A former Jackson Milton football player faces criminal charges for allegedly forging school transcripts and upping his grade point average in a failed attempt to play college football.

Gerald Ihrig, 19, appeared in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday to answer a grand jury indictment charging him with telecommunications fraud, identity fraud, and forgery.

According to a report from a sheriff’s investigator, Ihrig allegedly created a school transcript showing him with a 3.35 grade point average, instead of a 1.3 GPA.

Ihrig also allegedly forged the name of a Jackson Milton counselor on the document and forwarded it to the College of Wooster’s admission’s office.

According to the investigative report, the 6-foot-three, 200-pound former tight end was denied admission to the College of Wooster where he had been involved in conversations with the football coach.

Ihrig, who proclaims his innocence, claiming that his email had been hacked, is scheduled to appear before a judge again next month for a pre-trial hearing.