Arizona frosh deemed eligible by NCAA clearinghouse
Rich Rodriguez's days of waiting for word from the NCAA are over for this season.
True freshman Luca Bruno was cleared Thursday afternoon, the program announced via its Twitter account.
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The 6-4, 259-pound defensive lineman was waiting for his high school grades to clear and count at Arizona. Rodriguez said after Wednesday's practice that the wait was "frustrating" because the paperwork from Bruno's high school in Oak Park, Calif., was submitted.
In the past month, Rodriguez said Bruno's father was even involved in an effort to speed up the process.
Had the wait continued deeper into the season, Rodriguez said the staff would have had to consider treating 2013 essentially as a redshirt year for Bruno - except without much of a choice and only if he was eligible.
Instead, the worry now is getting Bruno up to speed with the rest of his teammates. Before the season, Rodriguez said Bruno would compete for time as Tevin Hood's backup at nose tackle.
"He hasn't practiced in a month. It may take him two, three weeks just to get ready now," Rodriguez said.
The Wildcats are in the middle of a bye week and will return to action next Thursday at USC.
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GOAZCATS.com Senior Editor