University of Florida football announced the suspensions of seven players Sunday, including its top wide receiver Antonio Callaway, for the Sept. 2 season opener against the University Michigan at the AdvoCare Classic at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
In a statement, Florida football coach Jim McElwain did not explain why the players were suspended but said the players will miss practice time as well, according to FloridaGators.com.
"We have a small group of players that have made some choices that are extremely disappointing,'' McElwain said in the statement. "Action has been taken — they have missed some practice and will miss the Michigan game. We will use this as a learning opportunity and we will have some players step up as we move forward."
The Gainesville Sun reported the suspended players were facing university violations and not law enforcement violations. The announcement came after news broke on social media that five players were possibly in trouble.
The Sun added, though, that some of the names that appeared on social media appeared to have been inaccurate based on those named in the suspensions.
Along with Callaway, who had 89 catches for 1,399 yards in seven touchdowns in his first two seasons, the suspensions included linebackers Ventrell Miller and James Houston IV, offensive lineman Kadeem Telfort, defensive linemen Jordan Smith and Richard Desir-Jones, and junior defensive end Keivonnis Davis.
FloridaGators.com noted that only Callaway, Davis, and Desir-Jones had previous game experience.
Callaway already was under scrutiny after he was cited for possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana in May. He eventually pleaded no contest last month to possession of drug paraphernalia and was fined $301.
Last August, Callaway admitted during a Title IX hearing at the university that he was high on marijuana during an alleged sexual assault in January 2016. He was suspended for 2016 spring football workouts as the incident was investigated, but he eventually was found not responsible during a school student code of conduct hearing.
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