As was widely expected, Houston officially appealed on behalf of quarterback Case Keenum for a sixth year of eligibility. Keenum tore his ACL against UCLA, the third game of the 2010 season. If the NCAA grants Keenum's request, he would be well within reach of most NCAA career passing records in 2011.
The outside view of the appeal makes Keenum's chances look very slim. He will have to prove that the redshirt he took in 2006 was out of the control of himself and the school. Even if Keenum or UH had evidence of a medical problem from that year, which has never been made public in any form up to this point, the NCAA could still logically question whether it was truly the severity of the injury that kept Keenum from playing, and not the fact that Kevin Kolb and Blake Joseph were firmly entrenched ahead of him on the depth chart.
Cougar safety Jacky Candy is also expected to appeal for a sixth year. Candy came to Houston in 2009 as a redshirt junior, transferring from Coffeyville CC. He missed the entire 2009 season with an injury, however. If Candy and Houston can show that the redshirt he took before transferring to UH was injury-related (and really, why else would you redshirt at the junior college level?) he would be a textbook case of a player who the NCAA should grant an extra year to.
Candy played in all 12 games in 2010, starting six, racking up 60 tackles, and developing a reputation as perhaps the hardest hitter on the team. His pass coverage skills weren't always as impressive as his tackling, however. If he does return, expect him to either use the summer to refine his coverage skills, or perhaps bulk up and move to linebacker.
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