Iowa State Cyclones quarterback Kyle Kempt has been granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA.
Kempt, a former walk-on who emerged as the Cyclones' starter last season and helped the team to wins over Oklahoma and TCU, last month was granted an extension of his eligibility because of the circumstances surrounding his path to Iowa State. He began his career at Oregon State in 2013 before transferring to Hutchinson Community College in Kansas and then walking on at Iowa State in 2016.
"I'm relieved the decision has been made and extremely excited to be back with the team in 2018," he said. "I am also thankful for the NCAA for looking at my situation so thoroughly and for all of the people involved in this process. They put in a lot of hard work and I really appreciate it."
Kempt was 161 of 243 passing for 1,787 yards and 15 touchdowns in just nine games.
"We alerted Kyle and our recruits when we received the clearance notification on Jan. 30," Cyclones coach Matt Campbell said in a statement. "Since then, all of our efforts had been focused on our 2018 football team and recruiting. Kyle has established himself as a leader on our team and we are thrilled by the NCAA's decision to allow him to remain a Cyclone in 2018."
Kempt, who redshirted at Oregon State in 2013 and led the scout team in 2014 before transferring, had appeared in only two FBS games before the 2017 season. He went 5-3 as Iowa State's starter, earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors and set the school's single-season completion percentage record (66.3).
In announcing Kempt's return, Iowa State also confirmed the quarterback has been put on scholarship for the remainder of his Cyclones career.
Information from The Associated Press was included in this report.
