Tribe Rotation: How 2011 Will Help Mold 2012
October 3, 2011When It Rains It Pours
October 3, 2011Keep those Posey and Herron jerseys in the closet for another week, kids. If rumors prove to become news, the suspended Ohio State wide receiver and running back could be on the shelf for yet another week due to…wait for it…
Improper benefits.
The Columbus Dispatch is reporting that Daniel “Boom” Herron and DeVier Posey will likely miss the contest against one-loss Nebraska due to taking home a bit more money than they should have during a summer job up in Cleveland. Take it away, Tim May:
A separate probe by the NCAA into Herron and Posey apparently showed they may have received improper benefits in terms of alleged inflated remuneration while working summer jobs in the Cleveland area. It could mean at least one more game of suspension for Herron, for whom the benefits was said to be in the $200 to $400 range, and perhaps multiple games for Posey, for whom the benefit was said to be about $500.
Both players are refuting such news, but the NCAA – as usual – has the final say.
With the Buckeyes traveling to Lincoln this week, its tough to envision any inflated remuneration of the Buckeye’s box score. In a masochistic way, this may prove to be a bit of a diversion for head coach Luke Fickell who would have been bombarded with Miller-Bauserman-offensive philosophy crticisms for the next five days.
If there’s any positives here, left tackle Mike Adams and defensive end Solomon Thomas are “expected to be cleared” for their time served following the tattoo-based infractions which led to the suspension of five players in totality and the resignation of one Jim Tressel. A starting left tackle could mean good (better?) things for quarterback Braxton Miller who continues to have very little time in the pocket, or what should be a pocket. Naturally, this does not bolster the weaponry which Miller could have at his disposal, rendering the offensive cupboard as barren as it was against the Spartans this past Saturday.
All-World AD Gene Smith will take to the podium at 3PM today to discuss the recent events. Stay tuned.
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(AP Photo/Al Behrman)
11 Comments
Regardless, things are going to get ugly this week in Lincoln. This will not be over quickly. We will not enjoy this.
At least the Badgers were able to give them a proper welcome to the conference.
how would one figure out they were paid $200 extra at a summer job? Unless they “worked” for 1 day, then it seems a little hard to nail this down.
Also, they are dumb as hell for taking anymore $ than they earned if this indeed is true.
I’m tired of reading all of these negative Buckeye stories; let’s get bball started so I can feel good about sports again.
Awesome. Just awesome.
At the end of the day, though, I’m not sure it matters. Herron might have done a little better on Saturday against MSU’s defense, but only marginally. Posey is a non-factor until we get a guy that can play QB (let’s give Guyton a shot – why not?). Not sure that either of them missing the Nebraska game is going to matter much. AS B-bo said, I think it’s going to be a long day either way.
@Garry
I think this new violation does matter, doesn’t it?
Isn’t the school still under investigation? Each one of these violations makes it feel like OSU is inching closer and closer to “lack of institutional control” territory.
Also…
I like the “all-world” comment. Priceless.
And if you have something better to do Saturday night, I suggest you do it, because the Nebraska game could get very ugly…as in, under 100 yards of offense ugly.
$200-$400 from a summer job, is there any possibility that somebody made a mistake in counting money as dumb as that may sound. It seems that the NCAA doesn’t understand that student-athletes are still students and need money to get through life for those 4 (or 3) years regardless of scholarships. In reality, what’s the difference between the normal student gaining some extra money like that and a student-athlete gaining that money? Both are still students at whatever school. Rant aside, the main problem for OSU this week wont be not having Posey and Herron back if they stay suspended, itll be the defense trying to contain Taylor Martinez.
@ C-Bus Kevin:
I only meant from an on-the-field competitive aspect this week. I am weary thinking of what all of this means otherwise, though I don’t doubt that you’re right.
If a few tattoos, some charity gift bags, and $200 of summer job pay discrepancy means the destruction of one of the finest programs in the NCAA (spoken like a true scarlet-blooded Alumnus) in one of the least scandalous scandals to ever grace headlines, then I’m going to have to find another way to spend my Saturdays. (I should probably do that, anyway.)
The NCAA will not be happy until the Buckeyes miss a bowl game and Tressel is MIA from college football for life.
It’s still about some small hand-outs to Ohio St fans. Sad. Of course, the cost of the tattoos was much higher than many fans here seem to be willing to believe. But that’s not the issue. It’s not just the players at this point. The administrators are seriously at fault here. It is their job to keep this behavior under control, and for quite a while, not only couldn’t they do that, they covered it up.
Garry – the NCAA won’t kill you if you screw up on a couple things like that – see Boise St. If the Ohio St program actually does get seriously knocked on its ass, it’s not because of tattoos or summer jobs. It’s because the higher-ups didn’t bother to do anything these infractions.
How much were the tattoos? Because a pair of gold pants will run you about $1000 on ebay, and a Big Ten ring about $5000.
Also, Gene Smith must be fired. With all these violations, he’s either ignorant and incompetent or complicit – either of which would be cause for termination.
@ Steve: What have the “higher-ups” failed to do? They suspended players for taking $200 gift bags and receiving “excess pay” for summer jobs – and they disassociated with the booster that provided both (or access to both). Are the “higher ups” supposed to hold their hands, find them all “legitimate” summer jobs, and assign minders to them for every event they attend and every establishment they enter??
There is absolutely no lack of institutional control here, as there is no way that the university can track everything that these kids do. This is death by a thousand cuts. Every time one of these things (tattoos, gift bags, summer jobs) crops up because of a Dispatch reporter trying to make a name for himself (or find a staff writer’s job at SI), the image of the university looks worse, and the NCAA will be pressured to find something “insitutional” that didn’t and doesn’t exist. I would argue that this perception of “higher ups” not doing anything – and the perception of Gene Smith’s alleged “incompetence” (see Jeff, above) is already proof of the acceptance of the false narrative.
If anything, I would say that the program’s “higher ups” are far more draconian than are the “higher ups” at any other university in the country (see, e.g., Boise State). It is no fun to be a football player at OSU right now, and one of the thousand cuts that might eventually kill (or at least seriously wound) the program is the impact that this will have on recruiting.