I wasn’t exactly sure as to where to post this so i figured on the football section.
I was hoping that someone could answer my eligibility question. I have only 1 full time(12 hour) semester of college time under my belt. Never played a sport in any division. Some people tell me that I do have division 1 time left, some people say no, but i have time in both divisions 2 and 3.
I know I just need to apply with the NCAA Clearinghouse, and i will, when i get 30 bucks.
I graduated high school in 1999 and had my first full time semester in the spring of 03.
Once you have 12 units, your eligibility clock turns on, IF you are competing in a sport. Now I’m not sure in your case since you have never competed in a sport in college as far as D-1 goes, but for D-II, you have 10 full-time semesters to be eligible, and you can turn your clock on and off as you please. D-1: Once your “clock” starts, you can’t turn it off; and division-1 rules are you have 5 years to play 4, i.e. using a red-shirt year.
For D-1, as soon as you enroll and attend class, you have 5 calendar years to get 4 playing years (“5 to get 4” is how they say it). It doesn’t matter whether you play or not, your clock continuously runs. So, you should have 3 years remaining.
D-2 & D-3 go by how many full time semesters you attend. You have 10 full-time semesters to get your 4 years of playing in. Since you have only attended 1 full time semester, you will be able to play for 4 years.
NAIA is the same as D2 & D3 except that a full time semester consists of only 9 hours instead of 12 (at least athletically it does).
Also, may want to check with the clearinghouse to see if you even have to go through them since you have a couple years of college under your belt. You may want to do it anyway though just to make sure you have all of your ducks in a row.
D-1 is definitely where you will get the best opportunity, as long as you are good enough to get on the field. Only having 3 years will be tough, your first year you will be a virtual unknown (unless you can create miracles), so that leaves you two years to prove yourself. It can be done, but it will be very, very tough.
D2, D3 & NAIA put people in the league, but of course, not near as many as D-1. It really depends on whether you can ball or not, period.
I don’t know for sure, but UVA seems to always have walk-ons on the field. It seems like they always have a starter or two that are former walk-ons. Maybe the mid-major D-1 schools would be a good place to start looking. I know for a fact that in the SEC, they have great athletes oozing out the ying-yang, so you better be able to ball.
5 to play 4 is the rule. However you can petition, there are exceptions for hardships, military, medical, religious, be creative.
D1 is the way to go, look at a combination of schools that have a good list of current NFL alumni and are good with walk-ons. Eastern schools that have a good history with walk-ons are Miami, yes that Miami, Maryland, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, Auburn, AUB, Tulane and Georgia Tech. Generally walk-ons at private schools get on the field earlier, just based on numbers. Fewer walk-ons because tuition is more expensive.
Freak you’ll be in a good situation because you pass the eyeball test. Remember most coaches see better than they think. And you’ll still have to be that much better than any recruited player to get significant playing time and then they’ll still try to get their guy on the field. Good luck.