TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — After more than a month of waiting, Alabama defensive end Marcell Dareus learned his punishment Thursday evening for improper dealings with an agent.
The NCAA suspended Dareus two games and ordered him to repay $1,787.17 for airfare, lodging, meals and transportation for two trips taken to Miami during the summer.
The punishment rules Dareus out for Saturday’s season opener against San Jose State as well as the Sept. 11 showdown with visiting Penn State. The penalties, though, could have been worse.
According to the NCAA news release, Dareus faced a four-game suspension, but the punishment was reduced to two games due to unspecified mitigating circumstances. The money repaid will go to a charity of Dareus’ choice, not the unidentified agent who hosted the party.
The school still is weighing its option to appeal the decision, compliance director Mike Ward said in a written statement after the NCAA’s ruling. But coach Nick Saban said on his weekly radio show that Alabama will appeal the ruling to reduce the suspension to one game.
“We respect the decision but we are at the same time disappointed in the suspension,” Saban said in a written statement. “We’ll continue to support Marcell as we move forward. Hopefully Marcell and all involved have learned a valuable lesson from this and like I’ve said before, we will continue to work on establishing stronger legislation in terms of agent and financial advisor guidelines.”
News of Dareus’ possible involvement with the agent broke in a July 20 story posted on ESPN.com. The school responded by saying it already was investigating the matter along with the NCAA.
Ward’s statement went on to say NCAA investigators described Dareus as “one of the most truthful student-athletes we have ever interviewed.”
Ward also said Dareus “never intentionally violated any NCAA rules and did not knowingly receive any benefits from an agent.”
Dareus is eligible to return play Sept. 18, when the Tide travels to Duke. Until then, a committee of defensive ends likely will take his spot.
Sophomore Undra Billingsley and Darrington Sentimore were listed as co-backups for Dareus on the depth chart released Monday afternoon. Damion Square is also a candidate to earn the starting job after Saban called him the the best defensive end in the program during preseason practices.
Thursday’s ruling was reminiscent of a similar decision made the Wednesday before last season’s opener against Virginia Tech. Mark Ingram and Julio Jones had their eligibility restored in full after repaying extra benefits received through a fishing trip paid for by an Athens, Ala., business man.
A Monday knee injury already had Ingram sidelined for the 7 p.m. Saturday visit from San Jose State. His status for Penn State still is unclear.
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