Cincinnati football: Medical Redshirt Likely for Jenkinson, Questionable for Gantz

Bearcats football lost two key contributors early in 2016. The silver lining is that both injuries were SO early that Gantz and Jenkinson have a shot at an extra year of eligibility.

Junior K Andrew Gantz and Sophomore LB Bryce Jenkinson both suffered disappointing and untimely ends to their 2016 seasons very early on in. Both players have been key contributors in the past, and were big parts of this team. Obviously, the struggles of 3-3 Bearcats, who are 0-3 in the American Conference, transcend one or two players, but losing these two guys certainly didn’t help.

Gantz has been the model of consistency in two-plus years as UC’s kicker, making 39-of-49 field goals, including several clutch, late game kicks (the most memorable of which have both come against this weekend’s opponent, East Carolina). Jenkinson was thrust into the starting middle linebacker role early last year as a true freshman, and seized his opportunity to shine, recording 59 tackles, a sack, and an INT in 9 starts.

Though both players’ seasons are officially over at this point, both should be locks to be granted an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA via the medical hardship rule. The rule states that if an athlete has played in 3 or fewer games (or fewer or 30% of the team’s scheduled games, whichever is greater) and suffers a season-ending injury during the first half of the season, the athlete is eligible for a medical hardship waiver.

Jenkinson played in the season opener against UT-Martin, recording 8 total tackles (2 solo), and then was injured early in the road win at Purdue. He had season-ending surgery to repair a torn knee ligament shortly after the Miami game. This case should be open and shut. Jenkinson has not used a redshirt of any kind, so he’ll almost surely get an extra year. I expect his application to be rubber-stamped by the NCAA.

Gantz missed UC’s season opener with a pulled muscle in his kicking leg before appearing against Purdue and Houston, going 2-for-2 on field goals and 6-for-6 on extra points. He then suffered a major setback, completely tearing the same muscle. However, despite only playing in two games, this case may actually have to go to appeal. Gantz already redshirted as a freshman, and the NCAA’s rule states that “Any competition, regardless of time, during a season in an intercollegiate sport shall be counted as a season of competition in that sport,” except preseason scrimmages.

Traditionally, the NCAA doesn’t like to give out a sixth year of eligibility (see Ben Mauk), but will occasionally approve a sixth year if appropriate documentation is provided (see Brendon Kay). Because Gantz came in under the maximum participation threshold, he may still be able to get the sixth year, but we won’t know for a while until the appeal gets heard by the NCAA. I’m assuming has medical proof of a season-ending injury, because why else would he shut it down so early. If it wasn’t a severe injury, I’m sure Gantz would’ve tried to get back on the field this season, as he tried so fervently to do after the pulled muscle in Summer camp. The problem will be that he redshirted as a freshman in 2013 for purely developmental reasons, so proving that he missed two years “due to circumstances beyond his control” will be difficult to prove.