USF signee Joyer may sign with Big East rival

Wesley Chapel offensive lineman Kamran Joyer, who signed with USF in February but was granted a release from the Bulls last month, will likely be signing with a Big East rival this week.

Joyer's father Jack said Tuesday night that his son will be making an official visit to Louisville on Wednesday and has another visit scheduled to Rutgers on Friday. Those are the center's top two choices, though he's also gotten interest from Nebraska and Tennessee, his father said. If the Louisville visit goes well, Joyer could sign with the Cardinals on Wednesday.

Joyer asked USF for a release last month after academic issues left the family uncertain as to whether he would be accepted into USF. Joyer's father said that USF couldn't assure the family Joyer would be admitted, even if he completed two summer classes at Hillsborough Community College. Joyer had the requisite grades and exam scores to meet NCAA requirements, but his father said the academic issue dealt with the practice of "grade forgiveness," as Joyer had retaken four classes online to improve his original grades to meet NCAA minimums.

Joyer also had interest from Florida International and Division I-AA Georgia Southern, but has eliminated those as possibilities, his father said.

The Big East has a policy that blocks football players from transferring from one member school to another, but such a rule would not apply if an athlete's letter of intent was declared null and void. One way for that to happen would be if a student is officially denied admission to the first school.

If another Big East school signed a player who was not admitted by USF, it could hurt the Bulls from a recruiting standpoint with future players who are academically on the bubble. At the same time, it also could be perceived as a boost for the program's academic standing, which has been in the news because the Bulls' football team had the lowest Academic Progress Rate scores of any BCS program.

-- One more recruiting update: Tight end Gerard Atkins of Dixie Hollins, who signed with USF in February but is expected to grayshirt or defer his enrollment until January, has been cleared by the NCAA Clearinghouse, according to Dixie Hollins coach Mike Morey. USF is believed to be at the NCAA limit of 85 total scholarships this fall, but if a scholarship were to come available in the next month, Atkins could join the Bulls this fall, Morey said.

Comments

[G.A.]

Not to get involved in an argument between Don Corleone and anyone, but I believe the spelling of Cornholio was intended to mock the name "Corleone."

Officiating these things is a proud part of my day.

[Mike Judge]

If you're going to rip me off, at least have the courtesy to spell it right you "hack"

[Chalko]

"I figured he would end up in C-USA with all the other USF castoffs"

Mr. Cornholeony,

You mean the one retard that ended up at Southern Miss???

[Walla Walla Bing Bang]

Shep, I bet you said "I think we are headed for a great season" before the 2007 and 2008 seasons too.

[USFShep]

You have to learn how to play with a bullseye on your back..let's see how CJL does this year before determining the man who brought USF to national attention with competitive football & just brought in the best recruiting class in history is "over paid". There are no excuses this year, if USF falls apart the 2nd half for the 3rd year in a row then CJL has peaked and will not get us to the next level BUT...he still has this year to make things happen and right the ship. I think we are headed for a great season! Go Bulls!!

[Walla Walla Bing Bang]

Like Leavitt, his football teams seem prone to start out "going full force" and then "failing to complete the task". He's overpaid.

[paul wall]

Hernando - not hating or anything but if joyer could get a 485 on the verbal of the SAT he would have got into USF

[Steve O'Neal]

Failure to complete the task? How many PHDs make the money Leavitt does? That's a lot of dimes!

[Walla Walla Bing Bang]

"Simply" and "need to complete his dissertation" do not belong in the same sentence. ABDs are a dime a dozen.

Failure to complete the task.

[Hernando]

Basketball legend and former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley only had a 485 SAT verbal score when he was admitted to Princeton to play basketball. He struggled in college his first year; but applied himself, worked hard at his studies, and graduated from Princeton an honors student and Rhodes Scholar. It can be done.

http://www.slate.com/id/73787/

[Walla Walla Bing Bang]

Following his five seasons with Morningside, Leavitt went full force after a Ph.D. in psychology, something he had been pursuing sporadically since 1982. By 1989, he simply needed to complete his dissertation, when Iowa head coach Hayden Fry offered him a graduate position. With the coaching bug, Leavitt took the opportunity and fast tracked a career in I-A football coaching.

[G.A.]

I like the idea of imperial evidence. Anecdotes < Facts < Darth Vader.

[Don Corleone]

Greg, don't confuse Chalko with facts because he still can't get over 4>0.

[Don Corleone]

I figured he would end up in C-USA with all the other USF castoffs.

[Steve O'Neal]

Pretty weak argument Terry. I would think that there is less structure in college. You are expected to be more independent at each new level of school. Elementary being the most structured with the lowest student/teacher ratios, more supervision, more controlled environment, etc. By the time you are in college, you are expected to be mature ebough to handle college life. I guess you're saying that because they are a student/ATHLETE, they deserve more help and guidance than just a student. BS! What is this extra they bring to the table? Come on, He should have worked harder on academics all along, not just his senior year. There is nothing wrong with having higher academic standards than the other schools in your conference. Athletes already get a break over the average student, GUARANTEED! GOOOOOO BULLS!

[Adam]

Heh, I mean "empirical" evidence. Maybe they shouldn't have let ME in.

[Adam]

Ah, good point Terry. As we all know, anecdotal evidence trumps hard statistics and imperial evidence every time.

It's great that you had to run sprints once. Really. Now if only that had anything to do with the fact that USF has the lowest APR score among BCS schools, it would be relevant to this discussion.

We're talking about a student who maintained a 2.5 GPA in *high school* and scored only, what - 870 on his SAT? I don't remember exactly. The point is, USF decided this student wasn't worth taking a risk on, and with numbers like that, who are any of you to second guess the university? Have you seen his application? Have you heard how he tried to defend his *horrible* academic record?

It would be nice if we knew more specific details about the committee, but until we do I'm assuming it exists for one basic purpose: to determine, out of a pool of athletes who are all below USF's normal academic standards, which students are worth or not worth taking a risk on. If the university administrators decided Joyer hadn't done enough to convince them that he would graduate or deserved a free college education, then I'm going to defer to their judgment until I know more details.

Save the righteous indignation for a student that's actually worth defending.

[Come on....]

yeah tell do some research, leavitt has suspended kids for academic reasons. He forced Jeremiah Warren to miss all of the spring to concentrate on academics. That hurt the program, and Warren since before that suspension he was slated as a potential starter.

Football is different from those other sports. Players start at the beginning of the fall semester with a clean slate, and by the time they're discovered to be on any type of academic probation the season is typically over...hoops, and baseball both have players that have completed a semester and if they're having academic problems then the teams have to suspend athletes for fear of future issues like forfeiting games.

It's to bad about Joyer because he is the type of academically borderline player you do accept. He's a family legacy with 5 USF graduates, he's a local kid who's mother is a HS administrator. Not the type of kid to suddenly flunk out, especially since he worked so hard his final year to get eligible. Over a dozen other 1-A BCS schools thought him to be worthy enough to reach out and contact.

[Tim]

William, Leavitt suspended Mike Ford for the FAU game 2 years ago and he has suspended many players for academic reasons. Leavitt definitely cares about academics, he was a few months away from getting his Ph.D. before his sponsor died!

[WilliamTell]

Chalko,

I think you mean "irrelevant," but as an alumnus, I am proud that USF is looking more closely to see if athletes have the potential to be successful students as well.

Terry, if Leavitt was really serious about academics, he would be willing to withhold playing time like Prado, Kiefer, Heath and Fernandez do, not just make players run.

[Terry Lucas]

The academic board is ridiculous IMO. If a student-athlete has a qualifying GPA and test scores that meet Clearinghouse standards, the student should be admitted. The student-athlete obviously brings more to the table than a non-student athlete who lacks a decent GPA and a low composite qualifying test score. If you have an all-state musician who struggles in high school with the core academic courses, yet achieves a qualifying SAT, your music department is going to get the student in and take the chance he is the next Mozart. They can always work with his academic weaknesses. We don't know the background of every student or the hardships they encountered while growing up, but a university can definitely foster a more controlled environment for a student to excel that might have previously struggled. The academic committee is a detriment to athletics, yet at the same time, the committee is preventing a potential student-athlete that has a chance to excel in a more structured university environment from having a chance. Shame on USF for forming this committee. If your current student-athletes are struggling, ramp up the help that is provided to them.

Leavitt cares about winning, but he also realizes that academics are a priority. Quick story from 2000: As a walk-on peon, I missed a study hall during the week and had to run on a Sunday morning at 6 AM after a game night. I had a 4.0 GPA at the time. I thought Leavitt was insane for enforcing the rule, but I knew where he was coming from in the long run. If you haven't been on the inside of the program, you really don't understand that certain individuals actually do care about the academic performance of the players.

[JupiterBull]

Chalko, don't be so thick. What Mike Lakeland is saying is that he's glad to see us working on the APR, but it sucks to lose a good high potential player. He didn't say USF SHOULD pick talent over academic standards.

Do they not teach reading, reasoning or any meaninful courses at UCF? Or do you just spend 5 years earning a BA, then shuffle off to Disney World?

[G.A.]

Chalko, if there were zero standards, this post probably wouldn't exist, right?

[Chalko]

William, your research is irrelevent considering USF has zero standards when it comes to football.

[WilliamTell]

Oh, and USF stacks up rather will with the other Florida schools that play DI football as well.

FIU = 38%
UF = 39%
Miami = 39%
USF = 46%
FSU = 47%
UCF = 48%
FAU = 49%

[WilliamTell]

According to the College Board's website, USF has the lowest admit rate of any of its Big East football competitors. That means it's the toughest to get into.

USF = 46%
Syracuse = 53%
UConn = 54%
Pitt = 55%
Rutgers = 56%
Cincinnati = 61%
Louisville = 70%
WVU = 88%

Maybe that's why USF's APR is so low. The athletes are in class with students who are smarter than we were B.F. (before football).

[oldgreengold]

I don't see USF being academically superior to any of the Big East schools which were referenced in the article, so why would we turn a player down which would be admitted by them? As I've said before, at least all the schools within the same conference should have the same admission standards. Otherwise it creates an uneven playing field.

[Chalko]

Obviously you don't care about academics Mike or you wouldn't have made such a bonehead statement!

[Hernando]

Just the two issues side by side: admitting a few more recruits on the bubble academically vs. ratchettng up minimum academic admission bar a bit--I think it is in the longterm interest of USF to now opt for raising academic standards. I like seeing every potential recruit getting the opportunity to become a Bull, but USF is at a point where it can make the program stronger all around with students who perform well in the classroom too.

[Mike Lakeland]

This stinks! Although I am all for getting our APR back to normal, I wish he could've made it to USF.