You probably remember Michael Dyer from Auburn’s national championship run in 2010. The five-star freshman had two late runs that set up the Tigers’ game-winning field goal, and looked like a future star in the SEC. Since then, he’s bounced around the south trailed by team violations and rumors of drugs and weapon charges, transferring from from Auburn to Arkansas State to Arkansas Baptist College. But now it looks like he may have a new home for the 2013 season.
In a story on Grantland last week, Bryan Curtis dropped this bit of info:
Dyer has picked one — a big, D-I school, he said, where he can play starting next month. "It's a school where he can replicate and duplicate," said Hill.
All right, that leaves a lot of options, but wait, we have this update from the Courier-Journal:
The former Auburn running back visited campus last week after checking out South Florida.
An official with U of L’s registrar office confirmed that the university added Dyer to its system on Thursday, which is often an indication a prospective student plans to apply for enrollment. Dyer has until Aug. 26 to register for the fall semester if he intends to enroll at U of L, the official said.
Oh, now that is interesting. Perhaps most importantly, Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is cool with Dyer joining the Cardinals, a preseason favorite for the American’s BCS bid and a darkhorse national title contender:
Louisville QB Teddy Bridgewater said he saw RB Michael Dyer on his visit and team would "take him in and welcome him."
— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) July 29, 2013
For head coach Charlie Strong, this is a calculated risk with minimal downside. He’s established a strong culture and the first time Dyer steps even the slightest bit out of line, he can just unceremoniously boot him from the team and move on with the season. But the upside is tremendous, potentially pairing a five-star tailback with championship experience with a talent like Bridgewater. If Dyer can produce like he did as a freshman, the Cardinals would probably have the best backfield in the country. (Alabama, Oregon and Georgia would both have claims to that title as well.)
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