Ole Miss won’t suffer any penalties or forfeit any wins from last season after self-reporting an academically ineligible player.
According to the Clarion Ledger, freshman walk-on cornerback Carlos Davis had his ACT scores canceled but didn’t notify the Rebels coaching staff. He proceeded to play in six games, including an Egg Bowl victory over rival Mississippi State and the Compass Bowl win over Pitt. He totaled seven tackles playing primarily on special teams.
Before the 2012 season, the NCAA Eligibility Center had cleared Davis, and he met the minimum standards to qualify at Ole Miss. When the university was informed of the flagged score on April 26 of this year, they self-reported the violation:
“The University respectfully submits that this occurrence was isolated and inadvertent, did not result in any recruiting or competitive advantage and is not indicative of any pattern of conduct with any of the University sport programs or the Athletics Department overall,” wrote Matt Ball, senior associate athletics director for compliance, last month in a letter to the SEC detailing the violation.
An Ole Miss spokesman confirmed to the Clarion Ledger that Davis would be suspended for six games during the 2013 season, as well as select practices. This seems like a fair punishment, considering the NCAA themselves cleared Davis to play last year and Ole Miss wasn't informed about his canceled score until after the season.
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