OSU has been playing with a short deck on scholarships ever since Frank got there. I think they had a baseball probation when he arrived, the a departmental probation (OSU had some systemic failures on handling scholarships) that have further reduced their baseball scholarships. That, and the fact that Pickens and the AD don't care about baseball, are why he will be cut a lot of slack.
He may be a nice guy off the field, but he has a bad attitude on the field, and it often gets the better of him.