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Brent Schaeffer's journey back to the Southeastern Conference hit full stride Wednesday.

The quarterback's stepfather, Adolph Lewis, told ESPN's Joe Schad that Mississippi has declared Schaeffer academically eligible to play this season.

Lewis said Schaeffer met academic requirements at the College of Sequoias in California and was scheduled to take part in Ole Miss' first practice this week. The former Tennessee quarterback was declared the Rebels' QB by coach Ed Orgeron back on signing day.

Orgeron has said that Schaeffer, who missed the entire spring, will operate a scaled-back offense, especially in the early weeks of the season.

Wednesday night, Schaeffer was en route to Oxford Miss., and a university source confirmed that he will be admitted to the school.

Schaeffer played one season for Tennessee, throwing for 302 yards and two touchdowns in eight games and rushing for 66 yards and one touchdown. He missed four games after injuring his collarbone.

According to the Tampa Bay Tribune, Schaeffer had a deal with Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer that prevented him from transferring to a rival SEC school unless he first attended a junior college.

Joe Schad covers college football for ESPN.

Since most teams will be reporting in the next couple of days, I'm devoting today's list to the top true freshmen -- guys I think will come in and make the biggest impact right away. This list could be a little different if I had waited a week or two to see how some NCAA Clearinghouse business shakes out.
(One big example of that is Ole Miss DT Jerrell Powe, a powerhouse 340-pounder, who has drawn raves from Rebel players not only because of his freakish quickness, but also for his conditioning these days. After all, it's pretty rare when you hear about a guy that size finishing all 16 length-of-the-field sprints with less than 45 seconds breaks in between. But because he is waiting for his status to clear, I'll hold off and asterisk him.)

1. Myron Rolle, S, FSU: The 'Noles D lost a handful of first-rounders in April and I suspect their defense will still be a bit better in 2006. Rolle, an agile 6-foot-2, 215-pound ball hawk, is one of the three biggest reasons why (along with LBs Buster Davis and Lawrence Timmons.) He dazzled FSU's veteran coaching staff with how quickly he picked up their schemes in the spring and with his ability to make huge strides from practice to practice. He's just one of those guys with a knack for being around the play. He's also been a great influence around the locker room, which is also going to have a big impact on the Noles. (Call him the anti-Fred Rouse.) He is already one of the de facto greeters for blue-chip recruits coming to town. My hunch is that by October, he will be the leader of the FSU secondary.

2. Mitch Mustain, QB, Arkansas: The guy has everything a quarterback needs to be a star, except the experience. And since Houston Nutt hired Mustain's old high school coach (Gus Malzahn) to run the Hogs' offense, Mustain probably has a bigger head start than any freshman quarterback in recent years. The bad news is with Darren McFadden's recent injury, and to some extent, the nature of how he got injured, there is only going to be that much more pressure and focus placed on Mustain's shoulders. But I'm buying. After chatting with some people who know a lot about the young quarterback, they say he has star written all over him.

3. Jevan Snead, Texas, QB: It's impossible to replace the great Vince Young, but from talking to Mack Brown this offseason, Snead has the kind of pedigree, zone read savvy and grit that would lend to optimism. Snead also has good size, athleticism and a very live arm. I think ultimately -- as in, by the third game of the season -- he will be the Longhorns' starting quarterback. But that is just a hunch. Right now, redshirt frosh Colt McCoy who has a tad more experience in the UT program, probably gets more work with the huge Ohio State game looming.

4. Percy Harvin, Florida, WR: A dynamic talent, Harvin has the kind of explosiveness and moves to create at least a half-dozen plays for over 40 yards each. Look for Urban Meyer to try and get him the ball every way humanly possible, especially since the Gator ground game is so suspect.

5. Maurice Evans, Penn State, DE: We saw how much JoePa now embraces playing freshmen, and Evans, a big-time pass-rushing prospect could fill a huge need with State losing so many good D-linemen, including star Tamba Hali.

6. Sam Shields, Miami, WR: The 6-0, 179-pound speedster is getting rave reviews from guys inside the Canes program. One person I spoke with this week described him as having the sizzle of Roscoe Parrish and Sinorice Moss, but in a frame that is about four or five inches taller. Shields will get every chance to make a big impact fast, especially now that veteran WR Ryan Moore is going to be out for the first two games.

7. Raeshon McNeil, Notre Dame, CB-KR: Talk about a need guy. ND's Achilles' heel has been a sluggish pass defense that was repeatedly exploited deep. I figure one of the Irish freshmen corners has to take over, and after observing McNeil at the Army All-American game, I'm leaning toward him over fellow blue-chipper Darrin Walls.

8. Andre Smith, Alabama, OL: It's rare for true freshmen O-linemen to come in and start right away, but don't be surprised if Smith, an absolute mauler, isn't one of Bama's front five in the opener. I'd say he was the Tide's biggest recruit since Brodie Croyle.

9. C.J. Spiller, Clemson, RB: The Tigers don't really have a major need for a tailback, but I hear Spiller is simply too explosive not to get at least 10 touches a game. And if he gets that many shots, he is going to make highlights. Also, this is a good place to mention Clemson does have one of the nation's better O-lines coming back.

10. Matthew Stafford, UGA, QB: The most talented quarterback in the Dawgs' QB derby, Stafford will eventually have to overtake Georgia fan favorite Joe Tereshinski. I think he will by around midseason, but I could also see Joe T. doing enough and having enough weapons to keep the ship sailing. That's why I have Stafford a bit further down on this list.

Just missed the cut: Gerald McCoy, Oklahoma, DT; Chris Wells, Ohio State, RB; Peanut Whitehead, Louisville, DE; Sam Young, ND, OT; Sergio Kindle, Texas, LB; Robert Rose, Ohio State; DE, Jerrell Powe, Ole Miss, DT*.

Why do they CONSISTENTLY rank Oklahoma in the top 10 I have no idea....Thanks for that Frosh rundown Buff...

I don't know why they do. I don't know why Ohio State is ranked number 1. They are replacing almost their entire defense and that's never a good thing

QUOTE(AYHJA)Why do they CONSISTENTLY rank Oklahoma in the top 10 I have no idea....Thanks for that Frosh rundown Buff...

Anytime


Ohio State and Texas will not be a top of the polls at years end. Oklahoma will not be there either. Hopefully, my Buffs will sneak up on the college football world this year and fuck some people up.

Associated Press


BATON ROUGE, La. -- The NCAA is not bending when it comes to the LSU football team doing yoglates.

The Tigers canceled the trendy conditioning program two weeks ago because it conflicted with the rules governing athletic consultants not affiliated with the university.

Non-LSU personnel are allowed to instruct athletes during the fall and spring semesters, but not during the summer, according to NCAA rules. Training consultant Don Yesso said he has conducted the class with every other LSU athletic team the past three years.

"It wasn't willful, it was just an oversight," said Chris Howard, LSU associate athletic director for NCAA compliance. "We could have done this in the spring and it would have been fine. If the class had been offered through the rec department, we could have enrolled the team in the class this summer with no problem."

The team got through about half of the planned 12-week program of yoglates, which promotes flexibility. Howard said LSU self-reported the level II secondary violation, which does not carry a penalty for the institution.

The spirit of the rule preventing outside instruction is to keep schools from hiring pro sports experts to work with athletes in the summer, which creates a competitive advantage for colleges with large athletic budgets.

Yesso said he will work with the school to make adjustments to ensure the course is executed by the rules.

Yoglates is a combination of yoga and pilates, which are exercises designed by Joseph Pilates, originally to help the recovery of dancers with injured backs, Yesso said.


NCAA Hammerheads are at it again

LoL, man that was good shit...