Guest irish_at_birth Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Madison - John Clay, a former all-state tailback from Racine Park High School and a key member of the University of Wisconsin's 2007 freshman class, has failed to meet the NCAA's minimum academic eligibility standards and won't be allowed to play for UW this season. Several phone messages left at Clay's home were not returned but multiple sources confirmed the prep All-American had failed to qualify academically. A phone message left with Dennis Thompson, Clay's coach at Park, was not immediately returned. UW coach Bret Bielema recently declined to comment on Clay's academic status but did confirm some of the incoming freshmen were still working to meet the NCAA's initial eligibility requirements. Under NCAA rules, Clay will not be allowed to practice with the team in 2007-'08 or receive athletic aid and will lose a year of eligibility. He can regain that lost year of eligibility, however. To do that, he must complete 80% of his designated degree program by the beginning of his fifth academic year. Without Clay, UW should have just three scholarship tailbacks on its roster when pre-season camp opens next month. They are: sophomore P.J. Hill, who rushed for 1,569 yards and 15 touchdowns and was named Big Ten freshman of the year; sophomore Lance Smith, who rushed for 345 yards and five touchdowns; and freshman Zach Brown, who rushed for 1,062 yards and added 149 yards in receptions as a senior last season at Royal Palm Beach High School in Royal Palm, Fla. Hill missed all of spring practice while recovering from off-season shoulder surgery, though, and Smith at times frustrated the coaching staff because his focus and performances were too inconsistent. Clay, listed at 6-foot-2 and 222 pounds, is considered a powerful runner. He rushed for 2,032 yards and 30 touchdowns as a junior to lead Park to the WIAA Division I state title. The Panthers failed to make the playoffs last season but Clay still finished with 1,485 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns. Brown, 5-11 and 198, didn't receive as much national notice as Clay but the UW coaches believe he can contribute immediately. Clay likely would have had the same opportunity, had he qualified academically. UW has seen a small number of recruits fail to qualify academically in their first year. The most notable state player was tailback Michael Bennett, of Milwaukee Tech (now Bradley Tech). Bennett was ineligible as a freshman in 1998, played sparingly behind Ron Dayne in 1999 and then rushed for 1,681 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior in 2000. Bennett could have returned to UW but opted to turn pro and was a first-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings in the 2001 NFL draft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrishKnight1023 Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 How can you not qualify seriously? I was the most lazy unproductive HS student and I go to college.....granted it's a local county college lol but being a football player you've got to be a dumb dumb not to pass the smallest of admissions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irish21 Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 What an idiot. He must have a 2.0 GPA and got a 300 on his SAT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irish21 Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 I just looked at his scout profile and he reported a 2.8 GPA and a 17 ACT, but did not report his SAT score, meaning it was really bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest NDGirlzRock Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Don't you get 600 points just for signing your name? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blarney_stank Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 I just looked at his scout profile and he reported a 2.8 GPA and a 17 ACT, but did not report his SAT score, meaning it was really bad. I could be wrong on this but I think many schools require either the ACT or SAT but not both. Some will take either/or. The kid may not have even taken the SAT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest irishfox Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 I'm from Racine and have a few friends that coach at Park. They said he just stopped going to class second semester. I guess going into his senior year he held a 3.0 gpa and when he finished it was around 1.5 or lower. Word going around the town right now is that he is headed for a juco. From the first game this year he was "hurt" and just lazy. He never cared about the team becuase he knew he had a full ride coming his way. I was hearing around midseason that UW-Whitewater and other colleges like that didn't even think he would make it into schools there because he was doing nothing in and out of school. IMO, he's done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRizz Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 I went to high school in kenosha which is right next to Racine (where Park/John Clay is). I'll try and find out if there are any other details but it seems pretty straightforward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest irishfox Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 could always got to O$U, they take anyone. would look like a prince and that team Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dankus Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Don't you get 600 points just for signing your name? Depending on the scale version(2400 vs 1600) you get 200 points for every 800 point section taken - so 600 is normal for a 2400 point scale, that is, if you sign your name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Herring Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Don't you get 600 points just for signing your name? Depending on the scale version(2400 vs 1600) you get 200 points for every 800 point section taken - so 600 is normal for a 2400 point scale, that is, if you sign your name. It seems like you could get a better score if you just filled in C for everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hogan46 Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Good info fox. It simply looks like one of those life lessons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest NDGirlzRock Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Odds are that you would Herring! If he were pledged to my program and I was the head coach I would have yanked that schollie so fast his head it would have spun like Linda Blair's!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest grover Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Nice visual, ND Girl ... It is a shame to see stuff like this happen. Nothing more sad than wasted talent! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest NDisNCin2010 Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 did ND ever offer Clay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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