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[Razornole]

Masoli to Rebels: Soon?
by Parrish Alford/ NEMS Daily Journal


Read more: NEMS360.com - Masoli to Rebels Soon

OXFORD - The transfer of legally troubled quarterback Jeremiah Masoli to Ole Miss "is not true yet," Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt said Monday night.

Sources earlier Monday indicated that an announcement confirming the former Oregon star to Ole Miss could come soon.


In a text message Nutt indicated that the school must first receive a visit from Masoli and that the entire process could take up to seven days to work itself out.

In two seasons at Oregon, Masoli rushed for 1,386 yards and 23 touchdowns, while passing for 3,891 yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

Pac-10 coaches voted him their second-team all-conference quarterback last year. He led the Ducks to the Rose Bowl, but before the month was finished he was in trouble with the law.

On Jan. 24 Masoli and a former teammate were charged with second-degree burglary for stealing laptop computers from a fraternity house. Masoli pleaded guilty. He received a year of probation and was suspended for the 2010 season by Oregon coach Chip Kelly.

On June 7, Masoli was stopped for a traffic violation where it was determined he was in possession of an ounce or less of marijuana and was driving with a suspended license.

Masoli was then dismissed from the team.

Masoli's attorney, Daniel Koenig, told the Oregonian newspaper in Portland last week that Masoli pleaded guilty to the possession and a failure to stop charge and that the suspended license charge was thrown out.

Masoli paid $613 in fines and has no further legal obligations, Koenig said.

Nutt had earlier said he was not interested in pursuing Masoli, who has completed undergraduate course work and can transfer and play immediately as a graduate student.

Nutt's original stance was before backup quarterback Raymond Cotton announced on Saturday that he was leaving the team.

Cotton's decision leaves Ole Miss with two scholarship quarterbacks: Nathan Stanley who appeared in five games last year and junior college transfer Randall Mackey who joined the program this summer.

Nutt said he is "always" concerned about the criticism that could be directed at the program if Masoli becomes a part, but he is also concerned about "criticism I might receive if something happens, and I don't have a QB to finish the year."

Contact Parrish Alford at 678-1600 or parrish.alford@djournal.com

Read more: NEMS360.com - Masoli to Rebels Soon

http://nems360.com/view/full_story/8899150/article-Masoli-to-Rebels--Soon-?instance=lead_story_left_column


hope not, he was a good qb

[TOBS]

it's almost guaranteed that he'll be at ole miss next year.  It'll be interesting to see how long of a leash the right reverend gives him with his past issues.

[Razornole]

depends if one of the qbs get hurt or how bad they suck already due to tpostwf magic qb coaching abilities 

[TOBS]

depends if one of the qbs get hurt or how bad they suck already due to tpostwf magic qb coaching abilities 

  True

[Random Parsley]

Boy, I tell ya, it's tough to lose a Jevan Snead...you thought he'd be here, and then you're counting on Cotton...it's just tough.  In the SEC you need a quarterback.  Got to have a quarterback.

[Razornole]

lmao rp that was good!  i can actually hear those words

wonder if they had ladder and cinder blocks in oregon

[Random Parsley]

Ten years of hearing it burns it into one's soul.  Sadly.  It'll get purged once we win our first championship.  SEC and/or BCS.

I think the ladders went to Miami.

[nitrovern]

What did Patterson do to get kicked off if they will take Masoli

[Razornole]

code rebel?

[Razornole]

Jeremiah Masoli, who helped Oregon to the 2009 Pac-10 title before being suspended in March and ultimately booted from the program in June, will play his final college season at Ole Miss.

Masoli visited the Oxford, Miss., campus this weekend, and Rebels coach Houston Nutt offered Masoli a place on the team, which is down to two scholarship quarterbacks after backup Raymond Cotton decided earlier this month to transfer. Masoli, from Daly City, Calif., will be a walk-on because the Rebels already have reached the NCAA's 85-scholarship limit. He is eligible to play immediately because of an NCAA rule that allows players who have obtained bachelor's degrees to transfer to schools that offer graduate programs their current schools don't offer. Masoli graduated from Oregon this month with a degree in sociology. Pending approval of his transcript, Masoli will enroll in the Parks and Recreation master's program at Ole Miss, and he will compete with redshirt sophomore Nathan Stanley for the starting job when practice begins Aug. 8.

"I'm excited to get another chance," Masoli said on Sunday. "I'm so grateful and thankful."

Nutt said Sunday that Masoli initially made contact with Ole Miss when Cotton was still on the roster. With three scholarship quarterbacks in hand, Nutt told Masoli the Rebels didn't have room for another one. When Cotton left, Nutt reconsidered the possibility. Nutt spoke extensively with Masoli and his mother, but Nutt said he and Ole Miss administrators needed to meet Masoli in person before he could offer a place on the team. Nutt said Masoli fit in well with Rebels players and provided satisfactory answers to coaches and administrators. Nutt said Masoli also understands he can't make anymore mistakes off the field. "I felt like he needed us a whole lot more than we needed him," Nutt said. "He'll be under the highest of scrutiny."

READ THE STORY ABOUT MASOLI'S RISE AND FALL AT OREGON

In March, Oregon coach Chip Kelly suspended Masoli for the 2010 season after Masoli pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary in connection with a Jan. 24 robbery at a fraternity house on the Oregon campus. Masoli has since denied his involvement in the robbery, but he did admit to SI.com last week that he initially lied to police and to Kelly about being at the fraternity house. Kelly dismissed Masoli from the team June 9 after Masoli received a citation for marijuana possession after police found a small amount of the drug in the glove compartment of Masoli's car during a traffic stop June 7.

Masoli will report to Oxford on Friday. He said Louisiana Tech, Mississippi State, West Virginia, Kansas State and UNLV also expressed interest, but he preferred Ole Miss, which has gone 9-4 and won the Cotton Bowl in each of the past two seasons. Masoli said he hopes the fact that he is coming as a walk-on will lessen some of the heat on Nutt and the school for offering a place to play.

"Either way, scholarship or not, they're going to get some criticism for taking me," Masoli said. "Without the scholarship, I think it deflects some of that criticism."

How Masoli fits into the Ole Miss offense is another question. Running Oregon's spread last season, he threw for 2,147 yards and 15 touchdowns and rushed for 668 yards and 13 touchdowns. For the past two years, the Rebels relied on the strong right arm of drop-back passer Jevan Snead with occasional relief in the "Wild Rebel" formation from speedy back Dexter McCluster. Snead and McCluster have each moved on to the NFL. One possibility is that if Masoli wins the starting job, Ole Miss could run Wild Rebel plays without making a substitution. "The guy does have some experience," Nutt said. "He has been to the Rose Bowl. He has some equity."

He also has baggage. But Masoli insists he wants to make a new name for himself on the other side of the country.

"I can't wait to play some SEC ball, to be honest with you," Masoli said.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/football/ncaa/08/01/masoli.olemiss/#ixzz0vPpjcfia

sonofabitch he could be really good for them *spit* hope he gets into trouble

[Razornole]

ps: I hope like hell something shady is going on with his tuition and it lands ole piss in a pile of ncaa poo

[TOBS]

ps: I hope like hell something shady is going on with his tuition and it lands ole piss in a pile of ncaa poo

  that wouldn't surprise me a whole lot

[Razornole]

Nutt Will Keep A Close Eye On Masoli, His Newest Rebel
August 2nd, 2010 09:10 AM ║ Posted By: John Pennington
What everyone expected to happen has happened.  Dismissed Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli has landed at Ole Miss.  Masoli announced his decision to spend his final year of eligibility with the Rebels was announced on his website yesterday.

“It looks like I am going to be a Rebel!” was the message on jeremiahmasoli.net.

“The University of Mississippi has accepted my application for graduate school and Coach Nutt has invited me to walk on the football team.  It will be official when my transcripts and other paperwork is approved.

“I am very excited about this opportunity and very thankful Ole Miss is giving me this chance.  I really want to thank Coach Nutt for believing in me.”

Well, two weeks ago Nutt wasn’t interested.  Then Raymond Cotton transferred leaving UM with just two quarterbacks on his roster.  Desperate times call for desperate measures, so they say.

Because of his background — legal troubles in 2005 for allegedly being involved in some strong-armed burglaries, legal troubles in 2010 that included being charged with burglary and cited for possession of marijuana and driving on a suspended license — Nutt says he told Masoli that he would be under the “highest scrutiny” at Ole Miss.

“The rules are going to be different for him,” Nutt told The Jackson Clarion-Ledger.  “I told him I have zero tolerance.  I have a hairtrigger.  I know he knows I will pull the trigger so fast.”

He also gave this very honest assessment of the situation:  “I got eye on me for taking a thug — that’s what people are saying.  You’ve got to be able to handle it and be a positive kid.”

Nutt has tried to take on thugs before.  Jamar Hornsby (dismissed at Florida after stealing a dead girl’s credit card) got into more trouble before he ever got started in Oxford.

But as we’ve pointed out before, Masoli’s past errors seem to be more of the stupid variety than the violent variety.  Those strong-armed robbery charges from his youth have been brought into question by the family (and its PR firm).

Nutt was in a no-win situation.  Take Masoli and his integrity would be ripped.  Don’t take Masoli and he would risk trying to explain to angry Rebel fans how he went into a season with two lone quarterbacks.

Job security trumps integrity.  There aren’t many coaches who would’ve handled this differently.  That’s just a sad reality of college athletics today.

On the field, Masoli could have a huge impact on UM’s season.  A Heisman candidate at Oregon, he graduated early — which is how he’s able to jump to Ole Miss and play as a graduate student if the NCAA grants him a waiver — and he played in a sophisticated offense.  If anyone is going to arrive on campus in the fall, pick up an offense and start right away… it might be someone like Masoli.

But even if he doesn’t dethrone Nathan Stanley from Day One, he will immediately become the best dual-threat that Nutt has ever used to run his Wild Rebel package.

From an on-field perspective, Nutt’s Masoli decision is a no-brainer.  It will be the only thing that people remember in the long run.  That’s IF Masoli can stay out of trouble for the next five months.

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