FHSAA rules Braden River receiver limited to non-district games

Braden River High senior wide receiver Knowledge McDaniel, originally ruled ineligible last month after a Florida High School Athletic Association investigation, can play tonight against Manatee High and in two more non-district games but remains barred from district play and the postseason. 

McDaniel and his school received the news about his partial reinstatement from an FHSAA appeals committee meeting. 

In addition to tonight's home game against Manatee, two more non-district games appear on Braden River's schedule: Oct. 5 against Booker High and Nov. 2 against St. Petersburg High.

The senior was ruled ineligible on Aug. 8, after an investigation into Braden River athletics found McDaniel had received impermissible benefits last season because he lived with Todd and Regina Thoma after his grandmother was evicted from her home, in an effort to remain at the school instead of transferring to Southeast High.

Todd Thoma is the president of the school's booster club and therefore "representative of the school's athletic interests," which the organization ruled was a violation of FHSAA Policy 37.2.2.7. 

The new ruling can be appealed at the next FHSAA Board of Directors meeting, which will take place Sept. 23-24 in Gainesville. 

McDaniel is a three-star prospect according to 247Sports, and holds offers from numerous NCAA Power 5 conference programs, including the universities of Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri, Nebraska and Ohio State.