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Source: Three freshmen leaving Hawkeyes

By Eric Page | 9 comment(s)

Three freshmen who figured to play key roles in the future of Iowa football are leaving the team and the university when the semester ends next week, a source close to the program has confirmed.

Running back Jevon Pugh and defensive backs Cedric Everson and Abe Satterfield won’t be with the Hawkeyes when they open spring practice. The source could not confirm why they are leaving, but they have been implicated in an investigation of an alleged sexual assault on the Iowa campus.

The Iowa athletic department issued a release last month indicating three Iowa football players were being questioned in the investigation of the incident that allegedly took place in a university dormitory in mid-October. The release did not name names, and police have not filed charges in the investigation, which remains open. But Pugh, Everson and Satterfield have been named in newspaper reports as being involved in the investigation.

Everson and Satterfield were suspended from all team activities Oct. 18. The alleged sexual assault took place Oct. 14. Pugh is not known to have served a suspension. He dressed for all of Iowa’s game, including the regular-season finale in which he did not play. 

Pugh, from Naples, Fla., was to be the Hawkeyes’ starter in the backfield next season after carrying 17 times for 40 yards and a touchdown in five games as a true freshman. He scored the game-winning touchdown in a 34-27 double-overtime win over Michigan State.

Everson, an explosive cornerback from Detroit who had three interceptions in Iowa’s open scrimmage in August, played in five games as a true freshman, mostly on special teams. He finished the year with one tackle.

Satterfield, from Erie, Pa., redshirted his first season on campus.

The loss of Pugh leaves a huge hole in Iowa’s backfield, where no scholarship players will return next season. Shonn Greene, a 5-foot-11, 225-pound bruiser, might return from a semester hiatus. He’s been at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids this fall after leaving Iowa because of academic problems in June, but his return is not certain.

Albert Young, Iowa’s leading rusher who rooms with Greene didn’t want to comment on Greene’s possible return last month, saying only, “Man, Shonn likes to watch TV.”

That doesn’t sound like good news for the Hawkeyes.

Iowa has received verbal commitments from two running backs who could see the field immediately next season. Nate Guillory, the No. 42-ranked junior college player in the country, will probably be the most ready. Tony Cornelius, a high school senior and the cousin of former Iowa back Damian Sims, also has committed to the Hawkeyes.

Iowa has scholarship offers out to several other running backs, including 4-star prospect Mark Ingram, who was on campus last week for his official visit. His comments after the visit further confirm Pugh will be leaving.

“They were just telling me how much they want me here and how I can come in and make an immediate impact because they’re real short on running backs,” Ingram told Web site Rivals.com. “All they have is two walk-ons coming back, so they need some players, and I could probably come here and play right away. They think I’m physically ready to play right now and maybe be a starter for four years.”

Ingram, from Flint, Mich., also has offers from Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Tennessee and Washington.

The two walk-ons Iowa will have back are sophomores-to-be Paki O’Meara and Brian Mungongo. Neither has carried the ball in a game. 

Dana Brown, a running back who would have been a junior next fall, was kicked off the team in October after being charged with domestic assault. He also had a pair of shoplifting arrests over the summer.

Iowa thought it had a top-flight back from the Class of ’08 in Jason Ford, the St. Louis area’s all-time leading rusher from Belleville, Ill. Ford committed to the Hawkeyes in June before reopening his recruitment this fall. He then recommitted to Iowa after visiting Nov. 10 but then pulled his commitment again and is considered a “solid verbal” to attend Illinois.   

The loss of Everson and Satterfield is not as damaging as the loss of Pugh, as there was a surplus of young defensive backs on the roster. But it certainly doesn’t help. Everson, at least, probably would have competed for a starting job at corner next season. Five prospects who could play defensive back have given commitments to come to Iowa next season. Also, Amari Spievey, a corner who left Iowa because of academic reasons in June, could return. So, too, could safety Marcus Wilson. Spievey played this past season at Iowa Central Community College. Wilson, the nephew of Iowa assistant coach Darrell Wilson, reportedly attended Kirkwood to try to get his academics in order.       

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