A week ago today it was reported that a key piece of West Virginia’s secondary was facing an academic eligibility issue that could sideline the player for the entire 2014 season.
While that didn’t turn out to be the case, the Mountaineers will still be without him for the first quarter of the season.
At a press conference Monday, head coach Dana Holgorsen announced that Ishmael “Icky” Banks has been reinstated to the football program after a review of his situation by the NCAA. However, the starting cornerback will be suspended for the first three games of the season, which means Banks will miss non-conference games against Alabama, Towson and Maryland.
Banks will be eligible to return for the Big 12 opener against Oklahoma Sept. 20.
The past three seasons, Banks has played in 36 games for the Mountaineers. When WVU takes the field for the opener against the Tide, it’ll snap Banks’ streak of 16 consecutive starts.