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USF confirmed after Saturday’s scrimmage that Ole Miss tight end transfer Jacob Mathis has been granted a waiver from the NCAA and will be eligible to play during the 2018 season. Our own Nathan Bond broke the news on Twitter during Fan Fest.
The news came just four days after he was added to the roster on Tuesday.
Got my eligibility to play this year. thanks everyone who came out to fan day #Home #Gobulls
— Jacob (YG) Mathis (@Cuddie_J) August 12, 2018
A hometown kid out of Berkeley Prep in Tampa, Mathis was a consensus four-star prospect in the 2016 recruiting cycle, catching 46 passes for 691 yards and eight touchdowns during his senior season.
Rated as the No. 1 TE-H prospect in the nation by ESPN, the Under-Armour All-American chose Ole Miss over offers from a plethora of schools, including Michigan, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Ohio State and of course, the hometown Bulls.
He would redshirt in Oxford as a true freshman in 2016 and according to our friends over at Red Cup Rebellion, he simply got lost on the depth chart with the emergence of fellow 2016 signees Dawson Knox and Octavious Cooley.
He decided to transfer after spring practice in April, following other former Rebels like quarterback Shea Patterson and wide receiver Van Jefferson, who made the decision to leave after the school was hit with sanctions by the NCAA in December.
Mathis’s eligibility adds immediate depth to a thin USF tight end core that includes veteran Mitchell Wilcox, redshirt freshman Frederick Lloyd Jr., and true freshman Chris Carter Jr.