Akron RB Dennis Kennedy (official thread)

Originally Posted by osugrad21

I remember a "severe circumstances" allowance in admission evaluation...I would consider a father dying of cancer throughout his senior year a severe circumstance

not only that, it was just after NOIL day, and if i remember correctly, very sudden.
this is complete and total BS

[VprHis]

Yes, that would qualify as a special circumstance, but as someone brought up earlier, being a football player could also be considered a special circumstance, and let's be honest... do you really think the admissions office is going to give extra consideration to a football recruit? I don't think the administration would be too happy about that.


I know I came across a bit harsh. That was probably not the way I should have worded things, but i'm tired of academic non-qualifiers. I know DK has had more hardship than anyone should have to bear at his age. My point is, why weren't his grades better in his first three years? Get the job done, guys.

Personally, I don't think this was handled well, but the university can't lower its standards... not when they're working so hard to bolster their--and thus, OUR--reputation.

Originally Posted by VprHis

Personally, I don't think this was handled well, but the university can't lower its standards... not when they're working so hard to bolster their--and thus, OUR--reputation.

thats the biggest problem, it was handled horribly,
just like Morgan.

[osugrad21]

My point is, why weren't his grades better in his first three years? Get the job done, guys.

Trust me, I hate excuses, but if there was one example of a true excuse I would find acceptable for DK's lack of academic commitment during his last semester, the death of his father would be the one.

[CleveBucks]

How can you say for sure if it was handled horribly? By every account, his grades dropped after signing the LOI. How do you know if his new grades/test scores were high enough for the NCAA and OSU on top of that?

[VprHis]

OK. How bout we try and stop the negativity for a bit.

What SHOULD have been done?

Originally Posted by CleveBucks

By every account, his grades dropped after signing the LOI.

because his dad DIED after signing the LOI.
thats why its forgivable.

[Hubbard]

Originally Posted by LordJeffBuck

This situation is very frustrating (as were the snafus with Miles Williams and DeJuan Morgan).

Trust me, Miles Williams was no snafu, that WAS the right decision.

Originally Posted by CleveBucks

How do you know if his new grades/test scores were high enough for the NCAA?

HH told us he passed the NCAA clearinghouse, fwiw.

[Buckeyeskickbuttocks]

Sorry to hear about DK. I know a lot of people where really high on him being a diamond in the rough. If it was in fact a drop in grades on account of his father's cancer, than the Admissions folks need to pull their heads out of their asses and cut the kid a break. If however, DK had a boarderline acedemic history - his dad notwithstanding - then it's a different situation. While the heart says cut him a break either way, very little at OSU (or any U) is run with the heart.

I don't know what his grades were, so I can't really say what happened or who is responsible for what (DK himself for not applying himself throught HS, or the Admissions Board for being moronic). I can say, I'm bummed that DK won't be in the S&G and wish him the best.

[Oh8ch]

Adamant support for either side of this issue is probably premature at this point. I greatly respect HH, but he is a Kennedy supporter and is going to interpret what happened from that perspective. All I mean by that is that if Kennedy did not have all his work in order the staff certainly had some flexibility in what action they took while still being consistent with promises made. They could have been lenient and said we will let this slide or they could have taken a hard line and said sorry, you didn't live up to your end. If they took a hard line that would tick off anybody in the Kennedy camp.

As I understand the LOI process unless Kennedy failed to qualify OSU must honor the schollie.

f I become a nonqualifier (per NCAA Bylaw 14.3), this NLI shall be rendered null and void.

Therefore, it seems he must have missed something. I can certainly understand HH getting upset for OSU not giving a break to a kid who just lost his dad - but that this lead to the problem is only supposition on our part.

To really 'judge' this we would need to be privy to facts that are none of our business.

Let us not forget Darius Hiley and Reggie Smith. That could motivate a coaching staff to tighten things up just a bit. Also, of all the cases cited (Morgan et al) the coaching staff is expressly forbidden to discuss what happened - so we will only know one side.

[CleveBucks]

Basically the LOI says that, IF the recruit meets OSU's regular fall-quarter admission standards, they cannot force him to enroll later or not enroll at all. They must honor that commitment and provide him a scholarship for fall quarter.

Therefore, I don't see what the coaches have to do with this. It's in the hands of the admissions office if I read the LOI correctly.

[tsteele316]

HH has also been quoted on bucknuts stating that Doc Tressel told DK that he may have to enroll part-time in the fall and winter to save his eligibility and improve his grades. So this really isnt a shock to anyone. They must have thought that this was coming. That quote was from 6/23.

i think part of the problem is that too many of these "studs" leave academics behind until they get to far along in the process.....they assume that they can make up ground late in the game...with test scores and classes....

but....they leave themselves little to no room for error.....one bad test....one bad professor and its all up in the air.....

that being said....DK certainly needs special consideration on this one....

fuck the admissions board....he wants to play at tOSU....his father just died....hes a great kid...hes a bright kid......cmon...its ridiculous that an admissions board cant see this....

[BIATCHabutuka]

sounds academic for sure though if he isn't admitted how can he enroll and take classes in the fall and winter and walkon in the spring? are we trying to get him to go to some sort of military school or community college of junior college?

it doesn't sound like we can make him wait to go on scholarship and have him take classes at osu in the fall/winter at all. maybe at a regional osu campus?