rule yet. Until 2016 rolls around athletes are either qualifiers or non-qualifiers. There is no middle ground. That's all semantics though. Generally I agree with you that the NCAA applied next year's rules to Lake.

My guess is that the NCAA took the 2016 rule and generally applied it to the case. Lake applied for a waiver to be able to play this year, but the waiver was not grated. What is unknown is if the NCAA granted a partial waiver allowing him to receive financial aid and be on scholarship and are treating him like an academic redshirt. Based on the reports that say he's on scholarship, this must have happened even if it wasn't reported.