BATON ROUGE, La. --
LSU running back
Stevan Ridley may be forced to miss the AT&T Cotton Bowl against
Texas A&M (No. 17 BCS, No. 18 AP) because of an academic violation.
Coach Les Miles, who discussed Ridley's status after the No. 11 Tigers
completed pre-Christmas workouts Wednesday, said LSU is appealing to the
NCAA in hopes that Ridley can still suit up when LSU (10-2) meets the
Aggies (9-3) in Cowboys Stadium on Jan. 7.
"This was a one-time
incident," said Miles, who declined to get into specifics. "The school
has been compliant. Ridley has been compliant. We are appealing it. We
are making our case."
Ridley led LSU with 1,042 yards rushing and
14 touchdowns during the regular season. He still is practicing with the
team. Players were not available to speak with reporters Wednesday, but
Ridley released a written statement through LSU.
"While I question [the NCAA's] findings and think that the punishment is
harsh, I did put myself in a compromising position that I deeply
regret," Ridley said in his statement. "I have the full support of the
LSU administration and coaching staff, and trust them in assisting me
with the appeals process.
"I hold myself to a very high standard
for my performance both on and off the field. I know that my family,
teammates, coaches, friends and fans share that standard, and I regret
that we find ourselves facing this dilemma at this time."
Miles said there was not yet a clear time frame for when the NCAA will hear the school's appeal or rule on Ridley.
Ridley's
1,000-yard season was the 13th in school history. Ridley has one more
season of eligibility remaining, although he has talked about possibly
entering the 2011 NFL draft.
If Ridley is unable to play in the Cotton Bowl, redshirt freshman
Michael Ford and senior
Richard Murphy
would move to the top of the running back rotation. During the regular
season, Ford rushed for 235 yards on 41 carries and Murphy picked up 82
yards on 23 attempts.
Alfred Blue and
Spencer Ware,
two true freshmen, could also get some carries in the Cotton Bowl. Blue
ran for 101 yards on 20 carries, while Ware gained 73 yards on 14
attempts in the regular season.
Meanwhile, junior college
quarterback Zach Mettenberger, who signed with LSU last week, has not
yet joined the Tigers for practice as hoped because he is still going
through the admissions process as a midyear transfer student.
The
6-foot-5, 230-pound Mettenberger attended Butler (Kan.) Community
College after being dismissed from Georgia last spring for violating
team rules. He is expected to enroll at LSU in January and take part in
offseason workouts and spring practice, when he'll get a chance to
compete with
Jordan Jefferson and
Jarrett Lee for the starting job.
LSU ranked last in the Southeastern Conference in passing this season with 155.4 yards per game.
The
Tigers will now get a four-day holiday break before resuming practice
on Monday. LSU will practice four times on campus before leaving for
Dallas on New Year's Day.
"We had a long practice [Tuesday] and
another good one" on Wednesday, Miles said. "We have a lot of work to do
when we get back. I think we're in position to play well in this game."
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