Charles Strong’s eligibility remains in the air
When former Texas A&M running back Charles Strong announced his transfer to Troy in late January, a waiver was quickly sent to the NCAA requesting his immediate eligibility.
Four months later, the NCAA has still yet to inform Troy of its decision.
Strong has a straightforward case that has plenty of precedence. The redshirt freshman played in just one game last season as an Aggie, a four-carry day in the season opener against Northwestern State.
Playing well under the four-game limit, Strong took a redshirt for the 2018 season. Troy’s request is simple: allow Strong to play in 2019 to avoid missing nearly two full seasons and senselessly losing a year of his eligibility.
However, the NCAA has been wildly inconsistent with its waiver requests this offseason.
A prime example are the cases of Justin Fields, Tate Martell and Brock Hoffman. All three filed hardship waivers to play immediately, but only two were accepted.
Fields, a former Georgia quarterback, was granted immediate eligibility at Ohio State by citing an incident in 2018 when a Georgia baseball player used a racial slur.
Former Ohio State quarterback Martell cited coaching change and the incoming Fields as his reason for transferring. The NCAA granted his request to play immediately at Miami.
Hoffman was a starter on Coastal Carolina’s offensive line before he transferred to Virginia Tech this offseason to be closer to his mother, who is currently battling cancer.
His waiver request was denied.
Strong did not submit a hardship waiver, but it’s still a simple case that was filed four months ago.
In a similar case, former Utah quarterback Jack Tuttle enrolled at Utah last January and redshirted the 2018 season. He then transferred to Indiana in January, shortly before Strong’s transfer, and was granted immediate eligibility on April 3.
Troy is not alone, as a number of teams are still waiting to hear back from the NCAA. With around 90 days until the season starts, the NCAA has its work cut out for them.