Football: Brown Cleared For 6th Year
February 06, 2004 04:34 PM | General
February 6, 2004
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Offensive tackle Tim Brown has been cleared by the NCAA for a sixth year of competition, West Virginia University Compliance Director Brad Cox announced Friday.
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| Offensive tackle Tim Brown was lost for the year before the 2003 season opener against Wisconsin. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
Brown injured his Achilles heel during preseason practice and missed the entire 2003 campaign. The Harrisburg, Pa., native is a three-year starter who also took a medical redshirt in 1999.
Cox says the process involved going through the Big East Conference to get the hardship waiver and then getting medical information from the doctor and proof of games played. Accompanying this information were letters from both Brown and Cox.
The panel that ruled on Brown’s additional year is the Student Athlete Reinstatement group comprised of NCAA staff members.
“Because of two years of injury he is missing one year of opportunity,” said Cox.
A few years ago Cox says West Virginia attempted to get a sixth season of eligibility for wide receiver David Saunders but was unsuccessful. Two recent WVU athletes that managed to get sixth seasons were cross country’s Pete Watson and tennis player Steve Duffin.
Meanwhile, Cox says Booker T. Washington standout Johnny Dingle has enrolled in school.
Dingle, a Miami native, initially signed with Florida last year and went through a week of fall practice before the NCAA wouldn’t accept his SAT score. Once Dingle is academically cleared he will be eligible to begin practicing with the Mountaineers.
The 6-foot-2, 230-pound linebacker-defensive end recorded 17 sacks and intercepted three passes to earn Dade County North District player of the year honors as a prep senior. Dingle was named to the Florida Class 4A all-state first team in 2002.
West Virginia is tentatively scheduled to begin spring football practice the week after spring break and will culminate with the Gold-Blue Spring Game on Saturday, April 17.
