FanHouse Jason Gwaltney

When over half of the 2005 recruiting classes top 20, according to Rivals.com, has had some sort of off the field trouble, I guess it's fair to say we have a story. In all fairness, I found myself in handcuffs at the age of 19. But I just want to point out that I blew a .000 and the Kanawha County Sheriff admitted to the Magistrate that it was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'll be explaining that one to my parents in 3...2...1...

Off field trouble isn't anything new to college athletes. I think to a certain extent it's something we should expect. It's easy for those of us with marginal athletic ability to say how we'd do it if we were in the shoes of a five star recruit. But since we'll never know that experience, it's probably better to expect that we would do everything exactly the same as we did it without the world looking in on us. And when kids that never had anything, for the majority, suddenly find themselves the recipient of rock star attention, sometimes things go wrong.

15. RB Jason Gwaltney Long Island, N.Y. West Virginia Steve Slaton was that "other" tailback West Virginia signed in 2005, but he quickly became the superior one when Gwaltney suffered a knee sprain midway through his freshman season and failed to perform academically. He transferred to Nassau Community College in Garden City, N.Y., but left there without any transferable academic credits. He was arrested for speeding and underage drinking in Morgantown in 2007 but is trying to regain eligibility so he can play with the Mountaineers as a walk-on.

Being a West Virginia fan, I'm always going to point at Jason first. And despite everything that has happened to him, he still finds himself in a position to make the Mountaineer squad and salvage his career. Other notable second chance recipients on that list are Ryan Perrilloux, Mark "Dirty" Sanchez, Justin King, and Fred Rouse who is expected to join Perrilloux at Jacksonville St. No word if the Gamecocks will be changing their mascot name to the Raiders. Others haven't been so lucky.

4. DE Melvin Alaeze Randallstown, Md. Maryland After failing to meet academic requirements to play for the Terrapins, Alaeze was arrested in February 2006 on five marijuana-related offenses. He wound up with Ron Zook at Illinois later that year but was quickly suspended for missing classes and left for what he cited as personal reasons. He was arrested that December in Randallstown for his involvement in a robbery and shooting and was sentenced this past November to eight years in prison.

I have a list in my head of the 10 most impossible things. And on it near the top is Jason Gwaltney playing for West Virginia again. Laugh if you will, but it looks rather possible now.

"We'd welcome him back, sure,'' Stewart said. "If he can get his eligibility back, after all he's put into it, everybody deserves a second chance. But understand, it's all about chemistry. And Jason or anybody else in our program will have to follow all of our guidelines as far as going to class and being accountable. If he does all of that, certainly we'd welcome him.''

That's a lot to ask if you consider Jason's past with the Mountaineers, coach. You sure you don't want to tone that down a bit? West Virginia does need someone for short yardage situations. But still, is it worth it? I mean....well....what conversation took place in order to make this possible?

(phone rings)

WVU: Hello?

Jason: Hey baby!

WVU: Oh, it you! I thought we settled this last time!

Jason: Now come on baby. You know you're the only one I've ever been serious about. All those Community Colleges? That was just so I could get back to you.

WVU: But...

Jason: Now look! I really need you in my corner this time! Don't worry your pretty head about anything. Daddy's back and he's going to make everything right. I got myself squared away and I'm going to be everything you thought I was in 2005. You remember 2005 don't you?

Jason Gwaltney is no longer playing football for anyone, but he's still screwing up football teams:

Free safety Quinton Andrews, 19, of Miami, Fla., was charged Saturday morning with obstructing an officer, Chief Deputy Al Kisner with the Monongalia County Sheriff's Department said Tuesday. Former Mountaineer running back Jason Gwaltney, 20, of Morgantown, was charged with underage consumption of alcohol, speeding and failure to produce an operator's license. According to the criminal complaint, Gwaltney was pulled over after a deputy clocked him traveling 36 mph in a 25 mph zone.

Now might be a good time to review the Ballad of Jason Gwaltney, a man an enthralled Ohio State fan once called "Maurice Clarett with a brain." Not so much. Though I subscribe to Rivals.com and believe in the usefulness of recruiting sites and the rankings they provide, the odd story of a very large, very weird running back from New York provides a cautionary tale. Described as "a man amongst boys," Gwaltney was one of those kids who seems sprung fully formed from the womb, as if he had burst from Zeus' head with a particularly violent stiffarm. So it was a small shock when Gwaltney committed to then-insignificant West Virginia just a couple months into the recruiting cycle.

When you are a five-star recruit coming out of high school, the world and all it's possibilities must look very large. But by the same token, when you are given chance after chance after chance and you fail to capitalize on your opportunities the world can begin to seem very small and lonely.

This is the case for Jason Gwaltney. He arrived to West Virginia with much fan fare, headlines , and an announcement on national television. But Jason is off the West Virginia football team now, and if you weren't looking closely, you might have missed it.

Rodriguez also said former five-star recruit Jason Gwaltney is no longer with the Mountaineer program and hasn't been since the start of spring practice.

A funny thing happened on the way to the NFL. Funny, unless you are Jason Gwaltney. The kid that had can't miss written all over him missed. Big time! The details of his demise aren't all that clear from reading the link above. Honestly, any details would be nice. It's odd that this would come out a month after West Virginia's spring practice concluded. But looking at the placement of that paragraph in the article from the Register-Herald, it must have been expected. I guess it's Babylon Community College or bust for Jason Gwaltney now. So long Jason, we hardly knew you.


Previously at The Fanhouse:

Jason Gwaltney IS Back in Morgantown