College Sports

The deadline for renewing football scholarships was Tuesday and Jacksonville State found itself in a race against time.

More than a dozen players lost.

In order to meet the requirements by the deadline, the Gamecocks did not renew the scholarships of 15 players for various reasons.

Four were for medical reasons, two for eligibility and three were dismissed for what have been described as accountability issues. The others were not renewed to satisfy the penalty for the program's four-year academic progress score.

"That (total) number is significant," coach Jack Crowe said. "The story is not about the six scholarships, it's about this being a large number due to several factors, but the bottom line is you have to fill out a team with six less scholarships."

Some of the player losses were absorbed by other signees. The Gamecocks still expect to have 90 players report when camp opens July 31.

Crowe declined to identify the players whose scholarships weren't renewed since not all had received notice of the decision. The Star previously reported junior college running back Roosevelt Ross and defensive players C.J. White, Arsenio Hayes and Abram Gordon would not be returning and, of course, quarterback Cedric Johnson was kicked off the team for repeated violations of team and school policies.

The Gamecocks also are expected to keep only two kickers and with two being seniors, former Alexandria kicker Jordan Warren could be affected as well.

Making the cuts caught the Gamecocks at a tough time. They didn't receive confirmation of their APR penalty until late March, well after committing scholarships to a full signing class anticipating their academic improvement over the previous year would be a positive influence on the NCAA's decision. In addition, they had to make sure they met their team personnel requirements before starting to trim.

"We had some renewal issues that we normally wouldn't have had," Crowe said. "We really had to put the basis of renewal on a lot more factors than we normally would, but the bottom line is we have — through a combination of factors — lost some players that we didn't have any control over."

The players whose scholarships weren't renewed and don't have accounability issues can remain in the program as walk-ons and earn a scholarship in the future; Crowe said he tried to get them to stay and some, he said, have indicated they would. Several others have been granted releases to transfer.

"I don't give up on people at any point in time making evaluations," Crowe said. "As long as I think I can coach them, I think they've got a chance. If they have that kind of loyalty, I'm going to do everything I can to make it right.

"Just because somebody shows up and is on scholarship doesn't mean they're loyal to a program. Some can play for a program for five years and play for the jersey on their back. When one does, loyalty doubles the value of the scholarship, and when you get loyalty without the scholarship, to me, it makes me go out and find a way to make it right."

Scholarships are not long-term contracts, but renewed every year. Crowe said this round of personnel moves should be a wake-up call to all the players on the roster about doing the right thing.

"Despite what people think has been just lip-service to it, we are drawing a tighter ship on personal accountability," he said.