CECIL HURT: Reality of Prothro's status sets in

“It’s great to be optimistic. It’s probably not so good to be pessimistic.

“But it’s best to be realistic.”

If Nick Saban has had a mantra this summer, that’s probably been it. It’s a phrase he’s repeated at most press conferences and public speaking engagements. The inference is he’s priming the safety valve on the boiler of expectations. He’s cooling off Alabama fans who are ready to jump from hiring a new coach to hoisting the BCS championship trophy without even the formality of a season — and certainly not the bother of two or three — in between.

Saban didn’t employ that frequently employed phrase on Thursday, when he once again met with the press. But the words still echoed, in an entirely different context.

When Saban announced that Tyrone Prothro would be moved to a “medical scholarship” for the 2007 school year, it represented more than just a necessary personnel decision. It represented a switch from optimism — or, more precisely, over-optimism — to realism.

That doesn’t mean Prothro has to give up his last hope of ever resuming a football career as promising as any ever was at Alabama (and that is saying a lot). It does mean he will now have time to consider other priorities beyond simply returning to football.

The NCAA bylaw that now applies to Prothro and three other UA football players named by Saban on Thursday is Bylaw 15.5.1.3, under the heading of “Incapacitating Illness or Injury.” What the bylaw essentially does is allow a student-athlete to continue to receive aid without counting against his team’s overall scholarship limits. In order to prevent unscrupulous programs from playing fast and loose with the rule, the appeals process is strict.

Per Bylaw 15.5.1.3.3, the reinstatement of a player to active status requires a two-thirds vote of the NCAA Management Council. In Prothro’s case, he would have to clear that hurdle and then move on to Bylaw 14.2.4, the “hardship waiver” that would grant him a sixth year.

That’s a lot of technical mumbo-jumbo. The relevant facts are that Prothro will remain on scholarship but will be restricted from most team activities. Clearly, where he (and the others) can be included, they will be. Saban — who never coached Prothro, of course — spoke with sincerity about the spirit and competitive fire that the young man has demonstrated.

He will still be considered a “teammate,” even if he isn’t on the team.

If Prothro doesn’t suit up again, it’s a loss for everyone who ever watched him play for the Crimson Tide. He won’t be the first player to have a career cut off or significantly altered by an on-the-field injury. My first memory of such a player was running back Mike Fracchia, though the poignant examples extend further into the old days. In more recent times, it has happened to players like Kerry Goode, Marvin Constant and Antonio Carter. And who knows how Gene Jelks’ future might have turned out, if it hadn’t been for a knee injury and a position change?

If Prothro does complete a comeback from catastrophic injury, it will be a magical story and the happiest of endings. Magic happens a lot in the Harry Potter books, but in college athletics, not so much.

But there are other happy endings possible, scenarios that involve Prothro getting a degree and succeeding in life. And this move will give him a better chance of writing that ending to his story.

Cecil Hurt is sports editor of the Tuscaloosa News. Reach him at cecil.hurt@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0225.