Baseless Speculation about Paulus and Football

[b&l]

We confess to being poorly informed about NCAA rules. We've wondered, though, whether Greg Paulus would still have an option to play three or four years of football, if he switched sports? Seems there was a Florida State quarterback who came back to college to play, after being in baseball? One would have to assume that Greg knows by now he doesn't have the foot speed to be an NBA candidate. He's not even a Steve Nash. If playing pro sports after college was or still is a dream of his, maybe he feels tempted to see whether his old quarterback skills are there? He was, after all, one of the top quarterback prospects in the country, coming out of high school. And at this point in his basketball development, it seems the best he can be is a solid shooting guard, and there are a ton of those gunning for the NBA in the coming years. But our question is, if anyone knows the rules, could Greg switch to football and get a year or two of eligibility back?

[CDu]

No, I don't believe Paulus would be able to get any extra eligibility to play football other than the standard one redshirt year. The quarterback you are referring to for precedent is Chris Weinke. The difference with Weinke is that he played pro baseball instead of attending college at all, before eventually quitting baseball and going to FSU. Thus, his eligibility was intact. Paulus has been enrolled for 2 years at Duke now, so as far as I can tell, he's used at least one year of eligibility and his one redshirt year.

[dockfan]

First, I wouldn't make any judgments about Greg's pro basketball prospects, seeing as he has yet to go through a single college season without having to play with a broken bone.

Second, even if Greg never plays a day in the NBA, one could easily make the argument that playing basketball in Europe for several years is a far better choice (in terms of finances, short-term health, and long-term health) than trying to switch back to football and play it in college and/or the pros.

[bluebear]

One would have to assume that Greg knows by now he doesn't have the foot speed to be an NBA candidate. He's not even a Steve Nash.

Who else is a Steve Nash? Given that GP played with a broken foot all year, I'm not sure this past season was a fair evaluation of his pro potential. JJ wasn't considered a great pro prospect after his sophomore year...I'm not saying that Paulus is going to become a pro but who knows. He may have other reasons for wanting to play bball at Duke..

[Madrasdukie]

He may have other reasons for wanting to play bball at Duke..

While he was still in high school, and had committed to Duke, Greg was quoted as saying that he would like to become a basketball coach one day, and that he felt that there was no better program than Duke to help prepare him to reach that goal.

[MrBisonDevil]

Reggie Love had Duke basketball eligibility long after he finished 4-years of Duke football. So, maybe GP could switch up later after Bball...

Reggie Love:
- Four-years Duke football from 2000-03
- Two-years Duke basketball 2001 & 2002
- NFL 2004 (cut by Green Bay Packers before season)
- Third-year of Duke Basketball 2004-2005
- NFL 2005 signed by Dallas Cowboys

When Reggie came back to Duke in 2004-05, it was his "final year of basketball eligibility". I don't know the rules.

[CDu]

Reggie Love still had Duke basketball eligibility long after he finished 4-years of football at Duke. So, maybe GP could switch up later after Bball...

Reggie Love:
- Four-years Duke football from 2000-03
- Two-years Duke basketball 2001 & 2002
- NFL 2004 (cut by Green Bay Packers before season)
- Third-year of Duke Basketball 2004-2005
- NFL 2005 signed by Dallas Cowboys

When Reggie came back to Duke in 2004-05, it was his "final year of basketball eligibility". I don't know the rules.

So you're actually saying that Love came back only a few months after he finished his 4 years at Duke. He was a senior at Duke in 2003/2004. He was cut by the NFL in the summer of 2004. Then, he returned to Duke for the 2004/2005 bball season. What you just explained supports what I was trying to say:

Love played 4 years of football at Duke ('00/'01, '01/'02, '02/'03, and '03/'04). Thus, if he'd redshirted, his redshirt-senior year would have been '04/'05. He didn't redshirt in football, but he was granted the equivalent of one redshirt season for basketball (hence his '04/'05 season). That was his redshirt-senior year.

From what I understand, you get 4 years of active eligibility from the time you begin school, and that can span 5 years (or more if there are extenuating circumstances like excessive injuries or Mormon mission).

[kydevil]

Maybe Gp really doesn't care too much if he has a better chance with football... its all about where your heart is and Gp's is def. with Basketball!

[Clipsfan]

First, I agree with the above posters who state that we haven't seen how good of a pro Paulus can be at this point. I think that he will continue to improve. I mean, people were saying that Duhon couldn't be a pro during his junior and senior seasons. I guess those people were wrong, and we know even less about Paulus/he has more time to improve.

As for football, there aren't many 6'0 or 6'1" NFL quarterbacks. Paulus knew this as well when he chose to play basketball. 6'1" will cut it in HS, and at many colleges, but not very often in the pros.

[Troublemaker]

That's a good point about short QBs. Don't forget also that 2 broken bones in 2 years playing basketball doesn't display the kind of durability you need to play NFL football. As for the NBA, Greg has zero shot at it (whereas Duhon pretty clearly was going to make it due to his natural PG skills and defense), but he can probably have a fine career playing overseas under international rules. I have no doubt that Greg will become very well-off financially after graduating from Duke.

[MIKESJ73]

Could Greg play quarterback next year at Duke? What are the NCAA rules regarding two sport athletes? It was my understanding that you had five years to complete four years of eligibility, but what if it is two different sports? Could the NCAA grant an additional year for a different sport?

I know that the chances of this are slim to none, but I was curious of the rules. I don't know where Greg is with his studies but if he has another year of classes why not play a year?

[Edouble]

When he committed to Duke, he committed to hoops, so if he had an extra year, I think he would spend that extra year on the basketball court.

I think we've seen this type of thread before and I'm under the assumption that it reflects the thinking that some people feel bad that Greg, who was so highly rated in two sports coming out of high school, is probably not going to have a chance to play professionally in the NBA, so maybe if he went back to football he could make it in the NFL.

He chose basketball. He hasn't played organized football in years and he's never taken a snap at the college level. He's said that he wants to be a basketball coach, so it seems pointless to spend a year playing college football if that's what he wants to do. Even if playing professionally in the NBA or NFL was his goal, it seems that he closed the door on football when he chose Duke. If that was a door that he had wanted to keep open, he should have chosen a school where he could have played both sports, like some guys have done in the past.

It's fun to think of Greg getting a fresh chance to make millions of dollars playing pro sports because he seems like a good guy, but I don't think it's realistic to think that he could just pick up football again that easily.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I would assume that would not be eligible..otherwise 2 sport athletes might think about spreading out their careers.
But the real reason Greg can't play QB at Duke is that has been heavily noted by past posters is he's only 6'1", and thus too short.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

I would assume that would not be eligible..otherwise 2 sport athletes might think about spreading out their careers.
But the real reason Greg can't play QB at Duke is that has been heavily noted by past posters is he's only 6'1", and thus too short.

There's another reason such a change wouldn't work well now. Duke football has changed. The recruiting has changed, too. We've got two good quarterbacks and another one red shirted. What would Greg do, be on the scout team?

[Diddy]

He can't beat out ANY of our current QB's, and maybe not any of the incoming ones either.

Yes, he was an HS AA back in the day. Yes, he was selected to an All American Game on ESPN. A game where he played horribly. I read the practice reports from back in the days leading up to those games, and he was widely acknowledged to be the biggest dissappointment at the game. He was not fast, and his armstrength was pedestrian. He made good decisions, but he didn't always have the armstrength to make the throw against high caliber competiton.

In HS, he enjoyed a high profile as a person able to play the two most scrutinized positions in college sports: QB and PG. And he was capable of playing both at Div 1. As a catholic kid, he drew a lot of interest from ND, who thought he might be their next QB (which drove up the interest in the kid). Duke began looking at him for PG two or so years out, and suddenly, Paulus is drawing interest from the two biggest teams in their respective sports (at the time).

His HS team was more talented than other teams, and his coach ran a high octane Offense that let Paulus air it out a lot. His numbers were, ah, inflated against weak competition.

Remember, HS Football summer camps are different because the kids aren't allowed to hit each other. And GP spent a lot of time at BB camp.

His size and armstrength precluded him from being a top flight QB at college, while he had a chance in BB. He could have played and contributed at a program like Duke in FB. But he wouldn't have been a star then, and he darn sure couldn't beat anybody on the current depth chart.

[MIKESJ73]

I was pretty sure that he could have at least one year of eligibility if he wanted to go to grad school. When I went to school I had a "track" scholarship, but also ran cross-country. I was injured my sophomore cross country season, but still was still on scholarship my fifth year running cross-country even though I had surpassed my four years of eligibility in track. It was my impression that you had 10 semesters to complete four years of eligibility from when you begin each sport. Things may have changed since I was in school and my sports weren't revenue sports, so I am sure things would be more closely monitored.

I know that there are professional baseball players that end playing college football after their baseball contracts expire (i.e. Corey Jenkins, South Carolina QB). If a baseball player can play professionally before his football clock starts couldn't a college basketball player?

I'm not trying to argue, just curious if anyone knows the rules. I don't think Greg could make it in the NFL, but I do think he could be a good college QB. If he is happy at Duke, thinking of grad school and is eligible, why not? Do you really think Greg would be on the scout team?

[Edouble]

I know that there are professional baseball players that end playing college football after their baseball contracts expire (i.e. Corey Jenkins, South Carolina QB). If a baseball player can play professionally before his football clock starts couldn't a college basketball player?

I'm not trying to argue, just curious if anyone knows the rules. I don't think Greg could make it in the NFL, but I do think he could be a good college QB. If he is happy at Duke, thinking of grad school and is eligible, why not? Do you really think Greg would be on the scout team?

Once you play an NCAA sport, your clock starts and you have six years. So, I would assume the baseball guys you are talking about never played any college sports before they played minor league ball. Back in the 1990's FSU's quarterback was like 28 years old (I forget his name) because he'd played minor league baseball for like 5 years before getting a football scholarship.

I know that Greg could play a year of football. Whether he could qualify as a scholarship player, I do not know. Unless his play was phenominal, I don't see how he could make it off of the scout team, as the program's future lies along a different path, with Greg only being part of the team for one year.

[MIKESJ73]

Wienke or Weinki (sp?), Jenkins was the same type story. He played for about four years in the minors, then played a couple of years JUCO, then a couple of years at SC.

I remember the Paulus recruiting a little different. I'm not saying your wrong, I might be. I thought Paulus gave Duke a verbal during his 10th grade year well before any great football expoits. I do remember there was speculation that he would not sign his LOI in favor of football. The were quite a few recruiting gurus that thought he was the top quarterback (NFL potential) his senior year. I thought that Christian Bros. played a pretty strong schedule, all their athletic programs are very good.

[cato]

The were quite a few recruiting gurus that thought he was the top quarterback (NFL potential) his senior year.

How many 6" NFL QBs are there?

[bdh21]

How many 6" NFL QBs are there?

Drew Brees is 6'0"