Something funny is going on here.
From Rivera's bio on ku's sports site:
First this:
2004 (RS): Redshirted... Practiced with the scout team defense... Chosen by the coaching staff as the defensive scout team player of the week vs. Iowa State.
Hmmmm.. He redshirted? You can't do that and have a recorded stat in a game unless you are granted a medical hardship.
Defense G UT AT Total
2007 13 39 57 96
2006 12 66 24 90
2005 12 11 9 20
2004 1 1 0 1 Totals 38 117 90 207 18-71 4.5-32 1-3 12 3 2-0
Notice the stat in 2004? That's from a game against Toledo in which he played. There is a blurb at the end of this article stating such:
http://www2.kusports.com/news/2004/sep/11/ku_trounces_toledo/Freshman linebacker Mike Rivera saw his first collegiate defensive action late in the game.
There is also a reference to Rivera getting time on special teams in 2004 and a mention of hurting his back and the possibility of a medical hardship:
http://www2.kusports.com/news/2004/nov/23/mangino_optimistic_about/The scout-team players expected to step right in include linebacker Mike Rivera, who saw time on special teams during ku's non-conference slate before hurting his back. ku will petition to have this season count as a red-shirt year for Rivera, so the Shawnee native might be a freshman again.
I thought that a medical hardship could only be granted after a player's eligibility is exhausted? If there is some way he had a hardship granted, why then is there no mention of a medical hardship actually being granted anywhere?
Now it gets interesting. Here's another article discussing the practice of redshirting by Mangino. It refers to Rivera as a traditional redshirt and no mention of a medical hardship:
http://www2.kusports.com/news/2005/nov/15/kus_mangino_tickled_keep_rookies_red/"That red-shirt year, if you can do it, it's great," Mangino said. "We'll really benefit here in the long run from having red-shirted most of the class."
Kansas had similar luck in keeping true freshmen off the field last year, playing only Marcus Henry, Kyle Tucker, Todd Haselhorst and James McClinton. That allowed up-and-comers like Mike Rivera, Marcus Herford and Aqib Talib to bulk up and get more comfortable with Division I-A football.
What am I missing here? Is the ku compliance office hard at work again? Is the coach who cheated on his ethics test trying to pull a fast one?