Right now you just come off as a classless coward.

Grow a spine.

[Steve O'Neal]

Sorry for the language Greg. Should have had the coffee first before posting.

[USFMikeB]

Notwithstanding the crazy posts by TribFan, or whomever the person really is, I'm really disappointed with how USF is conducting the academic process.

I applaud USF for the stances it is taking in ensuring that student athletes that receive scholarships to attend USF are capable of making the most out of those scholarships. However, at the same time, there should be a much more streamlined approach in cases where the student may be on the bubble.

This will affect us in the future when students who may be on the bubble refuse to sign with USF because of the uncertainty. While that may not necessarily be the worst thing in the world from an APR standpoint, some of those kids would end up getting admitted ultimately, meaning that they should have been signed in the first place.

[Steve O'Neal]

Tribfan, I'm guessing that you are a fan of the tampa tribune. McMurphy writes articles like the one about the coach hiring process and qoutes hearsay as fact when confirmed by no other sources. Take the famous kid not wanting to come here. Brett qouted the asst coach without confirming with HC, family or Jarrid himself. Turns out he was wrong on both and you have the nerve to question Greg and his journalistic integrity and work ethic? Get the F outta here with that weak BS! I know Greg doesn't need anyone to help him out, but you are just too ignorant to ignore. Go read the trib(Tampa Enquirer) and leave the real journalist alone!

[Bulliever]

Hi David,

I am really happy you are doing well. Sometimes, I just want to quit everything I do and go to law school... I heard the first year is the toughest and then it gets easier after that...

You pretty much need a lawyer for everything you do now and days...or a computer genius, which thank goodness I married :)

[Bulliever]

TibFan,

Sorry to hear you are having such a bad day, but they do sell Preparation H over the counter, that should help...

[Windbane]

Wow, TribFan is clueless.

[G.A.]

Roy, I asked for confirmation Monday on who had started classes, and USF declined because doing so also brings attention to who isn't in class. Which I understand completely -- just leaves things unresolved for a while.

I have no knowledge of any other academic issues -- Clearinghouse or committee -- with the other 23 signees, and I've talked to nearly all of them in the past month. Not to say there couldn't be lingering situations nobody wants to talk about, but so far, this is all I've been able to find.

[PDS]

If Joyer goes to JC, it might be playing out that he and his brother could be a package deal in two years. Leavitt and the athletic department have had this in mind throughout the entire process. Just because they are not communicating through the papers does not mean that they are not communicating.

[TribFan]

No, Greg. I'm just suggesting that you're a mere sports gossip columnist rather than a bona fide journalist, but you always were a slacker at UF, too. Turning my attention back to the Gators! At least they win the big ones.

[Roy]

Is it safe to say that the other 23 recruits have made it into school?

[G.A.]

Are you suggesting his scores are lower than they're claiming they are? And me not pursuing that odd possibility shows a lack of objectivity? Can't tell if I'm being too sympathetic to USF or Joyer. Just trying to get a sense of where you're coming from ...

[TribFan]

Hook, line and sinker, Greg! All that's left is to reel you in. Thanks for proving my point about your lack of objectivity.

And, while JT has a point, Timmy forgets that Papa Joyer is the one who released his son's test scores to the Times and Tribune.

How quick some of you "fans" are to blame USF, but did you ever consider that the Joyers and the football staff may want to divert attention from the truth? We'll see what washes out of all this once the "spin cycle" is finished.

[G.A.]

Miles, can't say for sure, but it's certainly logical that if ESPN Regional is producing the broadcast, they'd make the game available as part of the pay-per-view.

One loophole so you can save money -- the game will also be on SNY -- Sports New York -- which is available on DirectTV as part of the premium Sports package. I think it's only like $10-12 for an entire month, as opposed to paying more for an entire season of college football when you only want a few games. I did that last year and saved Ma and Pa Times a few dollars.

Just an idea ...

[David Weber]

Bulliever, everything's great- I'm clerking for a judge this summer. Thanks for asking!

FOI laws were passed in the spirit of greater transparency in government and to help the public keep an eye on paid officials (think about solid public servants like Mark Sanford and Mark Foley). They weren't meant to open up the private lives of civilians.

[Timmy]

Tribfan never went to school or he would know that all test scores of any student are strictly between a teacher and his student... duh!

[Bulliever]

We have Direct TV and the ESPN Regional games usually are pay-per-view. But no guarantees that they won't black it out. That has happened, even on an away game when we live in Port Charlotte...

[G.A.]

JT understands things. Public records requests can only take you so far. A student's academic record is private -- no document would be made public that would detail why a student was or wasn't accepted. No USF official could be quoted as explaining such a thing.

In the absence of that, the Joyers have been forthcoming in explaining
what the academic issues were -- do there need to be more than what they've detailed? Clearly, you had a student who had a lot of ground to make up -- and while Joyer did make up ground in the second half of his senior year, USF is telling them there's a chance that isn't enough. If his test scores were high, there might be more tolerance on the GPA, and vice versa.

Joyer might have gotten accepted in August, but the family didn't want to risk him getting turned down that late in the process. I think this shows a level of communication between USF and a signee that many of you have complained seemed to be lacking.

[Miles]

Greg,

In regards to the WKU game, does this mean it will be shown on ESPN College Gameplan Pay per view?

[JT (Atlanta)]

Not that Greg needs my defense, Trib, but Sunshine/FOI laws don't reach to individual students' private academic records. The names of the students in those records released by FSU are supposed to be redacted.

[TribFan]

Greg,

Florida has open records laws. The Tallahasee Democrat used that to force FSU's hand on communications with the NCAA. If your degree in journalism from UF is worth anything at all, I'm sure you can do better than simply passing on spin from the Joyers and Leavitt!

[G.A.]

TribFan, who would be an independent source to verify it with? A student's academic records are private; I've gotten corroboration on USF's end that what I've reported is accurate.

[Ken]

Those are unimpressive SAT scores, for sure, and given the current range of GPAs, a significantly below average GPA. I'll be very interested to learn whether he gets into Michigan. Please keep us informed--I'm betting on a Junior College.

As to the Western Kentucky game, I am SO sick of these games on BH exclusively. Why does the university agree to that? There are billions of us who aren't BH subscribers who would like to watch the game. I'll be stuck listening on the radio, again.

[JT (Atlanta)]

Dave:

The senior Joyer saying Michigan has scholarships available and Michigan actually admitting his son are completely different things. You know better. Kamran has Southern Miss or a comparable school (possibly even JUCO if things don't work out) written all over him now, and I wish him the best because he seems like a really good young man.

[Angry Alum]

This is RIDICULOUS!!!!!!!!

[Bulliever]

Hi David...

Hope your exams went well! Are you out for the summer?

[David Weber]

Wow. This isn't good news at all. Joyer seemed like he really wanted to be a Bull, and he seemed like a big time prospect. Plus we lose his brother now.

The coaches need to do a better job of recruiting guys who will get into school, and of course the players need to do a better job in the classroom.

And what does it say when Michigan will let a guy in that we won't? Southern Miss is one thing, but any guy that is good enough academically for Michigan should be good enough for USF. If Joyer indeed ends up in Ann Arbor I won't be very pleased with this situation. If he ends up at Southern Miss I won't be surprised. They'll take anybody.

[Commish Chalko]

Blame Leavitt, he's recruited kids like this his entire career.

[TribFan]

I suspect there's more to this story than what Jack Joyer is sharing with the press. Greg, have you verified the father's story with an independent source, or is this just hearsay at this point?

[jg]

Should have told him they don't accept grade forgiveness a long time ago.

[T. Bever]

I missed the part of the article in which Leavitt guaranteed admittance to USF with a 2.59/870 for a kid that committed before his senior year even began. That assumes an awful lot to call USF unprofessional or suggest the school dropped the ball.

[Rob]

Wow. That sucks bad. He will be an absolute monster for someone in a couple years and his brother will be one of the top recruits in the state when his Sr. year comes. USF really dropped the ball here but it also is a remind for kids to keep there grades up. Again.. ouch.

[Jim]

This is amazing, and not very professional of USF. They should have been on this from the start and let the kid know before this time. I am disappointed in my Alumni but want to see the kid succeed as well.