Making sense of the Ohio State suspensions
National Football League
Draft King Analysis
December 23, 2010
Lou Pickney, DraftKing.com
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The big news of the day in the college football world is the suspension of six Ohio State football players for the start of next season for rules violations, five of whom are juniors. Here's the damage:
Five games
QB Terrelle Pryor (2010 starter)
OT Mike Adams (2010 starter at left tackle)
RB Daniel "Boom" Herron (2010 starter who leads team in rushing)
CB DeVier Posey (2010 starter at wide receiver)
DL Solomon Thomas (2010 backup)
One game
ILB Jordan Whiting (2010 backup - redshirt freshman)
This is the same penalty (four games) assessed to Georgia WR A.J. Green before the start of the 2010 season for selling the jersey he wore in the 2009 Independence Bowl, with an additional game tacked on because, according to the NCAA, "The student-athletes did not immediately disclose the violations when presented with the appropriate rules education."
The penalty assessment isn't a surprise; the NCAA has been going after alleged rule violations, particularly by high-profile football stars, with an increased vigor in the past year. What is unusual is that the six players in question will be allowed to play in the Sugar Bowl against Arkansas. Much like Dean Wormer found a "little-known codicil in the Faber College constitution" in the movie Animal House to put Delta house on double secret probation, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said, "NCAA policy allows [lifting] penalties for a championship or bowl game if it was reasonable at the time the student-athletes were not aware they were committing violations."
Confused? Don't be ashamed; it's a rather baffling rule. I read and re-read all I could on it today, knowing that I'd be talking about it on the Batchelor Pad internet radio show this afternoon, but it still doesn't entirely make sense to me even now. To be sure, it doesn't pass any sort of common sense test.
One of my favorite sports writers, SI's Stewart Mandel, penned this excellent piece giving further explanation as to what happened and why it was allowed to play out the way it did (the quote from Smith two paragraphs above came from his write-up). If you really want to understand what happened and why, I recommend that you read the article.
With the Steelers beating the Panthers tonight, it appears that 2-13 Carolina is destined to end up with the #1 overall pick in the 2011 Draft. That's a lock if they lose to or tie Atlanta one week from Sunday, regardless of what Cincinnati or Denver does. My buddy Adam is a Panthers fan, and he texted me yesterday in support of my projection of Carolina taking Clemson DE Da'Quan Bowers, a projection that I maintained in my latest update to the mock which took place earlier today.
Most prognosticators are lining up Andrew Luck in that top spot (if Luck leaves Stanford for the NFL), but I don't think that will happen if Panthers GM Marty Hurney is still the team's general manager when the draft rolls around in April. Hurney was in power when Carolina used their first pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, #48 overall, to select Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen. 2010 has not been a good year for Clausen, but the guy is a rookie playing at the position with the greatest learning curve in the entire NFL. Time will tell if Clausen can develop into a capable NFL starter, but to give up on him so quick would be a poor idea for a Carolina team that desperately needs to add an elite defensive end to its roster for 2011.
