With what seems like an epidemic rate of injuries in the ACC and across college football, coach Paul Johnson offered the suggestion of giving football players an additional fifth season of eligibility.
“They either need to increase the scholarships or give us some freshman eligibility (meaning his five-year proposal) or something,” Johnson said Wednesday after practice. “Because the way kids are getting hurt, there’s not enough guys to play.”
Using his team as an example, Johnson said that he counted seven scholarship offensive players who were out at Tuesday’s practice who would be playing if not for injury. He didn’t name them, but A-backs Nate Cottrell, Qua Searcy and KirVonte Benson, B-back C.J. Leggett, offensive tackle Chris Griffin, quarterback Tim Byerly and wide receiver Micheal Summers are all out. Cottrell, Griffin, Leggett, Benson and Byerly are out for the season with knee injuries. Summers and Searcy are out at least for extended periods.
There are 40 scholarship players on offense, meaning 18 percent are unavailable. Another option, Johnson said, would be returning the scholarship limit to 95 (the limit until the early 1990s in FBS, then known as Division I-A) or 105 (the maximum until 1978) “because it’s not like the NFL, where if a guy gets hurt, you just go pick somebody up.”
Given the steady rise of costs in college athletics, it’s doubtful that an increase in the scholarship limit would be approved by the NCAA. But the injuries are hard to ignore. Notre Dame lost its sixth starter to season-ending injury against Tech on Saturday.
Johnson theorized that the increased size, speed and strength of players has factored in what he perceives to be an increase in injury rate.
“I think it’s kind of been getting worse every year,” he said.
Giving football players five seasons of eligibility would eliminate redshirts and make all players available, which would create greater depth. He said it would have an ancillary benefit of improved academic performance, which Johnson said he has observed from players who are playing and not redshirting.
“Some kids would leave in four,” Johnson said. “But the majority of the kids take five years to graduate anyway.”
Johnson said that the topic of adding another year of eligibility has been discussed “ad nauseam” at football coaches meetings. Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen made a similar proposal this summer.
Said Johnson, “It’d just be better.”
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