Yale QB Witt Chooses “The Game” Over Rhodes College Scholarship
Photo: Boston.com
It certainly isn’t every day that one hears about someone turning down their interview for one of the few college scholarships as prestigious as a Rhodes scholarship, the postgraduate scholarships offered to elite students that allow them to attend Oxford University in England to complete a Master’s or other degree. However, this week Yale quarterback Patrick Witt did just that, as his interview on Saturday comes at the same time as “The Game” – the football matchup between Yale and Harvard. With Yale in a three-way tie for second place and Harvard leading the division, it’s critical for the team that Witt be on the field. Thankfully, he will be.
Rhodes Trust: Nothing We Can Do About It
While Witt certainly wanted to be at his Rhodes interview – scheduled in Atlanta as he is from Georgia – there was nothing that the Rhodes Trust could do to change the timing to permit it. Elliot Gerson, the American Secretary for the Rhodes Trust organization, commented that even moving Witt’s interview up to Yale would be “irrelevant, as interviewees are required to remain at their respective locations for re-interviews until decisions are made around 3:00 pm”. Unless the interview had been moved to the sidelines of the matchup in New Haven, the interview wouldn’t have worked.
Patrick Witt isn’t the first Yale student to have a close call with a football game and a Rhodes interview. In 2009, Casey Gerald was selected for an interview; however, as his was on Friday night, he was able to turn around and play in the game the next day.
NFL or Rhodes Scholarship – Talk About a Difficult Decision!
College scholarships that can make one’s future career like the Rhodes are few and far between, but it isn’t Witt’s final shot to win one. Yale’s most prolific quarterback in nearly 140 years is still eligible for the next two years, which means that as long as he doesn’t declare for the NFL draft and end up signing with a team, he will be free to apply for the Rhodes scholarships again in the future. However, given how much interest Witt has generated with various NFL teams around the league, it may not be something he will be worrying about.
Witt himself admits that he would take the NFL path if it came about, stating that “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to play at the professional level. The Rhodes does affect that. If I win the scholarship, that would put the NFL on hold for at least a year or two. But if I don’t, then I would pursue the NFL in the spring and get an idea of what kind of opportunity I’d get at that level, if any.”
by Yale’s Witt Lost Rhodes due to Sexual Assault Allegations | EducationGrant.org on January 29 at 10:58 pm
[...] = "7927632428"; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 60; A couple of months ago, we reported on the story of Yale quarterback Patrick Witt and how he was sent to miss an interview f… due to his desire to play in “the game” against Harvard. However, according to a story [...]