Exactly one week after a false start initiated by the school, three suspended Ohio State players are back in the good graces of the NCAA.
In a release, OSU announced that junior running back Jordan Hall, sophomore defensive back Corey Brown, and junior defensive back Travis Howard have been reinstated after serving a two-game suspension. The sanctions resulted from the players receiving envelopes with $200 in cash at a charity event in Cleveland last February.
Each player will have to repay $200 to charity before they are eligible to compete.
“The university appreciates the NCAA’s expeditious response in reinstating these three student athletes,” said athletic director Gene Smith in a statement.
Head coach Luke Fickell announced last Tuesday that the three players -- two of whom were starters entering the season -- had been reinstated and would be available for Week 2 after sitting out the opener. Three days later, however, the NCAA announced that the players “are not cleared to compete in the game on Saturday with Toledo” and that “the nature and scope of their violations merit a minimum two-game suspension.”
The NCAA added that “the facts submitted by the university have raised further questions that need to be answered before the reinstatement process is complete"; apparently, those questions were answered to the NCAA’s satisfaction.
It should also be noted, though, that the release from OSU stated "[t]he enforcement investigation into the Ohio State University is ongoing.” That investigation is separate from the one that resulted in the school’s appearance in front of the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions last month.
