On the heels of news regarding a possible hazing incident, North Carolina has suspended four players for the 2014 season opener against Liberty. Cornerbacks Des Lawrence, M.J. Stewart and Brian Walker and linebacker Donnie Miles have been suspended one game each for what is simply being referred to now as a violation of team policy, according to WRAL. Head coach Larry Fedora announced the suspensions when meeting with the media Wednesday afternoon.
“We’re going to hold all of our guys accountable for everything they do on the field and off the field,” Fedora said. “We also have very high expectations for our guys in this program and they didn’t meet those expectations.”
Fedora was asked if the internal investigation by the university was completed. He said he was unsure if it was or not, but he was at a point where he believed he had enough information to make a decision on the status for those four players. This hurts UNC’s depth on defense for the season opener, which could become a factor against a decent FCS program like Liberty, but the Tar Heels should have enough on the field to avoid letting it harm them on the scoreboard in the end.
Walker played in all 13 games last season, recording 21 tackles and an interception. Lawrence appeared in eight games and had 11 tackles.
Earlier in the day it was also reported defensive lineman Ethan Farmer could be facing an academic eligibility issue. This comes following an offseason when two defensive linemen left the program.