Iowa DE Drew Ott's medical hardship waiver denied
Iowa defensive end Drew Ott will be heading to the NFL.
Ott was applying for a medical hardship waiver with the NCAA, but his request has been declined. .Ott confirmed the news in an Instagram post.
"Finding out that my time has come to an end here at Iowa leaves me with a lot of people to thank," Ott wrote. "Thank you to my coaches for giving me the opportunity, believing in me, and staying with me through this whole process. Hawkeye fans, you have been amazing and thank you for the constant support. I wouldn't have been able to do any of this without my friends and family."
Thank you @DrewDanielOtt | #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/LfRHcRnqGY
— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) April 13, 2016
"I'm disappointed for Drew, the decision and the process," Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz said. "I can't say enough good things about Drew and how's he's handled the situation. We're sorry he won't be with us for his full senior year. We're extremely appreciative for how he has represented the university."
Ott was asking for a fifth year from the NCAA after he suffered a torn ACL in October of 2015. The torn ACL came after he had played sparingly in the first six games of the season because of a dislocated elbow. As the NCAA waited to make a decision on his appeal, he was preparing for the NFL draft in case his appeal was denied.
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Ott did not redshirt in his time at Iowa and was appealing on the basis of the NCAA's 30 percent rule. While he appeared in more than the 30 percent threshold, he was limited because of the elbow injury.
He first applied for the redshirt in November, meaning the NCAA took over four months to decide he needed to enter the NFL draft. It's a good thing he was preparing for the draft just in case, because had he sat around expecting the NCAA to rule in his favor, he'd have been way behind other prospects with the draft just weeks away.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
