Ohio State and its athletic director Gene Smith said they expected their three recently suspended football players to play Saturday against Toledo.
The NCAA did not share the same view, and chose not to reinstate junior running back Jordan Hall, junior defensive back Travis Howard and sophomore defensive back Corey Brown.
During OSU’s Saturday victory against Toledo, Smith told The Lantern that he was initially surprised by the ruling and will pursue the matter this weekend.
“I was surprised because I thought that our reinstatement request, based upon precedence, was pretty consistent,” Smith said. “But after talking to the NCAA on Friday, I understand their point of view and agree at the end of the day, it’s probably a two-game suspension.”
The three players were originally suspended only for the season opener against Akron after receiving $200 each for their appearance at a Feb. 19 charity event in Cleveland.
OSU learned of the players’ violations on Aug. 31 and self-reported them. At a Tuesday press conference, coach Luke Fickell said he expected the players to be eligible for the Toledo game.
The players’ eligibility remains uncertain for Saturday’s game against the Miami Hurricanes.
“They asked for some more information,” Smith said, “We will meet tomorrow and Monday and try and get that information to them and the NCAA will make its determination.”
