College football notes: Ole Miss recruit cleared to play

Published 11:19 pm Monday, July 28, 2008

OLE MISS: The Southeastern Conference has cleared long-suffering Mississippi recruit Jerrell Powe to play this season, three years after he signed with the Rebels.

Powe will be a 21-year-old freshman when practice begins this weekend after meeting Ole Miss academic requirements and the NCAA’s continuing eligibility standards.

The NCAA twice denied the Waynesboro, Miss., native’s eligibility before declaring him a partial qualifier last August with the stipulation that he must complete a year of college before joining the team. Powe suffers from the learning disabilities dyslexia and attention deficit disorder, which have hampered his ability to meet eligibility requirements.

He passed 24 credit hours during the last academic year and has been cleared by SEC commissioner Mike Slive to join the team immediately.

SOUTH CAROLINA: An attorney for South Carolina freshman receiver Dion Lecorn says the simple possession of marijuana charge against his client has been dismissed. Attorney Lowell Bernstein says the case was dismissed Monday for lack of evidence.

Bernstein says Lecorn took a university-administered drug test two days after his February arrest and it showed no signs of drug use.