Finally, Kolton Houston will get to play football for the Georgia Bulldogs.
The offensive lineman has been serving a suspension since 2010, his first year in Athens, because he tested positive for 19-Norandrosterone, a drug on the NCAA’s banned substance list. According to a previous report from the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, Houston took the drug to aid in the healing of a shoulder injury while he was in high school in 2009 and had not taken it since. However, for some inexplicable reason, the drug continued to show up in testing and Houston continued to serve out a suspension.
In any case, Houston met the exit threshold following his most recent NCAA drug screening. The Bulldogs announced on Thursday that the lineman is officially good to go.
“This has been a long and very complex case and we have tried to be advocates for Kolton throughout this three-year process,” said UGA Senior Associate Athletic Director for Sports Medicine Ron Courson. “We would like to thank the NCAA staff, as well as the members of the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports, who assisted with this case. There are a number of medical professionals who played key roles in this appeal, from physicians to pharmacists to biomedical researchers to drug toxicologists. This was truly a team effort.”
Houston now has two years of eligibility remaining and could possibly be granted a third.
“The big thing is that we’re just really happy for Kolton,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “We’re thankful for all the work Ron Courson put in and for those who kept believing, but mostly we’re happy for him. We don’t want to put any pressure on him like now he’s got to be a star. The bottom line is, we’re happy he’ll be able to participate for Georgia. We’re glad it all worked out.”
And, as it just so happened, Houston received the news on his 22nd birthday. Best present ever?It took me 22 years to get the best birthday present but the NCAA finally gave me my eligibility! #HoustonIsFree
— Kolton Houston (@KoltonHouston75) July 25, 2013