College Sports
Email
Print
College-Football Notebook: ECU's Bryant gets indefinite suspension
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: October 9, 2008
■ amar Bryant, a junior wide receiver at East Carolina, has been suspended indefinitely for a violation of team policy, Coach Skip Holtz said yesterday.
Bryant, whose 18-game consecutive start streak will come to an end when East Carolina (3-2) faces Virginia (2-3) in Charlottesville on Saturday, is the Pirates' second-leading receiver this season with 19 catches for 216 yards and three touchdowns. After four-catch games against Virginia Tech and West Virginia, he had back-to-back five-catch games against Tulane and N.C. State.
■ Offensive coordinator Rob Spence of Clemson was not only seen but also heard on the practice field this week, getting his players ready for tonight's game at Wake Forest.
Spence took the blame for offensive mistakes in a 20-17 loss to Maryland, a game in which Clemson lost a 17-6 halftime lead. Quarterback Cullen Harper said that the offense had to run 100 yards for every offside penalty in practice.
"He's been a lot more vocal out there than he has been," Harper said.
Tailback James Davis said that Spence spared no one from criticism.
"This is definitely the (most) intense I've seen him," Davis said. "He's out there losing it. You can see it in his face. His veins are coming out."
■ Coach Charlie Weis of Notre Dame is no longer mad at Greg Little for reneging on a commitment and signing with North Carolina instead.
Weis, whose team will play in Chapel Hill on Saturday, was upset in early February 2007 when Little changed his mind late the night before signing day. But Weis said he understands why Little, a Durham resident, switched to North Carolina.
"Any time you're involved in recruiting, the toughest thing to do is to get a guy to leave his home state," Weis said. "We're a national recruiting school. At the end of the day, he felt more comfortable staying home.
"Do I like that happening? No. But at the end of the day, the kid wanted to stay home. Who can really shun a guy who wants to stay home?"
■ Mickey Andrews, Florida State's longtime defensive coordinator, took full advantage of a rare day off Sunday after a two-point win at Miami the day before.
First he cut his grass. Then he took his wife, Diane, to a movie.
"I can't tell you what the name of the movie was but my wife enjoyed it so that was good for all of us," he said.
Chick flick?
"No, we don't go to those," Andrews said.
■ Giff Smith, Georgia Tech's defensive-line coach, pulled out bulletin-board material to fire up his players before last Saturday's game against Duke.
Or did he?
Smith told his players that one of Duke's coaches dismissed the defensive line's efficiency by pointing out that Georgia Tech ranked only seventh in the ACC in rushing defense. Smith never showed the players any evidence of the quote, however.
"I have no idea," who made the comment, defensive tackle Vance Walker said. "But I know Coach told us somebody said it. That's all we needed to hear."
■ Coach Ralph Friedgen of Maryland is wondering again if his players, especially the veterans, are listening to his pregame talks. Last week's 31-0 loss at Virginia raised his doubts, because it came the week after Maryland rallied from 11 points down in the second half to win 20-17 at Clemson.
"The week before, they did listen," Friedgen said. "I try to think back. I try to call it like it is. I try to think what I could have done better to prepare them. I'm just having trouble thinking of what else I could have done."
Some of Maryland's veterans admit that they have heard Friedgen's talks about playing consistently for four or five years.
"I was thinking about this as I laid awake at night," Friedgen said. "I don't know if it's you guys, the media. There's more media around. I wonder if you have a bigger impact on my players than I do. I don't know. It just seems tougher these days."
■ More than one Florida State football player wondered on a Friday in August why the team practiced outside in a near monsoon caused by Tropical Storm Fay.
Now all of the Seminoles know.
FSU played in the rain at Miami last Saturday and won 41-39. The FSU players said they easily adjusted to the conditions because of Coach Bobby Bowden's August decision.
"It definitely helped," quarterback Christian Ponder said. "A lot of guys didn't want to go out there. But Coach Bowden said this is going to prepare us for the season, because there's going to be a game like this and there was."
Email
Print
