Former UTC football player advances to key stage on 'Big Brother'

Faysal Shafaat
Faysal Shafaat
photo Faysal Shafaat

After another house guest was evicted Thursday, former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football player Faysal Shafaat advanced to a key stage of the CBS reality show "Big Brother."

With Rachel Swindler sent home by 5-4 vote, Shafaat is one of the final 11 house guests and is at least guaranteed to make it to the jury. If he is evicted, Shafaat will go to the jury house until the show's finale, when he would help decide the season's winner.

There is also a possibility that even if Shafaat is voted out, he would have a chance to come back to the game. In previous seasons "Big Brother" has held competitions allowing one of the previously evicted jurors to return.

photo Faysal Shafaat (88) played tight end for the Mocs from 2011 to 2014.

"Big Brother" follows a group of people living in a house under constant surveillance with someone being voted out each week.

Bayleigh Dayton was the Head of Household for the week, and she has been aligned with Shafaat. However, it wasn't all smooth sailing for Shafaat. Dayton was considering nominating JC Mounduix for eviction alongside Brett Robinson, but Shafaat played a big role in convincing Dayton to nominate Swindler instead of Mounduix, who he is closer with. "Big Brother" even did a segment on Sunday's episode called "The Tall and Short of It" featuring funny clips of Shafaat, who is listed at 6-foot-five and 250 pounds, and Mounduix, who is around five feet tall.

"It worked. My talk with Bayleigh actually went as planned. I kept JC safe. I'm actually playing 'Big Brother,' look at that," Shafaat said in the diary room after nominations.

The trouble came when Shafaat told Mounduix that he was essential in keeping him from being nominated. Mounduix took that information back to Dayton to "create some mistrust between them" and to "have Faysal in my pocket doing whatever I want." The rift between Shafaat and Dayton could have an impact on Shafaat's future in the game.

Angela Rummans became the new Head of Household at the end of Thursday's episode, and it's possible she will target Shafaat. Dayton previously won a special power to change nominations, but whether she would use it to help Shafaat after their argument remains to be seen.

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