Noah Spence hasn’t played a down for Ohio State in almost a year because of suspensions, but he might have a chance to plead his case this week.
After rumblings of a possible reinstatement for the junior defensive end surfaced over social media, Dave Biddle of Bucknuts.com reported Spence is set for an appeal Tuesday.
After the Buckeyes’ 42-27 win against Indiana Saturday afternoon, head coach Urban Meyer said he thinks Spence — who’s suspended indefinitely after his second failed drug test in less than a year — will indeed have a chance to do so.
“I do not know much about it. I think there is an appeal. I'm not involved in the appeal. I think there is,” Meyer said. “I can't confirm or deny it because I don't really know the specifics of it. I think there is.”
Spence, a first-team All-Big Ten selection, hasn’t played since Ohio State’s loss to Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship Game last season. He was suspended shortly after for three games after testing positive for ecstasy.
After missing the Orange Bowl and games against Navy and Virginia Tech this year, Spence was due to return against Kent State before the Buckeyes sidelined him for another failed test.
Despite Big Ten rules that state any player who fails two drug tests is declared permanently ineligible from competition, Meyer defended his decision not to dismiss Spence.
“I treat these guys like they're my kid, and I'm not a big fan of dismissal, I just don't do that very often ... What the future holds for Noah, I have no idea. But to throw him to the street, I didn't feel like that was appropriate just yet," he said in September.
"And we're going to do the best we can to help a guy that was an academic All‑Big Ten, good student, great family, that has a problem. It's our job to help him, and I don't think you will ever see our staff ever do that, say ‘You're out,’ in that kind of situation. Unfortunately sometimes it's not our decision.”
