Sophomore wide receiver Dominique Booth came in as the highest rated player of his 2014 recruiting class. Now, his football career at IU is over.
The former 4-star prospect out of Indianapolis’ Pike High School was labeled as a medical disqualifier by the IU medical staff and the Big Ten, IU Coach Kevin Wilson announced Tuesday.
About an hour after Wilson’s announcement, Booth took to Twitter to clear up the notion that his playing days are over. He confirmed the IU medical staff decided he could not participate any longer, but he said he still plans to pursue football somewhere else.
“My career is not over, I have elected to transfer and play elsewhere, because every other doctor I have seen has cleared me to continue my career,” Booth said.
Booth underwent surgery on his hand last October and redshirted his sophomore season. Wilson then said in March that Booth would remain out for spring practice.
As a freshman, Booth caught eight passes for 70 yards.
Wilson said Booth plans on hanging around as a student coach and graduating in the spring of 2017. Booth confirmed this in his statement and also said he will be eligible to play immediately if he transfers after graduating.
He said he will have at least two years left of eligibility and possibly three if granted by the NCAA. Wilson spoke fondly of Booth and his potential coaching career when his playing days are over.
“I told him he oughta be a coach as he moves forward,” Wilson said.
Booth made sure to thank offensive coordinator Kevin Johns and the offensive staff for pushing him and educating him on the game of football. He made no mention of Wilson.
In terms of possible locations, Booth said he has his eyes on a few schools but is open to many. He added he has spoken to schools from all Power Five conferences and some smaller conference schools.
247sports reported Tuesday that Booth is visiting Mississippi State this weekend and is also considering Kansas, Missouri, Oregon, Ball State and Oklahoma State.
“This was not a matter of ability and there are no hard feelings,” Booth said. “This is the business of college football and I’m looking forward to helping IU have a great 2016 season and then continuing my pursuit for greatness.”
Other injury news
In addition to Booth, Wilson announced sophomore cornerback Donovan Clark was also classified as a medical disqualifier.
Clark played in all 12 games as a freshman in 2014, compiling 17 tackles. He then sat out the entire 2015 season with a medical redshirt due to back issues.
Like Booth, Wilson said Clark will stay around as a student coach this season.
Junior Camion Patrick will be undergoing knee surgery Wednesday, Wilson said. Patrick transferred to IU as a highly-touted receiver from East Mississippi State. He sat out the 2015 season for academic reasons.
Patrick was then moved to running back over the offseason, but will miss the rest of the spring for an injury of unknown severity.
“Not sure if it’s a full tear, partial tear,” Wilson said. “Is it ACL? ... We’ll know tomorrow after surgery.”
Then, All-American senior guard Dan Feeney will miss the spring game due to what Wilson described as an “ankle clean-up” Feeney will undergo Tuesday. Wilson said it isn’t serious and Feeney should be fully healthy by May.
Wilson said several experienced players, like senior offensive linemen Wes Rogers and Jacob Bailey will also be out with injuries the program didn’t feel they needed to push because of their experience.
