Air Force wide receiver Jalen Robinette's dream of playing in the NFL this season may be impacted by a change in the academy's policy requiring cadets to serve two years of active duty.
The Air Force Academy said in a statement obtained by the Denver Post that it will no longer defer the two years of active duty for cadet athletes to play professional sports upon graduation, a departure from a 2016 policy change by the Department of Defense.
That means Robinette could not start his playing career until the 2019 season at the earliest.
"The Air Force notified Academy officials (Thursday) that the service would not approve requests to waiver active duty military service commitments for cadet athletes," the statement said. "Cadets will be required to serve two years active duty prior to entering Ready Reserve status, which would permit their participation in professional sports. The Air Force places tremendous value on our cadet athletes and their contributions to the nation as we continue to build leaders of character, engage in combat operations overseas and continue to ensure our highest military readiness at home."
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According to USA TODAY, Robinette is hoping there is a way to lobby the Pentagon to allow him to be grandfathered into the NFL under the 2016 policy because an official order has not been signed by Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis.
Robinette is on track to graduate May 24 -- taking six courses to finish his degree in management at the Air Force Academy -- while he prepared this spring for the draft believing he would be able to join an NFL team immediately.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Robinette, who led college football in yards per catch (27.4) in 2016, was invited to the NFL Scouting Combine and was expecting to be picked on Saturday's final day of the draft. He finished his senior season with 35 receptions for 959 yards and six touchdowns for the Falcons.
