Former Cyclone defensive end Jason Berryman has received permission from the university to re-enroll sometime this summer, but he is not back on the team yet.

“I’m gonna give him the opportunity the next couple of months to try and come back and earn a position back on this football team, and it’s not on the depth chart,” said head coach Dan McCarney. “I’m talking as a teammate, as an unselfish person, as an unselfish teammate, as a citizen.”

But as of Wednesday afternoon, Annette Hacker, program director for university relations, said Berryman had not registered for any classes nor had he even re-enrolled.

When Berryman does re-enroll, however, his tuition will not be covered. McCarney will decide by fall whether or not Berryman will be allowed to return to the team and receive a scholarship. Even though he is not officially back with the team, Berryman is allowed to practice and work out with the Cyclones for the summer as part of an evaluation period.

“The football stuff — rushing the passer, all that stuff — has very little to do with this,” McCarney said. “This is about coming back and earning respect again.”

McCarney said Berryman did not show any signs of being a troublemaker when he was a football player.

“Before the couple incidents he was involved in, we never had one second of a problem with him,” he said.

The “couple incidents” McCarney referred to was punching Jeffrey Kemble, senior in health and human performance, in the face and stealing $4 from him and taking a cell phone belonging to Thomas Peters, senior in mechanical engineering, for which Berryman was arrested Aug. 4, 2004.

Berryman was charged with two counts of second-degree robbery and two counts first-degree theft.

He pleaded guilty to lesser charges of serious misdemeanor assault and first-degree theft.

For his actions, Berryman received a sentence of 300 days in jail, $1,500 in fines and two years probation.

“Somewhere along the line, we failed in trying to keep him within the framework, structure and discipline of this program,” McCarney said.

“I think there is a lot of good with Jason Berryman. He’s clearly made a couple of real poor mistakes in judgment and behavior, no question about it. One of the reasons I am giving him this opportunity is because of the way he’s handled it, his remorse and his disappointment with himself.”

McCarney still feels the easy thing for Berryman to do would be to attend college somewhere else.

“Frankly, the easy thing for him to do would have been just to get the heck outta here,” he said.

“But he wanted to come back here and face the people he let down, that he disappointed and try to earn the respect back of the people he let down.”

McCarney said he talked to his players and they all felt he deserved a chance to come back.

McCarney said he and the football team are in the business of trying to help young people.

Two former players, however, will not be receiving that help.

Defensive back Jerry Gair and Tyease Thompson, running back, were arrested Jan. 24 after police said Larch Hall residents found the two players in their room.

Both have since been charged with second-degree attempted burglary, and Gair is also facing second-degree theft and third-degree burglary.

Additionally, Thompson has been charged with interference with official acts.

“My guys are evaluated on 365 days of their behavior and their commitment and the things I ask of them in the program,” McCarney said.

“It’s not even related at all.”

Berryman will not comment on his status until after the summer academic term.

The Office of Judicial Affairs did not comment on the case, to protect Berryman’s privacy.