Eastern Michigan Athletics
Nationally-Ranked Football Player Enrolls at EMU
8/27/2009 3:37:44 PM | Football, E-Gridiron Group
Eastern Michigan University to give Ben Axon a second chance
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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — He won't get to play for at least another year, but standout running back Ben Axon knows that he may have an opportunity to return to football. And, if he does, it will be as an Eastern Michigan University Eagles' football player.
Axon is a highly-touted player from Manatee High School in Bradenton, Florida, who had signed a national letter of intent to play this fall for the University of South Carolina. But a traffic stop in May resulted in his arrest on a misdemeanor charge for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.
"He is a 19-year-old who made a very bad decision," said Ron English, head football coach at EMU. "Since he is a first-time offender with no prior issues with drugs, we believe he deserves a second chance. It will not be easy. He has to fulfill his obligations to the court and, in addition, we are mandating that he sit out one year and maintain a clean record and good academic performance in order to play in 2010. He has handled this situation with a lot of character. We think he will be a great addition to the team, but we want Ben Axon to be a great student at EMU before he is a great player for EMU," English said.
Although academically eligible under NCAA standards, Axon was not admitted to South Carolina and began looking for another program willing to give him a chance.
"I understand the mistake I made and how it has and could have affected my life and my ability to reach my goals," Axon said in his admissions statement to EMU.
Axon entered a pre-trial intervention program that required him to complete 50 hours of community service and submit to random drug tests. Axon completed his community service in five days and all of the drug tests issued came back negative. Axon is on probation until Oct. 18, 2009, at which time, if all terms of the probation are satisfied, the charge will be dropped.
Given his background, Axon's application was reviewed by a EMU's Admissions Review Committee, which included a thorough review of the situation including police and probation reports, transcripts that detail his 2.7 grade point average in high school, a statement and an interview with Axon, and letters of recommendation from his former high school principal and football coach who lauded his leadership and work ethic
(he was elected team captain by his teammates at Manatee High School in 2008).
The 6-foot-1, 195-pound back was recruited by Clemson, West Virginia and Purdue. At Manatee High School, Axon rushed for 1,026 yards and 16 touchdowns, while racking up 301 receiving yards, as a junior. As a senior, he rushed for 695 yards and 12 touchdowns.
ESPN ranked Axon as the No. 44 running back in the nation after his senior season and he was rated the No. 54 player overall in the state of Florida by Rivals.com. He was named player of the year by The Bradenton Herald.
Eastern Michigan's 2009 football season begins on Saturday, September 5 at home with a 7 p.m. game against Army.
The EMU Office of University Communications assisted with this release.
