Marshall safety Wint declared eligible by NCAA

• Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Elder WriterAug 31, 2023, 05:57 PM ET

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  • College football reporter.
  • Joined ESPN.com in 2008.
  • Graduate of Northwestern University.Marshall safety Jahsen Wint

, a previous Ohio State player who was acquitted of rape and kidnapping charges in February, was stated qualified to play by the NCAA on Thursday.Wint, who transferred to Marshall in May, is set to play for

the Roaring Herd in Saturday’s season opener versus Albany. The game will mark Wint’s first in 1,386 days.In February 2020, Wint and another Ohio State player, Amir Riep, were implicated of rape by another Ohio State trainee. Ohio State dismissed both players a day after they were charged with rape and kidnapping.On Feb. 9, an Ohio jury found both Wint and Riep innocent of all charges.

Their attorneys had actually argued throughout the trial that they both had consensual sex with the female trainee. Ohio State renewed Wint following his acquittal and awarded him his degree from the school.Sean Tuttle, Marshall’s associate athletic director for compliance, notified Wint on Thursday that the NCAA had actually

cleared him to play.”The entire method here, I was simply questioning what would happen,”Wint told Marshall’s sports site, herdzone.com.

“I was having hope that whatever would be good, but in your mind, you constantly wonder,’What if it doesn’t?’Emotions simply started to develop and I was crying midway on my walk down. I saw Sean standing there and he told me the news. It resembled a huge weight was off my shoulder– boulders were lifted.”Riep announced in Might that he would be transferring to play for Lincoln University in California.Wint, a native of Brooklyn, New York City, had 39 career deals with and

a sack while playing for Ohio State from 2017 to 2019. His last game took place Nov. 16, 2019, versus Rutgers.”In a time when the NCAA is under extreme examination, they were really thorough in analyzing the info we were able to collect and present on Jahsen’s behalf, and they were able

to eventually decide that was in the best interest of the student-athlete while keeping the stability of their guidelines and protocols in place, “Marshall coach Charles Huff informed herdzone.com.”This goes to reveal that with correct collaboration, communication and insight, we can be fantastic here at Marshall and produce opportunities for boys like Jahsen to create worth for themselves.”