Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said Saturday that CB Bradley Roby will be suspended for the team's season opener against Buffalo.
A misdemeanor charge against Roby was reduced from class A to class B on Friday, and the charge could be dropped if he enters a pretrial diversion program. Meyer still went ahead and disciplined his star corner. Roby, a redshirt junior, was arrested July 21 in Bloomington, Ind., after a bar incident.
Some evaluators consider Roby the best corner in college football.
Meyer also said junior RB Rod Smith will be suspended vs. Buffalo for violating team rules in the winter. Suspensions are taking a toll on the Buckeye backfield -- Ohio State will also be without top RB Carlos Hyde vs. Buffalo. Hyde has been suspended for the first three games of the season. He had charges against him dropped after he was arrested following an altercation at a bar in Columbus, Ohio.
With the top two running backs out for the opener, senior Jordan Hall, who had been expected to play mostly in the slot this season, will get the start. Hall (5-foot-8, 197 pounds) was given a medical redshirt last season because injuries to his foot and knee limited him to three games. Hall is a former running back who has rushed for 1,032 yards in his career.
