Hopefully, Jeremiah Masoli Won't Be Just Another Jamar Hornsby For Ole Miss

According to ESPN's Joe Schad, the University of Mississippi has decided to allow Jeremiah Masoli to enroll in one of their graduate programs this fall. Masoli would not be granted a scholarship to the Ole Miss football team, but he would be granted access as a walk-on.

That said, there is the possibility that Masoli, who is a good student, could receive financial aid in the form of reduced tuition or grant money to assist in covering the cost of out-of-state tuition at Ole Miss. If Masoli does enroll, it would be the second time in as many seasons that coach Houston Nutt has taken a chance on a player with a history of legal troubles.

In 2009, Nutt decided to take a chance on former Florida Gator, Jamar Hornsby. Hornsby was dismissed from the Gators after the 2007 season when it was discovered he used the credit card of a deceased student—a young lady who died in a motorcycle accident—to charge items amounting to more than $3000. The student turned out to be the girlfriend of his teammate, Joe Haden.

Horsnby never played a down in Oxford. He was charged with assault and, subsequentially, released by Nutt before the start of the season.

Masoli will be Nutt's second attempt at trying on a troubled player. If it works out for him, he will be lauded for having the foresight to give a guy another chance to make good on his skills. However, if the plan backfires, Nutt could see his seat in Oxford become a lot less comfortable.

Nothing is set in stone yet, so this deal could falter and fail, but if it doesn't, the only issue Nutt will hope to face is how to fit Masoli into his pro-style offense. Masoli worked out of a spread-option system at Oregon and, at 5'11" isn't exactly the ideal height for a pro-style QB.

Either way, Nutt appears to be rolling the dice on this one. Hopefully, second times the charm.