Petrino honors scholarship, shows class on signing day
National Signing Day came and went for Idaho and the rest of the college football world, but as many people have heard by now, coach Paul Petrino and the Vandals did something extra special for a certain recruit.
Ben Evensen
Jace Malek, a fullback from West Valley High School in Spokane, was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma bone cancer just a week before signing day. Despite this news, Petrino kept the scholarship offer for Malek and he signed with the Vandals.
The diagnosis means Malek could potentially never play a down for Idaho, and it’s almost certain he will miss his entire freshman season. The 2-star recruit began chemotherapy treatment this month.
There have been cases of football players with Ewing’s Sarcoma persevering and coming back to football. Former Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich had the same cancer as Malek, and after being diagnosed with it his senior season, he was able to come back, play in the NFL for the New York Giants up until this year and even win a Super Bowl along the way.
Petrino’s commitment to Malek speaks volumes to the type of coach he is and how he wants the football program to be run. We have seen how little patience he has when it comes to off-field troubles. Just ask Dezmon Epps, who was dismissed from the team over the summer for violating team rules before being added back to the roster this spring. Honoring Malek is a just another example of the type of culture Petrino is bringing to the team.
It would be easy for Petrino or any coach to tell Malek they cannot honor his scholarship due to the unfortunate circumstances, but this is clearly not how Petrino operates — at least not the Petrino at Idaho.
Bobby Petrino, the older brother of Paul and current Louisville coach, only further hurt his reputation this signing day by doing the opposite of his brother. Running back Matthew Colburn from South Carolina was told just two days before signing day his scholarship at Louisville was being pulled. Reportedly, it was Louisville linebackers coach Tony Grantham who pulled the scholarship, but obviously it wouldn’t have happened without Bobby’s say-so.
Bobby Petrino used to coach at Idaho as the quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator from 1989-1991. In 2007, he infamously left his job as the Atlanta Falcons head coach after a rough 3-10 start to his first season in just Week 14 to take the coaching job at Arkansas.
Later, Bobby was dismissed from Arkansas after he crashed his motorcycle with a former Arkansas volleyball player in her 20s whom he had hired with a conflict of interest, an investigation later found.
Case in point, after these two bad incidents Bobby now is getting slammed again for pulling Colburn’s scholarship, all while his brother Paul honors one for a student with cancer. Colburn signed with Wake Forest after the debacle with Bobby and Louisville.
The honoring of the scholarship also helps the school and program as a whole. For the first time in a long time, the University of Idaho and its football program were broadcast all throughout national media for a very positive story.
Despite the cancer, Malek will now get a chance to be a part of a college football program on scholarship. Petrino cannot be praised enough for honoring Malek’s scholarship and with it he brings a needed positive light on the school and football team.
Ben Evensen can be reached at [email protected]