Iowa backup QB suspended for two games after arrest
A.J. Derby has been suspended for two games following an arrest this past weekend. The redshirt freshman was arrested for public intoxication and fourth-degree criminal mischief in an incident outside of an Iowa City bar late last Saturday. Police responded to a complaint that a man had punched out the window of a bus as he was exiting. The 20-year-old Derby admitted to punching the window and said he would pay for it. Derby also underwent a breath test that showed his blood-alcohol level was at .120.
Head coach Kirk Ferentz said in a statement that Derby’s suspension comes “as a result of poor decisions this past weekend.”
Junior John Weinke will move in to the backup role for the next two weeks against Penn State and Northwestern.
Florida State QB Manuel ready to start after injury
Seminoles quarterback E.J. Manuel could be ready to play this week against ACC foe Wake Forest. Manuel injured his non-throwing shoulder against Oklahoma on Sept. 17 and had been sidelined until this week when he threw some light passes indoors with FSU trainers.
“I’m feeling a whole lot better than I was two weeks ago this time,” Manuel said.” My range of motion, my strength and all of my other stuff is back. I’m excited to get back out there at practice.”
Head coach Jimbo Fisher still isn’t sure if Manuel or redshirt freshman Clint Trickett will start this Saturday. He said the coaching staff would closely monitor Manuel’s progress and make a decision closer to game time.
“That brings another big dimension to the offense,” Fisher said of Manuel. “Not that Clint wasn’t, but it brings extreme athleticism back to the position.”
Bronco players reinstated, finally clear eligibility issues
Geraldo Boldewijn has been reinstated by the NCAA after sitting out the first four games of the season. Boldewijn, along with safety Cedric Febis and defensive tackle Ricky Tjong-A-Tjoe, were all suspended pending NCAA eligibility issues before the season. All three players are from the Netherlands and had played their senior football seasons in the Boise area before signing with the Broncos. Febis was reinstated before the Bronco’s second game against Toledo this year and Tjong-A-Tjoe’s reinstatement is still pending. Boldewijn brings a legitimate deep threat to the Broncos, something that has been missing after the departure of Titus Young last year.
“It’ll be fun,” said Broncos quarterback Kellen Moore. “He deserves some opportunities. He brings some stuff that the other guys can’t. He’s got some talents that hopefully we can showcase.”
Head coach Chris Peterson made it clear that the suspensions were in no way related to academic performance or violation of any NCAA rules. Boise State athletic officials expect to release a comprehensive statement regarding the three players sometime soon.
“We’ll fit him in there and give him some things and we’ll see,” Petersen said. “We just feel really bad for these kids. These kids are sitting here trying to work this out … missing games. It’s really hard on them.”
Utah QB to miss time after injuring non-throwing arm
Jordan Wynn will miss at least the next two to three weeks after he injured his left, non-throwing shoulder last week against Washington. After that time is up the university said, “He will be re-evaluated at that time to determine if he is ready to return.”
Wynn will be replaced by junior Jon Hays, who completed 10 of 17 passes for 156 yards with a touchdown and an interception during the second half of the Utes loss to Washington. True freshman Tyler Shreve will move in to the third-string position during Wynn’s absence.
“[Hays] showed a lot of poise on a lot of plays,” said head coach Kyle Whittingham. “I saw a lot of positives in the half that he played. He has a strong arm and runs fairly effectively.”
“We have to change some things in our offense to play to our quarterback’s strengths,” Whittingham said. “It will necessitate that we do some different things. We’ll play more shotgun and more spread. We’re working through that as we speak. Jon is a better runner than Jordan.”
