Tar Heels' cornerback out for season because of probe

North Carolina cornerback Charles Brown won't play this season amid the ongoing NCAA investigation into the football program, while cornerback Kendric Burney will miss this weekend's game at No. 25 Miami.

Brown started all 13 games last season and still has a year of eligibility remaining, though the school didn't specify why he will sit out the season. Both he and Burney were among six players declared ineligible "for violating school and/or NCAA rules" before the opener against LSU. Neither has played this season.

Burney recently completed a six-game NCAA suspension for receiving improper benefits connected to trips, but the school said there is an "unresolved issue" connected to the probe.

The NCAA launched an investigation in the summer focused on agent-related benefits. That probe expanded to include possible academic violations involving a tutor.

Brown is the sixth player to miss the season connected to the investigation, joining defensive tackle Marvin Austin, defensive end Robert Quinn, receiver Greg Little, and safeties Brian Gupton and Jonathan Smith. The NCAA declared Quinn and Little "permanently ineligible" for receiving jewelry and travel accommodations, then lying about it in three interviews. The school kicked Austin off the team after the NCAA offered preliminary information that he had received $10,000 to $13,000 in improper benefits.

As with Brown, the school didn't specify why Gupton and Smith wouldn't play this season.

In addition to Burney, the status of defensive end Michael McAdoo and fullback Devon Ramsay remains in question. McAdoo has yet to play this season, while Ramsay played the first four games before the school announced it would hold him out of games because of the investigation.

Last week, defensive lineman Linwan Euwell and tailback Ryan Houston were cleared to return after missing the first five games. Euwell played in the win at Virginia.

Tailback Shaun Draughn (one game) and safety Da'Norris Searcy (three) also missed games before being cleared to play, while safety Deunta Williams recently returned from an NCAA-issued four-game suspension for improper benefits connected to trips.

* Seven South Carolina players had 20 meals totaling more than $330 with a Gamecocks fan that violated NCAA rules. The money was reimbursed to charity and eligibility restored to six of the seven, according to documents released by the university through Freedom of Information Act requests by the Associated Press and other media outlets.

All but three of South Carolina's players were eligible for the Gamecocks opener, with senior tight end Weslye Saunders, senior left tackle Jarriel King and senior cornerback Chris Culliver sitting out. King and Culliver were cleared to play in time for South Carolina's next game.

* Rutgers coach Greg Schiavo did not have an update on the condition of paralyzed junior defensive tackle Eric LeGrand. There has been no word since he was hurt Saturday on whether he has had any feeling or movement below his neck.

* North Texas fired coach Todd Dodge, declaring its decision to put a high school coach in charge of a Division I program a failure after 3 1/2 years. Dodge was 1-6 this season and 6-37 overall. He went 79-1 and won four state championships in his final 5 years at nearby Southlake Carroll High School.

* Florida receiver Chris Rainey, dismissed from the team earlier this season, could be back on the field next week against Georgia.

Coach Urban Meyer partially reinstated Rainey last week after he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge for sending a threatening text message to a former girlfriend.

* Connecticut quarterback Cody Endres was suspended for the rest of the season for an unspecified violation of university policies. The suspension remains in effect for the rest of the academic year. *