"Alabama's list of suspended football players grows to 10 in past 8 months"
No. 1 Alabama's attempt at a third straight national championship has been anything but smooth. Star safety HaHa Clinton-Dix marks the 10th reported suspension of a Crimson Tide player in the past eight months. Alabama did not announce the reasons for most of the actions. Here is the list of suspensions and what Nick Saban said at the time.
Brent Calloway Brent Calloway, Eddie Williams, D.J. Pettway, Tyler Hayes
When: February Reason given: Arrested for second-degree robbery and credit fraud. Alabama suspended the players and then dismissed them shortly thereafter. What Saban said: "Their actions do not reflect the spirit and character that we want our organization to reflect. It's obviously very disappointing and unacceptable what happened. ... Some people learn by words, some people learn by consequences, some people can't learn." What happened next: Calloway transferred to Arizona Western College, where he has 154 yards rushing and one touchdown on 30 carries. Pettway went to East Mississippi Community College and has 16 tackles and three sacks in five games. It's not clear what Hayes is doing. Williams will be tried as an adult on two second-degree robbery charges. Records for the other three players are marked confidential, likely meaning they have been granted youthful offender status.
Danny Woodson Jr.
When: February Reason given: Suspended through the spring for violating team rules. What Saban said: "Danny Woodson has been suspended for violation of team rules so he's not going to be participating." What happened next: Woodson transferred to South Alabama and received an NCAA waiver to play immediately. South Alabama said it had support from Alabama. Woodson is the Jaguars' fourth-leading receiver with 13 catches for 168 yards and one touchdown.
Malcolm Faciane
When: August Reason given: Suspended for violating team rules. What Saban said: "He can return if he does the things he's supposed to do in some point in the future." What happened next: Faciane was out for 30 days, including the start of preseason camp.
Trey DePriest LB Trey DePriest
When: August Reason given: Suspended for violating team rules. What Saban said: "In this case, we have a lot of respect for Trey. He's played very well for us. He made a mistake. He didn't do the right thing. It wasn't a very smart thing to do, and there has to be consequences sometimes when you don't do the right things." What happened next: DePriest returned to good standing with the team after one week. Saban said he "took care of his business, did everything to a T." DePriest has 15 tackles this season, tied for fifth on the team, and one forced fumble.
Geno Smith
When: August Reason given: Arrested for driving under the influence. Smith was suspended for the season opener against Virginia Tech. What Saban said: "We've never had an issue with Geno. He's an excellent person. He's never been in trouble before, never been in my office for anything. But I think this is something that everybody should learn from. When you make a bad choice, sometimes the consequences of that choice can really have a negative effect. Some of these guys don't have enough foresight to understand cause and effect, but Geno has been a really good person in the program and he just made a bad choice, a bad decision. Made several of them. Now, he's got consequences for it, and we're not going to have any other comment about that." What happened next: Smith, who has played in the three games this season, joined DePriest in apologizing to teammates at a players meeting in August. "We want zero distractions when the season comes, so hopefully he (Smith) learned his lesson and everybody else learned from that, too," linebacker C.J. Mosley said.
T.J. Yeldon's unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Texas A&M. (The Associated Press) T.J. Yeldon
When: September Reason given: Yeldon was suspended for the first quarter of the Colorado State game for his unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Texas A&M, The Anniston Star reported. Yeldon made a "money" gesture and then made a double throat-slashing gesture. What Saban said: "That's not us. That's not our program. That's not what we do. We've never ever tolerated and we've never ever had it. I don't think there's any place for it in college football. I can't control what other people do, but I can control what our guys do." What happened next: Yeldon apologized in a statement for "my selfish actions." Yeldon is Alabama's leading rusher at 98.5 yards per game.
HaHa Clinton-Dix
When: October Reason given: Suspended for violating team rules. What Saban said: "I'm going to be consistent. When guys get suspended, I never ever say what it's for. All right? So I'm not going there, so don't ask me. It's the way it always happens. Every guy. If they do right, they wouldn't be getting suspended. I don't know for how long this will be, so don't ask me that either." What happened next: Clinton-Dix is second on the team with 24 tackles and a potential first-round draft pick. Since backup safety Nick Perry is out with a season-ending shoulder injury, Landon Collins and Smith are expected to replace Clinton-Dix. "I think we'll be all right," defensive end Jeoffrey Pagan said.
