Could Bomar be wearing green next season?

[MeanGreen61]

Football: Could Oklahoma’s Rhett Bomar be wearing green next season?

Father of ex-Sooner QB speaks with UNT about transfer

10:33 PM CDT on Tuesday, August 8, 2006

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

Jerry Bomar has spoken with University of North Texas assistant head coach Kenny Evans about the future of his son Rhett and the possibility of him playing for the Mean Green, Evans said Tuesday.

Evans spoke with Jerry Bomar shortly after Rhett Bomar and offensive lineman J.D. Quinn were dismissed from Oklahoma after a university investigation revealed the players were paid by Big Red Sports/Imports, a car dealership in Norman, Okla., for work they did not perform last summer and fall.

Evans had gotten to know Jerry Bomar while recruiting for UNT in the Dallas area, including Grand Prairie where Rhett Bomar played for his father before graduating in 2004.

Evans advised the family on the steps the former Sooner starting quarterback should take while trying to resume his college football career.

“Within hours of when it happened, coach [Jerry] Bomar contacted us,” Evans said. “We gave him some advice about what Rhett needs to do no matter where he goes. … It was nice that he contacted us first and that they had interest in North Texas.”

Jerry Bomar did not return a message seeking comment.

UNT would be interested in signing Bomar if the situation were one the coaching staff and administration felt comfortable with. UNT’s staff has not heard from the family since Evans’ initial conversation with Jerry Bomar.

“[bomar] is a very talented football player and we are always looking for good players,” UNT head coach Darrell Dickey said. “We would have to look into the situation with what happened at Oklahoma and what his situation would be with the NCAA.”

Bomar has yet to be released by Oklahoma, which could choose not to release him to a school on its upcoming schedule. UNT is scheduled to open the 2007 season with a game at Oklahoma.

The amount of eligibility Bomar will have remaining if he transfers to another Division I-A school is also in question. Bomar spent his first year at Oklahoma as a redshirt and then started for the Sooners in 2005, when he threw for 2,018 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Bomar would have to sit out the 2006 season to fulfill NCAA rules regarding players who transfer from one Division I-A school to another. The NCAA could then step in and suspend Bomar for violating its regulations while working at Big Red Sports/Imports.

Evans told Jerry Bomar the family needs to contact the NCAA and possibly hire a lawyer to find out if it will level a suspension against his son. That information would allow UNT to better evaluate taking on Bomar.

“At this stage we have to be very careful and make sure we understand what is going to happen with the NCAA and make sure that people here, our administration and coach Dickey are all on the same page,” Evans said. “We are going to go slow.”

Bomar and Quinn would have to pay restitution and apply for reinstatement with the NCAA before regaining their eligibility.

The incident at Big Red Sports/Imports was not the first sign of trouble for Bomar at Oklahoma. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of being a minor in possession of alcohol earlier this year.

Despite those incidents, several schools have expressed interest in Bomar, including TCU. Horned Frogs coach Gary Patterson said over the weekend that he was interested in Bomar and Quinn before saying Monday that he had changed his mind and could not take on either player. Texas A&M-Commerce, a Division II school, has also shown interest in Bomar, who has apologized publicly for his actions at Oklahoma.

“One thing I just want to say to the fans, to my coaches, to my teammates: ‘I’m sorry,’” Bomar said Thursday in a television interview. “I made a mistake. I mean, I feel bad for it.”

Bomar was among the top high school recruits nationally in 2004 when Rivals.com rated him the No. 1 pro-style quarterback in the country.

That talent is what would make him attractive to UNT, which struggled at quarterback last season. Daniel Meager started each game in 2005 as a redshirt freshman and split time with freshman Matt Phillips.

Meager and Phillips combined to throw for 1,389 yards in a run-based offense last season, when UNT ranked last in the Sun Belt Conference in passing offense with an average of 129.3 yards per game and passing efficiency with a 92.9 rating.

Meager and Phillips are competing with junior Woody Wilson, a transfer from Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College, for the starting spot this season.

All three of UNT’s quarterbacks would still be with the Mean Green in 2007, the earliest season in which Bomar would be eligible to play for UNT.

Bomar would be the most decorated quarterback to play for the Mean Green in the Dickey era if he transferred to UNT. But both Bomar and UNT would have to go through several steps before that could become a reality.

“Rhett has some things to work out and he knows that,” Evans said. “He has to decide where he really wants to go. … There are also a lot of things we have to find out if there is interest on our side, too.”

Briefly …

Freshman Matthew Menard has moved from defensive line to offensive line. UNT coach Darrell Dickey said Menard, 6-5, 275, could see playing time on offense this season. … Brian Carlson, a 6-5, 268-pound tight end who transferred to UNT from Kilgore College for the 2006 season, will also work out at offensive tackle.