Minnesota Gophers Football: Jeff Jones Will Not Play This Year? It's Looking That Way.

Happy Friday everyone. No football news out there. Nope, certainly not a Joe C. piece on Jeff Jones. Guess we can call it a weeken...wait, was that a hyperlink I just inserted?

Jeff Jones is not expected to see game action for the Gophers this fall, even if he qualifies academically, according to people close to the situation.

via d3j5vwomefv46c.cloudfront.net

Well then. Thankfully it's not completely horrible news yet.

If Jones, the prized recruit from Minneapolis Washburn, clears the NCAA academic clearinghouse in coming days, he would likely redshirt. With practice set to open next Friday, the Gophers already have strong depth at running back depth, and Jones could use the year to get settled academically.

Three sources said Thursday that they’re still optimistic Jones will end up at the university this fall, but Iowa Western Community College remains an option. His standing is still in flux, as his summer school classes stretched into late July.

Ok, that's not ideal but at least it's not the University still determining whether they can admit him.

The Gophers hope to have an answer on whether Jones clears the NCAA clearinghouse and gains his scholarship before practice opens Aug. 1, but it could take until the following week. The team is awaiting word on Jones’ NCAA eligibility, and there’s also the question of whether he’ll make it through the university’s admissions office.

Sigh...

Quick Thoughts

Ultimately a lot of this shouldn't feel surprising, as it's essentially the update we had before Jones was completing his summer classes.

Best case scenario? Jones is admitted and gets his NCAA clearance. Then he can redshirt and get settled in at the U with the FB team's academic support system. I don't mean this as best case for the team and us as fans (though it is). I mean for Jeff too. Having that support structure and less FB related pressure to play right away will hopefully set him up for an especially successful career at the U.

Worst case scenario? Jeff doesn't get NCAA clearance, doesn't get admitted to the U, and has to enroll at Iowa Western. Yes, this would be happening as part of a long term plan to get Jeff into the U following 2 years of JC ball, but his recruitment would reopen at that point and the U would have to fight for him all over again.

What will happen? No idea, I have no little birds in the U's admissions office and the head of the NCAA Clearinghouse is not a close personal friend. Sorry ya'll!