In a press conference conducted by OSU Athletic Director Gene Smith, the school announced that five players were overcompensated for summer jobs in the past. DeVier Posey, Boom Herron, and Marcus Hall will all be suspended for at least the Nebraska game, while Etienne Sabino has already been cleared and Melvin Fellows is already sitting out due to a medical hardship.
OSU claims it was not obvious the players were being overpaid, but after further investigating the issue, it was determined that hours worked and dollars paid just did not match up. Hall was overcompensated by $232.50, Fellows by $292.50, Herron by $292.50, and Posey by $727.50. It is expected Hall and Herron will be reinstated for the Illinois game, while Posey could be looking at a longer suspension.
School booster Robert "Bobby" DiGeronimo, responsible for the charity event payments Jordan Hall and Travis Howard got suspended for earlier in the year, seems to be behind this as well. At the press conference, Smith said he has been disassociated from the school, banning him from all things Ohio State.
More detail from the official release:
The Ohio State University Director of Athletics Gene Smith announced today that, as part of the university's continued investigation with the NCAA to resolve any remaining football compliance issues, violations have been discovered and three football student-athletes have been declared ineligible for the football game this weekend against the University of Nebraska. Those players are Marcus Hall, DeVier Posey and Daniel Herron. The university has submitted a request for reinstatement on behalf of each student-athlete, but it is anticipated that each will sit out at least the game this weekend.
"As we have previously disclosed, the university and the NCAA were not able to finish investigating all of the areas before the university's August hearing with the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions," Smith said. "Upon receiving the necessary records from outside parties and conducting a few additional interviews, the university and the NCAA enforcement staff have jointly determined that violations did occur. The violations that have affected the eligibility of these three players relate to their overpayment while being employed with companies associated with Robert DiGeronimo, an individual who was recently disassociated by the university as a result of several student athletes receiving extra benefits surrounding a charity event in February. The university and the NCAA enforcement staff are in the final stages of the resolution of this case, and I anticipate having further information in that regard in the near future."
If you'd like, check out video of the presser here, if you can handle an already tough Monday getting even tougher. Feel free to vent here or just roll with the punches as we have been throughout this entire season.
