I work in academics, and I disagree. There are outliers but if you don’t have passion and work ethic by the time you leave college…I have zero interest in betting on an outlier.
It ultimately depends on who he is now versus when he made those statements. If it was while he was a freshman and there is objective evidence that his desire to be great and work ethic have improved…then I’d consider. But no way am I planning to teach those qualities to a 22 year old.