[Tuck4Bama]

OXFORD — Defensive tackle Jerrell Powe's efforts to play football for the University of Mississippi this season were stiff-armed by the NCAA again Thursday, leaving his future at the school up in the air.

Two appeals committees upheld last week's NCAA staff decision ruling Powe ineligible to practice or play with the Rebels until at least the fall of 2008. Powe will be permitted to receive athletically related financial aid to attend classes, but he won't be in uniform as the Rebels continue their season with Saturday's home opener against the University of Missouri.

Powe's attorney, Don Jackson, said he wasn't surprised by the latest decision because, in his mind, the NCAA has shown no intention of allowing Powe to play college football. But it didn't soften his feelings about the decision as he and Powe family friend Joe Barnett considered the next step for Powe.

"I'm angry as hell," Jackson said. "This is the wrong decision.

"But I think everybody wants to slow down for a little bit and just kind of figure it out."

The decisions came one week after Powe was ruled ineligible. The organization also ruled his academic coursework from the past year was not valid.

The committees hearing the appeals - the Student Record Reviews Committee and the Initial Eligibility Learning Disability Subcommittee - supported NCAA staff members' concerns regarding the amount of coursework Powe completed in a short amount of time.

Powe's ineligibility ruling upheld by NCAA appeals panels