Four-star quarterback Jaden Rashada, who signed with Florida on Dec. 21 but did not report to campus last week amid a name, image and likeness dispute, asked the NCAA for a scholarship release, sources close to the program confirmed to The Athletic. 247Sports was first to report the filing. Here’s what you need to know:
Sources said the recruit’s family has been at odds with the football program ever since the Gator Collective terminated an NIL contract valued at more than $13 million.
Rashada is the No. 56 prospect in the 2023 recruiting class and the No. 7 quarterback, per the 247Sports Composite. The graduate of Pittsburg (Calif.) High was among the highest-ranked quarterbacks the Gators have landed in the past decade.
He committed to Miami in June amid speculation of a $9 million NIL deal, then flipped to Florida on Nov. 10.
While Rashada participated in the Under-Armour All-American event last week in Orlando, his father Harlen told The Athletic the family was headed straight to Gainesville for spring enrollment.
What happened?
Sources close to the program told The Athletic that a $13 million NIL deal, struck between the Gator Collective and Rashada before he flipped to Florida in November, began falling apart last month. Rashada ultimately signed anyway and publicly sounded enthused about moving in on campus and learning the offense. Last week’s enrollment delay surrounded contention over the value of a renegotiated NIL deal.
What does this mean for Florida’s quarterback situation?
The Gators recently landed Wisconsin transfer Graham Mertz and have fourth-year sophomore Jack Miller returning. They also have Max Brown, a 2022 signee who redshirted this past season. But Rashada was the high-profile, big-arm talent who was expected to acclimate this spring and push for early playing time.
A commitment from 2024 elite quarterback DJ Lagway helps ease the sting, though Rashada’s departure creates a public relations headache for the football program. It also shines a light on the perils athletic departments face with NIL deals forced to be negotiated by a third party.
“The University of Florida football program is really one of victims in this case,” said a source familiar with the Gator Collective’s dealings.
The NCAA Division I Council announced on Wednesday that it is waiving the initial counter scholarship limits for two years within Division I football.
Previously, teams had been limited to 25 initial counters, or scholarship spots, per year from high school prospects and transfers. Even if programs were under the 85 total scholarship limit, if they had reached the annual 25 limit, they could not sign any more scholarship players.
With the increase in popularity of the transfer portal, the council announced in October that it approved a one-year waiver to allow teams to go over the 25 limit by up to seven scholarships to replace players lost to transfer. In theory, a program could have gone up to 32 scholarships in a year if it had lost seven players in the transfer portal.
Staying under that 25-scholarship limit, while also filling a complete roster of 85 total scholarships, has become increasingly more difficult for coaches who have been less able to predict the number of players leaving their programs each year. The transfer environment has changed the way programs recruit high school prospects: Schools are continuously bringing in college transfers through the portal, and those players count against the 25 initial counter limit.
In many instances, those transfers decreased the number of scholarships available for high school prospects, despite the fact that a program might still be under the 85 total limit. This waiver will allow programs more flexibility over the next two academic years to fill rosters and use the scholarships how they deem fit each year.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning has created a scholarship fund at Georgia Tech to honor his friend and former teammate Demaryius Thomas.
Thomas, a former Georgia Tech wide receiver and Georgia native, died Dec. 9 at age 33.
The Demaryius Thomas Scholarship Endowment, created through Manning’s PeyBack Foundation, will award academic scholarships to incoming freshmen from Laurens County, Georgia, where Thomas was born and raised, or surrounding communities who demonstrate significant financial need and academic achievement. Full or partial scholarships will be awarded annually, and students will receive the scholarships until they graduate from Georgia Tech.
“Demaryius Thomas was an incredibly talented and unselfish teammate, but more importantly, he was a special person and friend,” Manning said Wednesday in a statement. “My family and I miss him dearly, and we wanted to honor D.T.’s memory by partnering the PeyBack Foundation with Georgia Tech to establish the Demaryius A. Thomas Scholarship Endowment.
“An important part of Demaryius’ legacy was the way he inspired the next generation to pursue their dreams with the same perseverance and determination that defined him. Through this scholarship to Georgia Tech, Demaryius will have a lasting impact on deserving youth from his hometown area who can follow in his footsteps and accomplish great things in life.”
Georgia Tech also announced that Aug. 8 will be recognized as Demaryius Thomas Day each year; Thomas’ uniform number at the school was No. 8. The recipient of the scholarship will be recognized that day as well.
Yellow Jackets players will also wear a No. 8 decal on their helmets in the 2022 season.
“We are grateful to Peyton and Ashley Manning and the PeyBack Foundation for establishing the Demaryius Thomas Scholarship,” Georgia Tech athletic director Todd Stansbury said in a statement. “Thanks to their generous contribution, Demaryius’ legacy will be carried on through Georgia Tech students from Laurens County and surrounding areas for years to come and his memory will be celebrated each year during our 8/8 Day recognitions.”
Thomas was a first-round pick by the Denver Broncos in the 2010 NFL draft and spent nine seasons with the team, including all four of Manning’s seasons in Denver. He finished his career as the Broncos’ second-leading receiver (9,055 yards), behind only Rod Smith, and is third in franchise history in catches (655) behind Smith and Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe.
With the arrival of Manning to the Broncos in 2012, Thomas had at least 90 receptions and 1,300 yards in four consecutive seasons, joining Hall of Famers Marvin Harrison and Jerry Rice as well as former Rams wide receiver Torry Holt as the only players to reach those totals over four consecutive seasons.
In the Broncos’ record-setting 2013 season, when Denver scored a single-season record 606 points and Manning set NFL records for passing yards (5,477) and touchdowns (55), Thomas finished with a career-best 14 touchdowns. The next season, Thomas finished with a career-best 1,619 receiving yards.
In all, Thomas set 16 Broncos franchise records, including his 1,619-yard season and his 33 career 100-yard games.
Playing 10 seasons overall with the Broncos, Houston Texans and New York Jets, Thomas finished his NFL career with 724 catches for 9,763 yards and 63 touchdowns.
At Georgia Tech, Thomas was a first-team All-ACC selection in 2009 and officially recorded 113 receptions for 2,135 yards and 13 touchdowns over three seasons.
The family of one of the deceased victims from Astroworld Fest is aiming to set up a scholarship in their loved one’s name — but not before taking Travis Scott to court first.
Rudy Peña was one of the 8 people who died Friday during the concert, and his family has plans to get a fund going in his honor to continue his legacy — and are hoping to do so at the college he was attending … so says their attorney, Rosendo Almaraz.
He tells us Rudy’s family wants to set up a scholarship at Laredo College, where Rudy was a student … studying to become a Border Patrol agent via a criminal justice major. Nothing’s set in stone yet though … but we’re told that’s their intention.
As for what will fund the scholarship they hope to create … it’d be leftover money from the $34k they raised via a GoFundMe for Rudy. We’re told some of that money is going toward funeral costs, and the rest will be earmarked for the scholarship fund — around $20k.
BTW, you read that correctly … the Peña family is already burying their son, and they’re doing it without the help of Travis because they say they haven’t heard from him … and aren’t holding their breath.
Of course, he said he’d cover the funeral expenses of those who perished — but the Peñas insist they’re paying for everything themselves … and aren’t expecting or waiting for any help.
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We’re told no official cause of death is in for Rudy just yet — whose body was just released to his family — Almaraz says he appears to have been trampled badly.
One last thing … the Peña family has filed their own lawsuit already, and they have named Travis as a defendant. They’re alleging negligence and gross negligence directly contributed to Rudy’s death that night.
Our first winner for being vaccinated of $1 million short, who lives in the Lexington Winchester area. Patricia is here with her husband. Gary $1 million short. Thanks guys. Got something. I just want to thank everybody and I want everybody to keep registering. Get online. I did it. It happened. It’s real. I’m still numb. Um, I’ll get vaccinated. That’s the important thing. Then you can register and you can win this, too. Thanks guys.
Who won the Kentucky vaccine lottery? Meet the 1st winners of ‘Shot at a Million’
Updated: 5:51 PM EDT Jul 2, 2021
The very first winner of Kentucky’s COVID-19 vaccine lottery was announced Friday afternoon.WINNING THE $1 MILLION PRIZE:Patricia Short, of Lexington/Winchester”We were on our way to Florida when COVID hit, and we just wanted to get home. They were talking about how great Kentucky was doing all over because of our governor,” said Patricia Short. “We are firm believers that we have to do it – please get vaccinated. Our kids have got to be vaccinated, too, or it’s not going to work.” “We were some of the first to get the vaccine. We took it without being told we could win $1 million,” said Gary Short. Speaking about his wife’s Shot at a Million win. He added, “This happens in the movies, and now it happens in Kentucky. I hope it makes 1 million more people get vaccinated.”WINNING THE FULL-RIDE SCHOLARSHIPS:Jalen Crudup, of ElizabethtownJalen was joined by his parents, Shelma and Kerry Crudup. He said, “I would like to thank everyone for letting this happen and my mom for signing me up. I would like to encourage everyone to get vaccinated.”His mom, Shelma, added, “We’re forever grateful for this opportunity. Thank you to Gov. Andy Beshear, his team and the state of Kentucky.”Crystal Frost, of CrestwoodCrystal was joined by her parents, Chris and Laura Frost. She said, “Wow, I feel so lucky.”Her dad, Chris, said, “Winning this scholarship means a lot. Having a senior, we are just starting the college process and this award will allow Crystal to explore options further from home – but not too far for her mom, who is glad she will be staying in state. Winning this scholarship gives our family the flexibility of not having to wonder where the money is going to come from to send Crystal to college and opens up how we will look at choosing a college.”Tyler Henson, of Mt. SterlingTyler brought along his mother, Katie, father, Brad, twin, Aden, and brother, Nolan, and grandparents, Margie and Paul Purdon.Tyler’s parents said, “As parents of twins, we have had double expenses for just about everything. Tyler receiving this scholarship will relieve the burden of having two in college at the same time and give us the opportunity to support both Tyler and Aden in receiving a higher education.”Adison Sullenger, of PrincetonAdison was in attendance with her parents, David and Wendy Sullenger. She said, “Thank you for this opportunity. Standing here today I am really glad I did the right thing to not only protect myself but also my friends and family.”Alex VonderHaar, of Louisville The son of Deek and Colleen VonderHaar, said, “I want to thank everybody for helping me getting the vaccine, especially Dr. Allgeier. This is a great opportunity. I did not think I was going to get a scholarship, especially going into 7th grade, so thank you, everybody.”His father, Deek, added, “We would like to thank Gov. Beshear and his entire team for putting this together. This is an exciting opportunity for 15 rising collegiate students. This is going to make a real difference for our family, and I am sure many others, by doing the right thing and getting vaccinated.”This drawing will be done three times for a total of three $1 million winners and 15 scholarships.The next two drawings are July 29 and Aug. 26. The winners are announced the following day.Read more about the lottery and sign up here.WLKY will update this story soon.
FRANKFORT, Ky. —
The very first winner of Kentucky’s COVID-19 vaccine lottery was announced Friday afternoon.
WINNING THE $1 MILLION PRIZE:
Patricia Short, of Lexington/Winchester
Hearst Owned
Patricia Short
“We were on our way to Florida when COVID hit, and we just wanted to get home. They were talking about how great Kentucky was doing all over because of our governor,” said Patricia Short. “We are firm believers that we have to do it – please get vaccinated. Our kids have got to be vaccinated, too, or it’s not going to work.”
“We were some of the first to get the vaccine. We took it without being told we could win $1 million,” said Gary Short. Speaking about his wife’s Shot at a Million win. He added, “This happens in the movies, and now it happens in Kentucky. I hope it makes 1 million more people get vaccinated.”
WINNING THE FULL-RIDE SCHOLARSHIPS:
Jalen Crudup, of Elizabethtown
Jalen was joined by his parents, Shelma and Kerry Crudup. He said, “I would like to thank everyone for letting this happen and my mom for signing me up. I would like to encourage everyone to get vaccinated.”
His mom, Shelma, added, “We’re forever grateful for this opportunity. Thank you to Gov. Andy Beshear, his team and the state of Kentucky.”
Crystal Frost, of Crestwood
Crystal was joined by her parents, Chris and Laura Frost. She said, “Wow, I feel so lucky.”
Her dad, Chris, said, “Winning this scholarship means a lot. Having a senior, we are just starting the college process and this award will allow Crystal to explore options further from home – but not too far for her mom, who is glad she will be staying in state. Winning this scholarship gives our family the flexibility of not having to wonder where the money is going to come from to send Crystal to college and opens up how we will look at choosing a college.”
Tyler Henson, of Mt. Sterling
Tyler brought along his mother, Katie, father, Brad, twin, Aden, and brother, Nolan, and grandparents, Margie and Paul Purdon.
Tyler’s parents said, “As parents of twins, we have had double expenses for just about everything. Tyler receiving this scholarship will relieve the burden of having two in college at the same time and give us the opportunity to support both Tyler and Aden in receiving a higher education.”
Adison Sullenger, of Princeton
Adison was in attendance with her parents, David and Wendy Sullenger. She said, “Thank you for this opportunity. Standing here today I am really glad I did the right thing to not only protect myself but also my friends and family.”
Alex VonderHaar, of Louisville
The son of Deek and Colleen VonderHaar, said, “I want to thank everybody for helping me getting the vaccine, especially Dr. Allgeier. This is a great opportunity. I did not think I was going to get a scholarship, especially going into 7th grade, so thank you, everybody.”
His father, Deek, added, “We would like to thank Gov. Beshear and his entire team for putting this together. This is an exciting opportunity for 15 rising collegiate students. This is going to make a real difference for our family, and I am sure many others, by doing the right thing and getting vaccinated.”
This drawing will be done three times for a total of three $1 million winners and 15 scholarships.
The next two drawings are July 29 and Aug. 26. The winners are announced the following day.
Florida state lawmakers backed away from much of their plan to gut a beloved higher education scholarship program after significant backlash from students and parents.
More than 110,000 college students received the merit-based Bright Futures scholarship in 2020, but that number might have been significantly reduced after Republican state Sen. Dennis Baxley introduced Senate Bill 86. His proposal said only students going into fields he believes would yield high-paying jobs could receive the award, which pays between 75 and 100 percent of in-state tuition at public and private universities.
If passed, SB 86 would have left out students who wanted to study history, arts or English, with no money for a scholarship that has been part of Florida’s higher education system since the 1990s. Students felt like they were about to be forced to choose between scholarship money and their academic interests.
“It was devastating,” high school student Alexandro Valdez, 16, said of the proposal. “A politician was saying my dreams weren’t worth funding.”
The merit-based scholarship uses money from the state lottery and is awarded to high-achieving students based on a combination of high school credits, standardized test scores, volunteer hours and GPA thresholds. Since 1997, that state has doled out $6.8 billion in tuition to more than 2.8 million students. But the proposed cuts didn’t stop at the restrictions on majors — SB 86 also would have reduced aid given to students who had already taken college or Advanced Placement courses in high school, and would have reduced the amount awarded to those who had certain other scholarships.
Valdez was not alone in his ire. Students, parents, arts groups and others said SB 86 would ruin a program that makes in some cases, out of reach educational opportunities available to the state’s best students. Students currently in the program said they were blindsided, as did high schoolers who had been planning their entire secondary education around the scholarship.
“If our education is being messed with, our thoughts and input should be in consideration,” Valdez said.
He and a group of teenagers from Orlando and Tallahassee jumped into action. They created a website, “Save Bright Futures” that provided information on what was happening and how they could help. Annotating the bill to make it accessible to a broader audience, they laid out the ramifications and encouraged fellow Floridians to sign petitions, call representatives, and go to the Senate hearings and testify.
Kaylee Duong, 18, who helped organize the Save Bright Futures campaign, said the proposed changes put her in a tough spot. A senior, Duong is currently trying to decide where to go to college. Both her older brothers were recipients of the scholarship and as she went through middle and high school, her family made sure she was getting all the requirements in place so she could receive it too. SB 86 made Duong more seriously consider out-of-state colleges, where she thought her financial aid might be more stable.
“It’s safe to say if this wasn’t happening, it would be a much easier choice and I would probably attend in-state,” she said. Not lost on Duong is part of the point of Bright Futures is to prevent brain drain and keep the state’s smartest students home.
One of Duong’s fellow organizers, Lorenzo Urayan, who wants to go to art school, grew concerned he wouldn’t be able to afford college unless he studied something state legislators deemed more “practical” under the proposed changes.
“I think both STEM and the humanities are important,” Urayan, 17, said. “It’s not fair for politicians to decide what you should study.”
Duong and Urayan were not alone in their outrage. In his letter to fellow state senators in March announcing the withdrawal of some of the most controversial changes, Baxley wrote “We have awakened a giant.”
High school students Heesu Seo, Thomas Truong, Alexandro Valdez and Shaheer Ali at the Florida Capitol in Tallahassee, where they lobbied legislators to save the Bright Futures scholarship, on March 18.Courtesy Shaheer Ali
An imperfect good
While Baxley’s withdrawal of his revisions was a major win for students fighting to save the scholarship, advocates and other lawmakers said the fight is ongoing.
“It’s still not a good bill,” said Rep. Anna Eskamani, a Democrat who was a recipient of the Bright Futures scholarship when she was in college.
Some lawmakers in the House are now proposing a cut to the textbook stipend in the scholarship, which would save $37 million.
“Big changes are off the table for now,” Eskamani said, “but students who need that textbook stipend deserve that access.”
The program itself isn’t perfect either. Black students make up more than 21 percent of Florida’s K-12 student population, but only 6 percent of Bright Futures recipients are Black. And while white students compromise 36 percent of total students, they have amounted to more than half of the scholarship’s recipients every year since the program’s inception.
Scholars have found that state-provided merit aid can often give money to already-advantaged students, and is not focused on improving access for underprivileged students, said Justin Ortagus, director of the Institute of Higher Education at the University of Florida’s College of Education.
Ortagus, who was a recipient of the scholarship himself, said that doesn’t mean merit aid programs aren’t successful at their intended purpose.
“We have to be honest about what we are prioritizing, and merit aid is not the mechanism to close equity gaps,” he said. A program like Bright Futures “makes a lot of sense for the state” because its goals are to keep the state’s best and brightest at home so they can contribute to the local economy and increase the prestige of local institutions, Ortagus said.
While the program doesn’t explicitly aim to help low-income students, it does end up helping many, including Ortagus, who grew up low-income and went to the school where he now teaches with 100 percent of his tuition covered.
SB 86, he suspects, would have only exacerbated inequality that is already endemic to many merit aid programs.
The students who helped fight to save the scholarship said they know it’s not perfect, and that the experience successfully lobbying the state Legislature to save Bright Futures has emboldened them to continue fighting for more equitable higher education in Florida
“Bright futures has always disproportionately had less Black and brown recipients because of the SAT requirement,” said Thomas Truong, an 16-year-old organizer with Save Bright Futures. “What this would have done is restrict it even more for minorities.”
“We want education to be accessible to everyone,” he said. Now, he now feels like he can be a voice in making that happen.
