NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Jordan Rodgers, the younger brother of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, has signed a letter of intent to play for Vanderbilt.
When he'll be eligible to play, however, is another matter: The school has acknowledged that it committed a secondary NCAA violation during its recruiting of Rodgers, The (Nashville) Tennessean reported.
Rodgers' official recruiting visit to Vanderbilt overlapped with the NCAA "dead period" of Dec. 14-17 for junior college athletes seeking mid-year enrollment, according to the report.
David Williams, the university's vice chancellor for university affairs and athletics, said the school reported the information to the SEC, which in turn informed the NCAA, according to the report.
"Our football staff and compliance office unfortunately missed that piece of the recruiting calendar," Williams said, according to the report. "Do we have secondary violations here? Sure, we've always had them. I think the NCAA takes the position that pretty much everybody is going to have secondary violations. The important thing is that you report it right away."
Rodgers signed his letter of intent and faxed it to Vanderbilt on Monday night. A school spokesman confirmed Tuesday that the Commodores received the signed letter.
"The coaches were unaware of [the dead period rule]," Rodgers said, according to the report. "It was new territory for them because they never recruit junior-college players. I didn't know it at all."
Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson could not be reached for comment, according to the report.
The school said it would initiate the reinstatement process for Rodgers with the NCAA, the newspaper reported.
Rodgers will begin classes in January and will take part in spring practice. He will compete with sophomore Larry Smith for the starting job. He is the second juco signee by coach Bobby Johnson in eight seasons.
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Rodgers played at Butte College in California where his brother played before signing with California.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.