COMMENTARY
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Will Grier, whose 6-0 start as Florida’s quarterback in 2015 stalled amid a one-year suspension for using a performance-enhancing substance, plans to enroll at West Virginia in May.
Under NCAA transfer rules, the former Parade national player of the year must sit out the 2016 season and will have two years to play beyond that. Of more consequence is whether the PEDs ban also will sideline him for half of 2017.
Had Grier remained at Florida, he would have been ineligible until next season’s Missouri game on Oct. 15. His 365-day suspension will be put on hold during his transfer year, with the clock essentially restarting in 2017. Because the Big 12 schedule and its bye weeks haven’t been finalized for 2017, it’s uncertain whether Grier’s return date would stretch five or six games deep into the season. In the interim he is cleared to practice but cannot travel.
A source told MetroNews that West Virginia plans to submit a waiver seeking Grier’s full reinstatement for the entirety of 2017. (The NCAA denied Grier’s first appeal at Florida last November.) While it’s too early to handicap WVU’s case, the school’s compliance staff overcame long odds to secure immediate eligibility for Michigan transfer Kyle Bosch last season.
Grier is a coveted addition regardless of his return date. West Virginia has senior Skyler Howard in place for next fall with backup options that include lightly recruited Chris Chugunov and two players—William Crest and David Sills— currently working at receiver.
True freshman Cody Saunders, who enrolled in January, was absent from spring practice this week while attending to personal matters “back at home,” coach Dana Holgorsen said.
Rivals rated the 6-foot-2 Grier as the No. 2 dual-threat quarterback in the 2014 class and the No. 46 recruit nationally coming out of Davidson (N.C.) Day School. His finalists aside from the Gators included Auburn, North Carolina, Arkansas, N.C. State and Tennessee.
After a redshirt season at Florida under Will Muschamp, Grier helped jumpstart Jim McElwain’s tenure last fall. He completed 65 percent of his passes (105-of-160), throwing 10 touchdowns and three interceptions while leading the Gators to victories over Ole Miss and Tennessee—teams that finished No. 10 and No. 22 in the final AP poll.
Telling reporters he “took an over-the-counter supplement that had something in it” that violated NCAA standards, Grier said he regretted not clearing the product with Florida’s medical staff.
“I really hope that people can learn from this, learn from my mistake,” he said on Oct. 12. “I’m really, really sorry to everyone. Just really sorry.”
McElwain termed it an “honest mistake” at the time, though he didn’t excuse Grier’s lack of protocol.
“You have to know what you’re putting in your body. Will admitted he didn’t (get authorization from trainers). I think that speaks for him. He’s not putting it on anybody else. He’s a stand-up guy.”
Now West Virginia fans are wondering when he’ll become eligible to stand in for the Mountaineers.