We have some others who could answer that better.
The things I do know for certain are:
1) A JC degree eliminates any qualifying concerns from the NCAA Clearinghouse.
2) A JC degree may include coursework that would not transfer into CU (D grades, PE courses, General Studies courses, etc.).
3) The NCAA requires that all athletes must be making stipulated progress toward a degree in order to be eligible to play (including selection of a major after the 2nd year).
Given that it's a 3rd year student, he needs to be accepted into a CU degree program and I think the issue is that some don't have the credits to meet minimum requirements.
I've got some insight here due two friends who are working for CU in volunteer positions helping with paperwork.
The whole idea that CU can't admit JC kids and shouldn't waste their time is really OLD news.
CU has some special requirements that other schools generally don't have, but if the AD understands these, and works with admissions, there is no MYSTERY.
During Tharp's years (the scandal) the AD and Admissions were not working together. Hawk learned this the hard way (with a certain RB). Bohn got it fixed.
The last several years, Admissions has been able to work with the AD early and often to identify what the kid will need to get into school and make it happen. It's been 100% I believe. We got Simmons in when no one thought he could get in.
As outlined earlier, JC kids are typically focused on becoming NCAA eligible, which is covered by Buffnik's summary above. They need to graduate and be on track for a degree in 5 years. That gets you into KSU and most places. CU doesn't have a PE major, nor some other flaky majors, and has some other minimum academic requirements. A lot of schools also have these, CU isn't alone.
It's just a matter of having the admin staff get on it early, check it out for Embree by working with admissions and there should be no mystery.
This formula has worked great the last 4 years and we've gone 100% I think on the JC kids.
The idea we can't get JC guys in is old news. Old like, CU has a girl kicker old. CU has to be more selective than KSU but we are not alone here. Embree must identify a group of players that he wants and then the Admin staff starts the process of screening their situation and ultimately working with Admissions.
If a kid is hearing a lot from CU, he's probably well into the process of having everything checked out and CU is pretty confident he can get in. If the kid is scheduling a trip to CU, this is not an issue. He's been screened and he can get in with high confidence.
