We don't have scholarships to wAste
If he's a graduate transfer, he wont be wasting anyone's schollie. He gone before 2018 class gets here.
counts as an initial counter and would decrease the available EE's for the 2018 class to count against the 2017 class by 1.
Once again, a partially incorrect assessment of how grad transfers and initial counters interact. It's nothing personal, it's just that some people look at one rule and ignore another rule.
First, there has not been one person who has yet proven that we have any room to "count backwards", since most people ignore the fact that we lost 9 initial counters during probation. Some people just look at the number of signings and assume we can count backwards as if we intentionally undersigned. We did not.
We didn't lose any IC spots. From the NCAA: Reduction in Athletics Awards. The total number of athletically related financial aid awards in football shall be reduced by a combined total of nine during the 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 academic years. The institution shall reduce the total number of athletics awards during each academic year. The institution has the option of assigning the reductions during those years. The second sentence dealing with Reduction mandates that we had to give up at least 1 of the 85 total counters each year. The first sentence says we have to give up a total of 9 over the 3 year period. I looked at it as we needed to give up 1 each of the 3 years and then give up the remaining 6 any way we want to. NO MENTION OF INITIAL COUNTERS. Compare that with what USC got where it spells out their loss of ICs.
9. Limit of 15 initial grants-in-aid and 75 total grants in football for each of the 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 academic years.
Second, people ignore one of the best rules, "the midyear replacement rule", where a January enrollee can essentially replace a December graduate without counting as another "initial counter". That rule is supposed to "reward" schools that graduate kids early, but it can only be used if we are at 85 scholarships.
They do count.
15.5.6.3.5 Midyear Replacement. (FBS/FCS) A counter who graduates at midyear or who graduates
during the previous academic year (including summer) may be replaced by an initial counter, who shall be
counted against the initial limit either for the year in which the aid is awarded (if the institution’s annual
limit has not been reached) or for the following academic year, or by a student-athlete who was an initial counter in a previous academic year and is returning to the institution after time spent on active duty in the armed services or on an official religious mission. In bowl subdivision football, an institution may use the midyear replacement exception only if it previously has provided financial aid during that academic year
to the maximum number of overall counters (85 total counters).
Oh no the dreaded 85. This is a lot simpler than people are making it. Lets suppose that the total counter sits at 79 and the IC for 2016 sits at 21, and we want to bring in 8 EEs. Lets add 4 to the roster and count them back to '16 making the IC for 2016 25 and the TC 83. I can add 2 more to the roster making the TC 85 and the IC for 2017 2. To get the others in, we would need to invoke the Midyear replacement rule. If we have two guys who meet the conditions of the rule, we could get both guys in. If only 1 satisfies the rule, 1 gets in and the other must wait until summer. If we don't have any who satisfy the rule, both must wait until summer. Keep in mind that players like Bruce, Yearby, etc. do not satisfy the rule and must be counted as a total counter.
Since we are under sanctions for '16-'17, our Total Counter is less than 85. I don't know what it is. But lets say it is 80, then when we added 1 to the total of 79 above, the Midyear Replacement Rule could be invoked, and we would need 7 players that satisfy the rule to get the remaining 7 recruits in because the 80 limit is in effect for the entire academic year.
