Butch Davis has suspended another two players for undisclosed violations of team and university policies. Jermaine Strong and Andre Barbour become the fourth and fifth players suspended in the Davis era and as has been the case in the other instances Davis is not talking. However, that may be because he legally cannot since he has cited HIPPA rules as barring him from discussing it. For those who have not been to a doctor or hospital in the past few years HIPPA is federal law meant to protect healthcare information.
Can anyone say positive drug test?
In fact, it is almost like Davis wanted to nudge folks in that direction since in the other three cases he simply said he would not comment on the reasons why the players were suspended but in these two cases he said it was because of HIPPA which pretty much tells the world it was a positive drug test. This is also confirmed, to some extent, by the fact the N&O dug up an arrest record for Andre Barbour dated July of this year where he was charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana.
As for on the field impact, Strong was a starter at cornerback which means younger players will have to come in for him. Young, inexperienced players is exactly what you do not want when facing the enigma which is the Jim Grobe spread offense. The Heels are already playing young and this just exasperates the issue further. Barbour is a reserve offensive tackle and should not be missed.