With the use of a redshirt season, college players getting a fifth season has been a common occurrence for a while now, and the past few years there have been players taking advantage of the "COVID year" for an additional year of playing time.
While those things exist at the college level, fifth-year players are not something that exists at the high school level.
That's actually what has Florida powerhouse Miami Northwestern in the crosshairs of the FHSAA, as a matter of fact.
The program, coached by former NFL quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, is being looked at after allegations of using an ineligible player.
That can mean a lot of different things at the high school level, but the Palm Beach Post shares that the FHSAA received allegations that Northwestern has a fifth-year player on the roster and playing and have reached out to the school.
USA Today obtained the transcript of the player at the center of the allegations and it shows the individually initally enrolled at a Miami-Dade County school back in the fall of 2020, marking this fall the ninth semester of his high school career.
That player withdrew from the public school three days after starting his ninth grade year and enrolled in virtual classes,
However, Florida bylaws are clear about student athletes getting eight consecutive semesters of eligibility beginning with their initial enrollment in ninth grade. That means last spring would have the final semester the individual was eligible for high school competition.
Northwestern, who is 8-2, was appointed the top seed in their region, and is coming off a 69-0 drubbing of Barron Collier last Friday night. The player at the center of that investigation played in that game.
Oddly enough, just before the start of the playoffs, Northwestern rival Miami Central had to forfeit eight wins for using an ineligible player. The school self-reported the use of a fifth-year player and was fined less than $1,000 and missed the playoffs as a result.
Bridgewater and Miami Northwestern set to take on Lely HS Friday night in a game that many are wondering will even take place at this point.
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.