Associated Press
The college football notebook …
BATON ROUGE, La. ó LSU quarterback Ryan Perrilloux is technically off suspension but still cannot practice with the team.
LSU spokesman Michael Bonnette said Thursday that there is no timetable for Perrilloux, who finished last season as the expected heir apparent to the starting job, to return to the field.
“He’s no longer suspended, which means he has some privileges back, but one of the privileges he’s not been able to regain is the ability to practice with the team,” Bonnette said.
LSU head coach Les Miles suspended Perrilloux indefinitely in February, shortly before spring practices began, for unspecified team violations, which could have included anything from missing classes to team meetings or workouts.
Perrilloux’s former high school coach, who remains close to the quarterback and his family, has said Perrilloux missed a mandatory team meeting, then missed classes to attend his father’s funeral without notifying coaches.
It was the third suspension for Perrilloux, who was widely considered the favorite to succeed Matt Flynn as first-string quarterback after leading LSU to two victories as a starter ó including the SEC championship game ó when Flynn, a senior, was injured during the 2007 season.
In May of 2007 he was suspended from the team indefinitely after he was cited for trying to illegally get on a riverboat casino in Baton Rouge by using his older brother’s driver’s license. He was reinstated in August.
In October, the week before the Alabama game, he was barred from practice for his role in a nightclub brawl.
Earlier in 2007, Perrilloux was named as a “person of interest” in a federal counterfeiting investigation, but that probe never led to charges.
He may also miss LSU’s spring football game, scheduled for April 5.
“Ryan still has some things he’s got to take care of and until he meets those requirements set by coach, his status is going to remain as it is,” Bonnette said.
SOUTH CAROLINA
COLUMBIA, S.C. ó South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier says freshman quarterback Stephen Garcia must go through counseling during his time away from the football team.
Garcia was suspended from all team activities this week after he was ticketed for underage drinking.
Spurrier said after practice Wednesday that Garcia has several things to accomplish as part of stipulations set on him by the university.
This was Garcia’s third run-in with police since arriving on campus about a year ago.