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Dan Mullen suggests 5th year for players above minimum GPA

The NCAA is instituting new minimum GPA rules in 2016, and Mississippi State Dan Mullen wants to add a wrinkle to the rules.

Starting next August, recruits must have a minimum 2.3 GPA in high school core courses and have a combined SAT and ACT score to match the GPA via a scale. If a recruit doesn't meet those requirements but has a GPA above the old 2.0 threshold, he or she must take an academic redshirt year.

Mullen wants any player who has a GPA of over 2.3 to be able to play five years instead of four.

From AL.com:

"You might take a freshman and they are being punished for having better grades. They might be forced to play even though they needed a redshirt year," Mullen says. "One of the thoughts I had was there's a mandatory academic redshirt year for a certain group of people...well, if you are above that new standard you should get five years of eligibility. Why punish someone who might be forced to have to play?

"Instead of punishing guys for doing bad, why not reward guys for doing good?"

It's an out-of-the-box idea that sounds like it would fit in with the NCAA's emphasis that athletes are students first and athletes second. Could it get some consideration? It doesn't sound likely.

Mullen readily admits that his idea has never gotten traction at any SEC or coaches meeting. He's a man on an island on this one.

And without any support, it's probably not going to become even close to a reality, either.

As he alludes to in his explanation of the rule, the idea stems from the possibility that a school would be forced to have a high number of academic redshirts and not redshirt players who would normally be redshirts as freshmen. And a player who would normally redshirt but play a few plays a game on special teams would still have four more years to play.

But with the new rules clearly stated by the NCAA, it's fair to wonder if concerns about a high number of academic redshirts could be overblown. There will be some – especially initially – but high schools and recruits know what their athletes need to do to avoid a redshirt and can make sure that the 2.3 GPA and other requirements are met. Or met as easily as possible, anyway.

For more Mississippi State news, visit BulldogBlitz.com.

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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!