Ohio State Linebacker Palaie Gaoteote’s Eligibility Request Denied By NCAA

The USC transfer has been on campus since June and paying his own way while awaiting word from the NCAA.

Author:
Andrew Lind
Sep 9, 2021 1:04 PM EDT

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day announced during his media availability on Thursday afternoon that USC transfer linebacker Palaie Gaoteote had his request for immediate eligibility denied by the NCAA.

“We got word that he got denied, so we’re going to try to figure out what’s next,” Day said, “We’re obviously really disappointed that he wasn’t granted an opportunity to play this season, so we’ll kind of regroup and see what’s next here.”

Day did not share a reason for the NCAA’s decision, but added that Ohio State would look into an appeal. Gaoteote will remain on the roster with an eye on contributing next season, meanwhile.

“We are going to look back into it and see if there possibly could be some kind of appeal or not," Day said. "But we’ll try to put a plan together for what’s next for him.”

Geoteote has been on campus and paying his own way since June, and even participated in fall camp while awaiting word from the NCAA. He did not receive first- or second-team reps, though, due to the uncertainty of his request and did not travel with the team to the season opener at Minnesota.

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