ESPN 150 recruit Derrick Green may not be academically eligible for Miami Hurricanes

Miami Hurricanes head coach Al Golden during a game against the Virginia Tech Hokies at Sun Life Stadium. (Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports)

Miami coach Al Golden hauled in a solid 2013 recruiting class, despite the potential for extremely heavy NCAA sanctions to come down upon his Canes program. Unfortunately, while the NCAA is looking like less and less of a threat at the moment, academics have plagued athletes for years, and the case of Derrick Green, a studly ESPN150-rated recruit, is no different.

The 6-foot-6, 228-pound Green is the No. 1-rated tight end/halfback in the entire country. However, he may not be able to head out to the Coral Gable campus for another year, should he be forced to attend prep school in that time in order to get his grades up.

Tim Teykl, his Terry High School coach out in Rosenberg, Texas, spoke to Matt Shodell of CaneSport.com regarding the steps that are being taken to get Green to The U.

“He has to graduate, get all his core courses taken, which he hasn’t yet,” Teykl told Shodell. “No. 3 he has to get a core GPA (to be eligible). No. 4 you have to pass a standardized test (in Texas). And No. 5 he has to have an SAT or ACT that is commensurate with his GPA.

“We’re going to hope, pray, worry, fret, motivate, push that this child makes it and qualifies academically.”

Young Green was ranked as the No. 33-overall recruit at any position by ESPN. His decision to sign with Golden and the Canes immediately made him their top commitment, and getting him onto their practice field and into their classrooms this summer would be a huge victory for all involved.

It is going to be an uphill battle. But should Green meet the challenge head on, both he and his program may just find themselves at the top of the ACC mountain.

MORE CANES: Is Miami a dark horse contender for the 2013-14 BCS National title?

What do you think Gamedayrs?