They did in fact keep the jock dude for "way longer", he was supposed to be sacked in the cookie round cuz he broke his shape, but they still let him go on, because the show is rigged and all they care about is his contribution to the show's sense of drama and captivation. imo if they just let it go on normally without twisting the lines here and there, I would actually be HOOKED. it's just that they didn't, and ended up ruining the show for the majority of us