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It appeared as if the world of Syracuse sports would calm down for a while once SU lacrosse bowed out of the NCAA Tournament. Turns out the lull didn’t last very long, and the culprit was sophomore wide receiver Jarrod West. Chances are, West isn’t enjoying a typical relaxing Memorial Day weekend, because he’s dealing with the repercussions of his recent arrest for underage drinking.
- Listen to the Fresh FizzCast: West’s arrest, Chad Kelly’s list, rules changes
Team Fizz breaks down West’s situation in the latest Fresh FizzCast, with an initial reminder from Hoffman that college kids and drinking tend to go together. West’s alleged offense pales in comparison to the drug charge against the high school teammate he was hanging out with, Pittsburgh backup quarterback Anthony Gonzalez.
“The two charges are very, very different. If we’re being completely honest, every college campus in the country has underage drinking.”
As Hoff points out, perhaps worse than the underage drinking arrest itself may be that West was hanging out with someone who was busted for marijuana. Doug Marrone may end up reprimanding West behind the scenes but “Big Steve” Neikam says we’ll never find out for sure.
“The statement from the Athletic Department was typical Marrone/Belichick-ish – ‘We are aware of the situation, and will continue to deal with the matter privately’ – And that’s kind of what you would expect. But it does look like, at least for now, there’s not going to be any real suspension involved. It’s pretty much going to be an in-house matter.”
Gonzalez was dealt with publicly by Panthers head coach Todd Graham, who suspended him from Pitt football indefinitely. I discuss some similarities between the way Marrone and Graham have now dealt with player discipline. For example, the mysterious way the Pitt career of tight end Mike Cruz (brother of graduated ‘Cuse TE Jose) came to an end.
“What happened with Mike Cruz was a Marrone-esque move from Todd Graham. He didn’t specify what happened, he kept it really private, just said he violated team rules, and suspended him. And then Cruz decided to leave (for good). That’s very similar to things we’ve seen at Syracuse since Doug Marrone joined the program.”
The two players who found themselves in trouble during Graham’s short tenure have both been suspended, as the coach fights to restore order to a program hampered with crime problems in recent years.
Check out the Fresh FizzCast for more on the way Marrone/Graham are handling the West/Gonzalez ordeal. We also update the Orange’s recruitment of QB Chad Kelly, who has narrowed his list down to seven schools. Kelly has said he’ll make his decision soon – does SU have a chance against schools like Florida State, Alabama, and Clemson? And after the SU loss to Maryland, does there need to be a set of rule changes in NCAA lacrosse?
Posted: Andrew Kanell
