The Big Ten principal's office just announced Kurt Coleman has been suspended and will miss this week's game at Indiana.
The suspension is the result of a helmet to helmet hit late in the Illinois contest. Your worst fears have been realized as this likely means Anderson Russell will start at safety opposite Hines. Joy.
UPDATE
(Tressel and Gene Smiths' joint response to the suspension):
Obviously, we will abide by the one-game suspension from the Big Ten Conference, but we feel as if there was poor judgment throughout.
We concur that Kurt’s hit was late and a result of poor judgment; he was thus penalized and removed from the game by his coaches. We do not agree that it was “pre-meditated” or that he was “targeting a defenseless” player.
The decision to suspend points to the Conference office’s feeling as if there was poor judgment by the game officials for their decision not to eject at the time.
In our estimation, the final “poor judgment” is in levying a one-game suspension in this particular case. We will abide by the decision, learn from it, and move forward.
