Big news came last week for Michigan football, when Wolverines right tackle Jalen Mayfield decided he would be returning to the program to play his redshirt sophomore year, after all.
When the Big Ten had postponed the fall 2020 season back on Aug. 11, it took one week for Mayfield to decide his future, and that decision was that he would turn the entirety of his focus to the 2021 NFL Draft as he has been a projected first-to-second round talent. With the conference then planning to have a spring season, Mayfield chose to opt out on Aug. 18.
However, on Sept. 18 — one month, to the day later, reports surfaced that the talented right tackle would reverse course, despite earlier reports indicating he would remain in the draft.
Now that Mayfield is back with the team, there was but one more challenge: he had signed with an agent. Per NCAA rules, that meant he would be ineligible, but given the unusual circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic, those who had moved forward with their careers could apply for a waiver to be reinstated to their respective teams — thus Mayfield did precisely that.
Speaking to Jon Jansen on the Inside Michigan Football program on the IMG radio network, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh delivered the good news to the maize and blue faithful that Mayfield had applied for said waiver and that it has, indeed, been approved by the NCAA.
“Jalen Mayfield — he did submit a waiver to be able to come back and play,” Harbaugh said. “And that waiver has been granted. I think that there were a few stipulations that he had to do, but that waiver has been granted that he can (come back and play).”
Fans have been waiting for the possibility that Michigan’s two other opt-outs — wide receiver Nico Collins and cornerback Ambry Thomas — would come back into the fold.
However, Harbaugh threw some cold water on the notion, saying that neither of the aforementioned have applied for such a waiver.
“Right now, at this point, Jalen was the only one who submitted that waiver to opt back in,” Harbaugh noted.
While that doesn’t mean it’s over on that front, it’s not an encouraging sign at the moment. However, Michigan has nearly a month before it opens the season, which begins at Minnesota on Oct. 24.
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