Andy Staples calls out NCAA hypocrisy over Tyler Brown, Maason Smith cases

Multiple waiver requests have gone against players heading into the 2023 season. Colorado offensive lineman Tyler Brown was the latest, with the NCAA saying he cannot immediately play, Coming in from Jackson State, mental health issues were the basis behind Brown’s waiver.

“Tyler Brown is an offensive lineman at Colorado,” Andy Staples said during Tuesday’s episode of Andy Staples On3. “He transferred from Jackson State, played for Deion Sanders there. He had originally transferred from Louisiana before that. So, I think you know where this is going… If you transferred a second time, you probably did not get your waiver approved.

“The NCAA did not approve a waiver for Tyler Brown. Who had appealed saying that for the sake of his mental health, he needed to be able to play immediately.”

Brown is not the only player going through this. North Carolina wide receiver Tez Walker and Florida State defensive lineman Darrell Jackson are two of the biggest cases. Having their own reasons for transferring a second time, the NCAA denied both of playing time this season.

The NCAA’s reasoning behind denying the waiver is due to a rule change. Had the waivers been decided on before the New Year, all three of Brown, Jackson, and Walker would have had a legitimate chance of securing eligibility.

Staples called out the hypocrisy of the move from the NCAA, especially after suspending LSU defensive lineman Maason Smith for Sunday’s top-10 showdown against Florida State.

“(Brown) enrolled at Colorado in December,” Staples said. “That was before the NCAA did change this rule. And yes, they said the rule change was coming. But if we all remember — the NCAA also said NIL was going to be allowed on July 1, 2021. So, when Maason Smith, the LSU defensive tackle, participated in an autograph signing about a month before that — well, he probably shouldn’t have been punished using that logic.

“Oh, wait. He’s missing the Florida State game because of doing something that is completely within the rules now. This is why everyone hates the NCAA.”

Andy Staples calls out coaches behind motive of ripping NCAA

Coaches have been calling out the NCAA left and right. Even Michigan‘s Jim Harbaugh has a gripe with them, talking about revenue sharing with players among different topics. It’s no secret that nobody in college football enjoys the NCAA and their process of handling issues.

Staples did notice, though, that commotion seems to only arise when coaches see their programs affected by the decision.

“We only hear this from these coaches when they have their own problems with the NCAA,” Staples said. “I know (Harbaugh) is frustrated with the NCAA… Deion Sanders, it’s nice that you say this now when it affects your team. Say it when it doesn’t affect your team too and then maybe you’ll infect some real change.”

Especially when it comes to the NCAA transfer portal, something many coaches across the country have spoken out against. Not particularly Deion Sanders, someone Staples made sure to say he was not specifically calling out.

Just in general, Staples feels like the complaints come from coaches when convenient to them.

“Everything we have heard from coaches until these waiver decisions started going against them about the transfer portal is ‘You got to limit it. You can’t let it be free agency all the time.’ That’s all they’ve been saying and they’ve been complaining non-stop. So, the only time we hear them complain for compassion from the NCAA is when it affects their team negatively.”