Mike Riley confirms five Huskers suspended for season opener

Share

Mike Riley is laying down the law.

The new Huskers head coach announced to reporters Thursday night that five players will be suspended for the team's season-opener against BYU on Sept. 5.

Word of the suspensions got out before Thursday, with a story in the Portland Tribune breaking that news after the reporter sat in with Riley during a meeting and reported on conversations between the head coach and assistants. That story said five players would be suspended, including a defensive starter.

But Thursday night, Riley made it more official. He wouldn't say who the players are or why they are being suspended, only indicating a "team violation." But he made it known that the Huskers will be short handed during their first game of the season.

[MORE BIG TEN: Michigan first football program to team with Michael Jordan's brand]

"We're gonna have five guys suspended for the first game," Riley told reporters. Video of his comments was posted by the Omaha World Herald. "Didn't want it to come out exactly like this, but I did want it to come out early. I'm not gonna give you their names, and I'm not gonna give you why but it was obviously a team violation. And then we will be anxious to have those guys back in the fold after that."

Riley talked at length about the decision-making process he wants his players to go through.

"You can have a book this thick that has every idea that you can come up with about rules. And then all of a sudden, you run into something that's not in the book," Riley said. "So it's not that we don't talk about the specifics. I do, every meeting, talk about some specific about choices, but like I tell them, if they really sit down and think about it in the cool of the evening by themselves when nobody's influencing them and they are thinking about doing this and not doing this, they know the right thing. They really do. We all can do that. Now, we all know, too, they're young and they get involved with other stuff that influences what they're doing. But the real crux of the matter is, there is a choice and there is a right and there is a wrong. So doing the right thing, to me, is simple and it covers a lot of bases."

Contact Us