LeGarrette Blount May Play for Oregon This Season After All

Oregon coach Chip Kelly has had a change of heart, saying today that he might allow running back LeGarrette Blount to play this season even though he previously announced that Blount was suspended for the entire year for punching a Boise State player following the season opener.

Blount is one of Oregon's most talented players, so if he plays again this season it will certainly help Oregon win more games. But Kelly insisted at a press conference Friday that he wasn't motivated by anything other than a desire to do what experts told him was the best thing for Blount:

"After speaking with a number of nationally renowned professionals in the field, which included Dr. Harry Edwards and Tony Dungy, I came to the conclusion that leaving the door open for LeGarrette's potential return as an active player was the best solution," Kelly said.

"He has a rigid set of conditions he must live up to and there are certainly no guarantees in place. This merely provides him the opportunity for my reconsideration in the future should he meet those demands."

Blount has continued to go to class and practice with the team, and Kelly says that if he continues to follow all team rules, he can play again starting on November 7 against Stanford. If he's back against Stanford, that would constitute a seven-game suspension -- still a stiff sentence, but one that gives Blount a chance to have a meaningful impact on the Oregon team this season. If he's a model citizen for the next month, that's a chance he deserves.