First, I don't think Mauk will get his sixth year. The NCAA is a bunch of no exceptions, rule enforcers. That being said, as a UC fan, and a huge UC football fan (I literally was a Bearcat football fan when everyone was watching Huggins et. al. at The Shoe, I went to almost every home game, and even went on my old UC ID, for free, when I was grown up with a family, good times), I am torn as to whether it would be best to move on or not. I love Mauk, and I love his toughness and his leadership and what he brings to the table. But, at best, he's good for 8 games, sitting a couple with his robo arm hurting. So, it's probably time for BK to see who he's got at QB for the future. Maybe hire Mauk as a coach. He seems to have it mentally to be able to mentor whoever wins the job.

I'm with the NCAA on this one.  The rules are pretty clear: you get five years to compete in four.  He redshirted in 2003, so that gave him 2004-2007.  Mauk was lucky that he was allowed to transfer to UC in 2007 and play immediately; had it not been for an obscure rule that allowed grad students to transfer without sitting out a year (which has been rescinded since), he would have had to spend last season as a senior at Wake Forest, likely on the bench.  It would be a nice story if he were to get a sixth year, but at some point rules just have to be rules.  Life isn't always fair, and he's a great guy from all accounts, but once you start making exceptions everyone's going to want one.  The line has to be drawn somewhere.

Apparently Jim Grobe, coach of Wake Forest's football team, sent a letter backing Mauk's appeal to the NCAA earlier today.  Ben's appeal is based on the fact that he had major nerve damage in his foot/ankle in his senior year of high school that had not healed by the time he started playing football at WFU.  Grobe saw this and requested that Mauk be red-shirted so he could heal completely before he was imjected into the starting line-up for the Demon Deacons.  I for one believe his appeal has a good chance of being accepted because of the information he has given this time about the first year, which was the year in question since the beginning.

Mauk's biggest argument besides only playing in less than half a game the year he got injured, is that all freshman redshirt at Wake their first year and him sitting out the year before he got to UC should count as a transfer season. He already has made that year up, so I don't see the NCAA giving him much leeway there. Though I do think Mauk has a special case, which is why the NCAA is taking their time putting a ruling down. He probably deserves another year and I'd love to see him throwing touchdown passes to Dom Goodman this year, but I'm not expecting the NCAA to give him special treatment.