Ohio State football: OSU awaits ruling on Palaie Gaoteote eligibility

The Ohio State football team is still waiting on eligibility on a big-time transfer linebacker and it’s unclear when it will get cleared up.

When former USC linebacker Palaie Gaoteote announced his decision to transfer to Ohio State, there was a lot of excitement among Buckeye fans. He’s a big-bodied, proven talent who can make an immediate impact on a unit thin on scholarship players.

He arrived in Columbus, enrolled in classes, and was listed in the student directory back in June. However, his name did not appear on the Ohio State roster. The only indication Gaoteote was a part of the Buckeye football program was a picture posted to social media showing him at a gathering with the other linebackers. Now we know why. He is awaiting word from the NCAA on if he’ll be able to play for Ohio State this season.

Under the new NCAA transfer rule, a player may do so once without having to sit out a season. So, what is the problem with Gaoteote? Ryan Day explained during Big Ten Media Days,

"“This one’s a little bit different. This is more of an eligibility situation.”"

Just what the “eligibility situation” entails we don’t know, because Day did not elaborate. He did say Gaoteote is allowed to participate in team activities but is not on scholarship,

"“He’s paying his own way right now. And then we’re going to hear from the NCAA about his eligibility here maybe in a few weeks, and then we’ll go from there.”"

Fall camp opens for the Buckeyes next week. Their opening game is on September 2nd. If the NCAA does do their usual feet-dragging on eligibility rulings, Gaoteote is still able to practice and prepare for the season. But, there is a very real possibility he may not play in 2021.

There is also the very real possibility the ruling will not come until after the regular season has started. Obviously, one of those scenarios is far worse than the other, but neither are good for a linebacker unit struggling with depth.

We waited on Gaoteote’s decision on where he would transfer. Now we wait to see if he’ll be able to play this year. Don’t hold your breath waiting for a quick decision from the NCAA. That has never been their style. Stay tuned Ohio State football fans.