If the Big Ten can change its decision about when to play football, Rashod Bateman apparently feels he should be allowed to do the same thing.
A year after being named the Big Ten’s top wide receiver, records posted online show Bateman has enrolled as a full-time student at the University of Minnesota for the fall term.
Bateman last season caught 60 passes for 1,219 yards and 11 touchdowns for the Gophers, who won 11 games, topped Auburn in the Outback Bowl on New Year’s Day, and wound up in the top ten of many postseason polls.He’s the first Gopher to win Big Ten Receiver of the Year honors.It was Aug. 4, amid uncertainty about playing football in the fall because of the coronavirus pandemic, when Bateman announced he was not going to play for the Gophers and signed with agent Blake Baratz. According to NCAA rules, a student-athlete who signs with an agent is automatically ineligible.Bateman might be able to return to the Gophers for his junior season by getting a waiver from the NCAA Student-Athlete Reinstatement Process.The Gopher passing game has a big hole to fill, even if Bateman does return. Tyler Johnson, the former prep standout at Minneapolis North, was selected by Tampa Bay in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Johnson is a back-up wide receiver with the Bucs, and did not catch a pass in their season-opening loss to New Orleans.