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J.R. House--Football Comeback?

osugrad21

Capo Regime
Staff member
Anyone remember this name? Big-time prospect back in the day...

USC= South Carolina in this article

House Contacts USC Staff

By Phil Kornblut
Former high school quarterback sensation and Pittsburgh Pirate farmhand J.R. House (6-1 215) has contacted USC about possibly starting a college football career. House, a catcher, was released by the Pirates March 9th. He was the team's fifth round draft pick in 1999 but suffered through an injury plagued career capped by another surgery for a rotator cuff tear just two weeks ago according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Rehabilitation from that surgery is expected to last until September or October. The 25 year old house missed two weeks of the Triple A season last year with a sprained knee. In 2003 he missed the first three and a half months of the season because of reconstructive surgery on his right elbow. He played in just 35 minor league games in 2002 because of abdominal injuries. And in 2001 he had two stints on the disabled list because of rib-cage muscle injuries. House played in five major league games during his time in the Pittsburgh organization. House signed with West Virginia in February of 1999. In his senior season at Nitro HIgh School in West Virginia, he passed for 5526 yards and 65 touchdowns with only 9 interceptions. For his career he passed for 14,456 yards which at the time was the national record. According to a source, House recently contacted USC to express his interest in joining the program. But the source said USC would not pursue House. If he decided to enroll at USC and was admitted, he could then talk with the football staff about walking on the team.
 
i saw him play once and he was incredible. i don't know how the arm is anymore but he has all the tools from the neck up. even with a dinged up arm he could be a 27 or 28 year old version of joe germaine someday. maybe not the prototype NFL qb but he could win a ton of games in the right system.
 
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Looks like Irontonbuck was correct about the 'Neers. House is enrolling at WVU.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/football/ncaa/04/08/bc.fbc.wvirginia.house.ap/index.html

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) -- Former Nitro quarterback J.R. House, released by the Pittsburgh Pirates last month, is in the process of enrolling at West Virginia University, which could lead to the resumption of his football career.
House's academic transcripts have been forwarded to WVU, The Charleston Gazette reported Friday. Upon acceptance, he could enroll in summer school courses that begin in late May.
If the record-setting quarterback is invited onto the football team and his surgically repaired shoulder heals in time, he could join the Mountaineers for fall camp in August and compete for the starting job vacated by the departed Rasheed Marshall.

"I've pretty much mastered the art of rehabilitation," House said during a workout Thursday. "An old man like me has to stay in shape."

NCAA rules prohibit WVU coach Rich Rodriguez from talking about the possibility of House becoming a member of the football team.

The newspaper said House has been asked not to talk about his status until the paperwork is completed. But the 25-year-old said he believes his age, his many surgeries and 6-year layoff from football aren't issues if he resumes the sport.

"What I do as a football player is distribute the football. I don't think age will affect what I do," he said. "I've never been the fastest guy in the world, so it's not like I've lost anything there. It shouldn't matter if I'm 15 or 25 or 35."

House was released by the Pirates two weeks after having season-ending surgery on his right rotator cuff. It was the catcher's fourth surgery in as many seasons.

In 2002, he had surgeries to repair an abdominal muscle pull and hernia. At the end of that season, he underwent reconstructive surgery on his right elbow and didn't play again until August 2003.

"I've lost my elbow, I've lost my shoulder. I feel like the bionic man sometimes," House said. "But I've also had the best doctors in the world."

His doctors told House that his recovery from shoulder surgery would take six or seventh months, but that he can start throwing a football in May. House said the throwing motions for the two sports are different.

"Just about every time I threw a baseball, my arm was sore. But the mechanics and the motion of throwing a football, the velocity, are so much different," he said. "My arm was never sore throwing a football."

He certainly threw it a lot.

House set numerous West Virginia high school passing records at Nitro and holds the national record for career completions.

In the 1998 Class AAA championship game against Morgantown, House set state records for total offense (609 yards), completions (43), passing yards (594) and touchdown passes (10).

He passed up an opportunity to play college football to pursue a pro baseball career and was the Pirates' fifth-round draft pick in 1999.
 
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strohs said:
Chris Weinke comes to mind.
Wasnt he 27 or something?
Close, he was actually 28 when he won the Heisman in 2000. From the Heisman.com web site:

Chris Weinke became Florida State's second Heisman Trophy Winner, following the 1993 Winner Charlie Ward. Chris, who spent 7 years playing professional baseball, became the oldest Heisman Trophy Winner at age 28.
 
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BuckeyeBill73 said:
Close, he was actually 28 when he won the Heisman in 2000. From the Heisman.com web site:

Chris Weinke became Florida State's second Heisman Trophy Winner, following the 1993 Winner Charlie Ward. Chris, who spent 7 years playing professional baseball, became the oldest Heisman Trophy Winner at age 28.
He's a baby compared to "Pops" Frisby:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=ncf&id=1888891

Saturday, September 25, 2004

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Associated Press


<!-- BEGIN INLINE UNIT -->
<!-- END INLINE UNIT -->COLUMBIA, S.C. -- "Pops" Frisby finally made his college football debut -- at the age of 39.

Tim Frisby, the Army veteran who is a walk-on receiver for South Carolina, went in for the Gamecocks' final four plays in Saturday's 17-7 victory over Troy.

Frisby got a loud cheer from the crowd of 79,700 at Williams-Brice Stadium when he entered the game with 2:13 remaining, then lined up by himself wide to the right as the Gamecocks ran through the middle to finish things off.

When it ended, he got back slaps and pats from teammates and coaches.

"I'm just glad coach put the trust in me to go out there," Frisby said. "I was glad to be part of it."

The NCAA gave Frisby, a 20-year Army vet who retired this summer, clearance to play for the Gamecocks this week. Eligibility questions from his time at two Allentown, Pa., high schools kept him on the sideline for games against Georgia and South Florida.

Frisby was among five Gamecocks who led the rest of the team in pre-game calisthenics Saturday. He raised his helmet to the sky like his teammates during the opening kickoff. Then he stood on the sideline and watched, until making his debut at the end.

But Frisby is quite different than his teammates. He's got six children, and the oldest -- who is 16 -- is nearly the age of some of those teammates.

During his military career, Frisby was a Ranger-qualified member of the 82nd Airborne. He served in Desert Storm and the conflict in Kosovo.

He carries a 3.8 GPA in broadcast journalism, which he hopes to turn into a second career.



This story is from ESPN.com's automated news wire.
 
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