CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- An attorney for North Carolina's Quinton Coples said Tuesday the NCAA found no wrongdoing by the defensive lineman, who attended NFL draft parties with ex-teammates Robert Quinn and Marvin Austin.
Quinn and Austin, both of whom were drafted this year, previously had been suspended by the NCAA for rules violations.
Former North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Robert F. Orr said the NCAA notified him in a phone call Monday that its review was closed. The NCAA had spoken with Coples in May after photos surfaced of him with Austin and Quinn at a party in Washington, D.C.
Austin was kicked off the team, and the NCAA ruled Quinn permanently ineligible during the probe into improper benefits and academic misconduct.
Quinn was selected in the first round (14th overall) by the St. Louis Rams in April's NFL draft, and the New York Giants picked Austin in the second round (52nd overall).
Orr said the NCAA never alleged Coples broke any rules.
Coples was third in the Atlantic Coast Conference with 10 sacks during the 2010 season.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press
