Published August 1, 2012 - 5:00pm
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Mario Mathis is a high school rising senior who hopes to play football in the SEC. And when got the offer from Ole Miss and Hugh Freeze, he committed this past May.
Mathis was one of 242 – and maybe more now – recruits who were offered a scholarship by the Rebels’ coaching staff.
But Mathis’ parents are in a huge disagreement over whether or not his scholarship was revoked.
You see, Mathis had knee surgery in January, and he’s still feeling the ailments of the surgery. So, upon a camp visit this past weekend, his father said he and his son were informed that Ole Miss would be receding his scholarship offer. He spoke with the AJC.
“They told us he was no longer on the commitment list,” Fletcher told the AJC. “They basically pulled the scholarship offer.
“It was frustrating for that to happen because we thought we were solid with Ole Miss. Mario loves the place, loves the coaches. We thought it was a done deal. It kind of surprised us. Well, it definitely surprised us. But I know college football is business.”
Mathis’ mother, on the other hand, said the entire family knew the scholarship was always contingent upon how well his knee recovered from the injury. And he wasn’t progressing as fast as they might have hoped for. She spoke to the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
“Ole Miss has never been anything but honest with Mario,” Denise Fletcher told the Memphis Commercial Appeal. “He’s not guaranteed a scholarship anywhere unless he can play on that leg. You can’t give a scholarship to someone who can’t physically play. It’s ridiculous to think otherwise.”
Ah, gotta love parents in disagreement over their son’s collegiate future.
Why would the player’s mom say it was a mutual decision if it was not? She offers a more reasonable story to me.
But, the good news is that depending on how well Mathis recovers from his injury, he could get another shot at that offer from Hugh Freeze and Ole Miss.
Here’s to hoping he recovers fully.
