Another role model!

South Carolina's 'Pops' cleared by NCAA
Pete Iacobelli / Associated Press


COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - "Pops'' has gotten the green light from the NCAA to play football at South Carolina.

Tim Frisby, the Gamecocks' 39-year-old walk-on receiver, was granted his eligibility by the NCAA membership services staff, the school said Thursday.
Frisby is expected to be in uniform when the Gamecocks play Troy at Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday night.


Frisby, nicknamed Pops by his teammates, recently retired after 20 years in the U.S. Army, where he was Ranger-qualified with the 82nd Airborne. He served in Desert Storm and the Kosovo conflict.

His playing status was on hold because of eligibility concerns with the NCAA Clearinghouse, which certifies the eligibility of college football players and was not in existence when Frisby graduated from an Allentown, Pa., high school in 1983.

Kevin Lennon, NCAA vice president for member services, said Frisby's unique circumstance "was a key factor for us in making this decision."

Frisby began working out with the Gamecocks during the winter and went through spring practice with the team. He was invited back to South Carolina following summer camp last month.

Frisby caught a pass in the Gamecocks' last preseason scrimmage and dressed out in his No. 89 jersey for the Georgia game on Sept. 11. However, he did not play in South Carolina's 20-16 loss.

"To say that I'm excited would be an understatement," said Frisby, who turns 40 in February. "I'm just so thankful that this request had a happy conclusion."

Frisby is the father of six children ranging in age from 16 to about six months. Coach Lou Holtz has joked that he loves having Frisby on the team because his family boosts game attendance.

On Monday, Holtz said he wanted to play Frisby as soon the NCAA cleared him. "He's going to play this year because he deserves to play," Holtz said.

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Too cool!
:)

That is too cool, Richard!!! :) I'm not a Gamecock fan, having attended the rival in-state colllege, Clemson, but I will definitely be watching our for this fellow! Good for him, and good for Lou Holtz, giving him a chance. :D :D :D

I think that's great! If he hasn't played 4 years of college ball, then it shouldn't matter what age he is, if he can make the team.

I think having six kids would prepare you for anything!!!!!:D

Now that I think about it...My mom had six and I always thought she could have whupped Muhammad Ali's rear end.....:eek:

South Carolina's 39-year-old long shot
Former Airborne Ranger walks on for Holtz
By Matt Hayes

Updated: 12:41 a.m. ET June 3, 2004The age thing never was an issue until he pulled out his driver's license before practice one day and blew his teammates' minds. Now they call him "Pops." Say this much for Tim Frisby, South Carolina's oldest ever football walk-on: He's closer in age to the rest of the Gamecocks than he is to his 67-year-old coach, Lou Holtz.



But not by much.

Want someone to root for this summer? Here's your man: 39-year-old Tim Frisby, buried so deep on the depth chart of potential wide receivers at South Carolina, he probably won't make the team in the fall. A long shot at best. Yeah, like that's going to deter him from chasing a dream 20 years in the making.

This guy is an Airborne Ranger with the 6-1, 188-pound body of a 21-year-old. He fought in the first Gulf War and the conflict in Kosovo and has been standing guard for his country half his life. He gave up a basketball scholarship at Tennessee State to join the Army in 1984, and his physique hasn't changed much since those days.

Tell him the road ahead will be tough, and he'll tell you he has heard it already. Only there was a little more on the line every other time.

"I'm not seeking glory," Frisby says. "I just want to play."

So maybe the odds of that happening aren't too good. Maybe Frisby, who will retire from the Army this summer, has a better chance of being called up for active duty in Iraq or Afghanistan than making the team. College coaches treasure walk-on roster spots for a variety of reasons, the biggest being some of the projects develop into players who belong on the field in big games.

Frisby -- who says he's never spoken to Holtz and doubts the old coach knows his name -- has no upside athletically. He has a wife and six kids -- two of them in high school. He has a 3.8 grade point average and is older than South Carolina secondary coach David Reaves. He has less in common with his teammates than he does with assistant head coach Skip Holtz, Lou's son, who recently turned 40 in March and has been coaching football for the past 18 years.

One day, Frisby wants to work in television. Imagine that.

Bubblehead anchor: "What a war out there in Game 7, huh, Tim?"

Frisby: "Uh, yeah, Chip."

Tim Frisby is everything South Carolina needs. He's more than just a roster spot; he is inspiration and motivation. He is what coaches should want from players when they first step on campus, without four years of growth headaches.

He never gave up hope of playing, never let it escape his thoughts while hopping all over the globe. He played semipro football when he was stationed in Germany and played basketball in club leagues during the offseason to stay in shape. He's a rock, in better shape than most thirtysomethings -- and a lot of twentysomethings.

"I'm not here to be a mascot," Frisby says.

But the sad truth is it's a numbers game. The NCAA allows for only a certain number of walk-ons in the spring and fall, so Frisby's romancing of his athletic dreams could amount to a fling come August. Was the Gamecocks' spring game a sign? Frisby didn't get on the field. Still, there's something about him.

"I wish all our kids had his desire," says South Carolina receivers coach Rick Stockstill.

Maybe they can. Wouldn't it be refreshing if Frisby beat the odds, if the staff at South Carolina realized one player -- one story -- could positively affect their team chemistry like none other? College sports are about uncommon heroes in unlikely circumstances.

Here's your hero, South Carolina. Seize your moment. It's an easy trade, really. One roster spot for a season of crystallizing karma. At this point, Lou Holtz can use all the mojo he can get.

A few weeks ago, senior Matthew Thomas, the 21-year-old elder statesman of the Gamecocks' receivers, finally asked the question so many of his teammates wanted answered.

Seriously, how old are you?

Frisby pulled out his license and showed his birth date -- February 13, 1965 -- and "Pops" was born.

Maybe, just maybe, he'll be reborn.

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What a great re-birthday party this Saturday is gonna be!!
:D