That turned around fast; OSU LB granted immediate eligibility … On Thursday, Ohio State rather gloomily announced that the NCAA had turned down former USC LB Palaie Gaoteote’s petition for immediate eligibility. Then earlier today, they walked that back a bit saying that in fact no final decision had been reached. And earlier this evening, the NCAA confirmed that Gaoteote’s appeal for immediate eligibility had been granted. Gaoteote had joined the Buckeyes as a non-scholarship player in June while he waited for a resolution. Gaoteote, who was originally a highly-rated recruit at USC, started for two years for the Trojans during which time he had over 100 tackles, but played in only two games last season before suffering a season-ending concussion. He transferred to Ohio State this spring, but had to go through the appeal process to gain his eligibility because he entered the transfer portal a few days before the NCAA changed the rule to allow immediate eligibility.
