DEVELOPING: Saunders Out At USC

South Carolina has dismissed tight end Weslye Saunders from the football team.

USC AD Eric Hyman said in a statement Wednesday that Saunders was no longer part of the team. He didn't elaborate...

The 6-foot-6, 270-pound senior, had to talk to NCAA investigators about potential agent contact ((the infamous "down in Miami" episode)) and was among several Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier encouraged to leave a local hotel, the Whitney, where they had stayed.

Saunders was suspended by Spurrier on August 23rd for violations the coach has said were not connected to the NCAA probe... the HQ is guessing that was "hotel" related.

Saunders has not been with the team since...

Let the second-guessing begin in earnest...
Ari Bergeron sits at the adult table for the explanation...
((HT: WLTX-TV Columbia))

South Carolina may have bigger problems than just agent issues...

S.Carolina coach Steve Spurrier/Courtesy: coacheshotseat.com

We reported on South Carolina tight end Weslye Saunders being suspended from the team last week and when we did, something caught our eye in the story we linked to. We hadn't heard anything about it, but it didn't sound really good.

Now, Saunders, his issues include violating a team rule, believed to be showing up late to practice and then lying about why and also there is a little investigation as to his potential involvement with an agent party that several players were involved with.

As for the, well, newest issue...it may be the biggest of them all. It appears that Saunders, along with at least 10 other players were living in a rather nice Columbia area hotel for what appears to be a rather discounted rate.

More on this from the state.com or more specifically their GoGamecocks.com section... RIGHT HERE

Of course, the article goes on to quote the 'Ol Ball Coach as saying this isn't a distraction. We don't buy that...for a minute.

The players, to comply with an NCAA rule, would end up paying the hotel...The Whitney $5000 or more to make up the difference. We are pretty sure that they don't have that kind of money.

This is indicative of a larger problem that we have seen, particularly in the South where college players are afforded luxuries that most other people wouldn't get. It cropped up with the recent Bar Knoxville arrests of some Tennessee football players. While we understand that the players don't usually have a lot of pocket change to spend on things, this sort of practice is ultimately against the NCAA rules.

The NCAA is investigating the South Carolina incident as a part of their current investigation into Saunders. The combination of issues beginning to pop up would indicate they may be busy for awhile.

Enjoy Coach Spurrier who seems resigned to the thought of getting some penalties from the NCAA. Thanks WLTX-TV in Columbia:

Weslye Saunders suspended...Temporarily for now...

Weslye Saunders//Courtesy: al.com

The 'ol ball coach is vetting out some discipline these days. South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier announced Monday night that star Tight End Weslye Saunders has been "temporarily suspended" for apparently violating some team rules.

We probably should add here that Saunders is a part of the NCAA investigation into the South Beach player/agent party, but Spurrier was adamant that was not the reason for the suspension.

The Ball Coach also had to clarify a situation that apparently popped up where Saunders' was part of a group of players living in an area hotel. Hmmm....hadn't heard about that one.

In the meantime, Columbia's thestate.com tries to make sense of it all...read it RIGHT HERE

This, well, isn't looking very good for the Gamecocks. Saunders seems to have a rather lengthy list of questionable decisions here, even if the South Beach incident isn't true.

He was supposed to be the best receiver on the team this season, on the watch list for the Mackey award and a surefire NFL draft pick.

Saunders may still pan out that way, Spurrier was emphatic that it was for a "Team Rules Violation" and wouldn't elaborate as to how long the suspension will be in place. We guess that a peek at the starting lineup or guys who dress for next weeks season opener against Southern Mississippi will be the answer to that question.

Here is sound from the 'ol ball coach his ownself....Thanks WLTX-TV: