Last week, a report surfaced that offensive tackle Seantrel Henderson has been suspended for Miami’s season opener and was, reportedly, very strongly considering a transfer.
The full force of a, well, Hurricane was dispatched in a flurry of denials from very important people -- including the most important-est -- that the No. 1 player in the nation in 2010 was not considering a second transfer in less than a year.
Unfortunately, the denials did not deny any portion of the suspension aspect of the report. And now, we’ll assume, we’ll have additional silence when it comes to additional players who might suffer the same season-opening fate.
According to NBC Miami.com, and citing two sources close to the University of Miami football team, six players have been suspended for the 2011 opener against Maryland. Henderson was one of the half-dozen players identified by the TV station, as were running back Storm Johnson, linebacker Kelvin Cain, defensive back Keion Payne, defensive lineman Dyron Dye and defensive back Devont’a Davis.
The original report hinted that academics may have been the basis for the suspension(s); the NBC affiliate’s report states that the suspensions are for unspecified violations of team rules.
Henderson, Payne and Johnson were listed as backups on the first spring practice depth chart of the Al Golden era. Cain, Dye and Davis weren’t listed on the two-deep.
Of course, and as expected, the school has yet to comment on, and is not expected to lower themselves to the level of dignifying, the latest reports involving the potential suspensions of a half-dozen of their players.
That’s, of course, until the latest report morphs into the inclusion of the dreaded “transfer” word. At that point, the gloves come off the Miami Spin Machine.
Until then, though, expect squat. Officially.